Faran Tahir won't fade to beige

Faran Tahir isn't here for watered-down representation. The Pakistani-American actor, best known for playing the menacing Raza in Iron Man, is steadily rewriting the Hollywood script for South Asian and Muslim actors, and doing it on his terms.

For Tahir, the goal has never been assimilation. It's about owning your identity, and using it as a strength. "Some people see our colour or our faith as weaknesses," he told Jamal Ouazzani on the Saturday installment of the Jins podcast. "But there's another way to look at it. These are your uniqueness. Find the strength in it rather than be dejected by it."

In fact, his primary advice to young South Asian and Muslim actors is to learn to say no when you must, and show up when it matters. "We see doctors, cab drivers, storekeepers, people from our part of the world are part of this reality. We need to show our identity and own our identity." And always have the conversation, even if you don't win. "That idea, that concept, it stays. Maybe next time, it lands."

"When I started, there weren't too many good roles we could bring our talents to," he recalled. "And there was not enough choice of talent." Rather than accept the one-dimensional parts often thrown his way, Tahir leaned into theatre, where he could tackle complex roles and grow as an artist. "If I could handle verse, do Shakespeare, there was a place for actors like me."

His breakout role in Iron Man was a tightrope walk. Playing a villain while being visibly Muslim required nuance. "I wanted to strip away any real allusions to faith. Raza was a mercenary, a soldier of fortune, not a religious zealot," he explained. By adding linguistic and cultural ambiguity, he worked with the production to avoid lazy tropes. "Worldliness was important to me rather than making the character a savage."

Still, the grind isn't easy. "Not all work is good work," he said bluntly. Tahir chooses roles that let him sleep at night. "If I can't look at myself in the mirror when I wake up, I shouldn't be doing it." He's found stability through voice acting, television, and theatre, work that gives him the freedom to say no.

Hollywood, in Tahir's world, is a global stage. "These colours we bring to stories? They're not invaluable. They are the story."