FX’s provocative and controversial American series ‘Tyrant’ brings a story of power and betrayal alive in the most exciting way. With its third season set to premiere July 6th, someone new has been confirmed to join the cast. That someone is none other than Egyptian actor/director Khaled Abol Naga.
We found out about the amazing news while we were scrolling down our Instagram feed and randomly bumped into this photo…
The second we noticed “#TyrantFX” in the caption, we went nuts. We hunted Abol Naga down on Twitter and demanded some answers! Was he joining the cast? Was he just directing an episode? WHAT IS HAPPENING!
Until he confirmed the fabulous news to us, and we couldn’t even anymore. We caught up with Abol Naga to know as much as we could about his Tyrant appearance and how it all happened…
How did this all come to be?
I’ve gotten to know the show’ creator, Howard Gordon, and also the amazing Peter Weller, one of the directors of the show this season by the way, while we were invited for a cultural exchange panel talk at Alexandria Library in 2010. I was also shooting “Microphone” back then in Alexandria, so I managed to create a jamming night with Gordon’s group and the underground music bands of my movie that turned out to be a very special cultural artistic exchange to remember. Years passed and we stayed in touch. When Gordon started his TV show about the Arab spring and a ruling family of tyrants, I was happy to help earlier creatively through MOST (Muslims On Screen & Television).
I was also invited to cast for several other characters on the show, but after several castings and a bumpy start, Tyrant was born without its first attached director, Ang Lee, or me; but we exchanged emails along the years, then fate knocked on that same door once again, and I ended up being a guest star on season three.
Were you a fan of Tyrant before?
Not really! But not for a reason. I just never watched it until I was offered a guest star role this season in 2016. After watching every episode on the first two seasons, I truly felt this show is a very bold attempt to understand the dynamics of the Arab/Muslim culture in the context of a tyrant and the great Arab Spring.
What role are you going to play in the FX series?
I play Sheikh Hussein Al-Qadi, an Islamic cleric who is trying to toe the line between the extremists inside his constituency and his own desire for democratic reform in Abuddin. Abuddin is a fictional Arab state that suffered a lot from the tyranny of its ruling family, Al Fayeed, a dictatorship that caused incredible suffering for its people in the first two seasons while the Arab spring started unfolding.
Al-Qadi will be running for the presidency of Abuddin. So tune in for that voting when it comes! My character represents the peaceful, merciful and true Islam, a much needed balance that’s new for an American audience that is typically bombarded by stereotypes of violent Arab or Islamic characters!
What are you most excited about in your character?
I’m excited that for a change, a true Muslim sheikh like Al-Qadi will hopefully resonate for an American audience with something not that foreign after all, it’s what all religions preach: peace, mercy, forgiveness and the straight path of goodness. Of course it’s going to take a lot of goodness to prevail in Abuddin. Will Al-Qadi succeed through all the explosive dramatic events? We’ll have to find out on the show, starting July 6th.
WE SAID THIS: Can it be July now so we can watch Khaled Abol Naga in action already?