--- title: Nazanin Boniadi: From 'Homeland' to 'HIMYM' and 'Ben-Hur' description: The Iranian-born actress is going from the small screen to the silver screen in the new remake of 'Ben-Hur.' canonical: https://time.com/collections/american-voices-2017/4437117/nazanin-boniadi/ article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2016-08-08T13:51:46.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-03-02T23:15:06.947Z og:title: This Iranian-Born Actress Is Changing the Acting World og:description: Nazanin Boniadi conquers the big screen in the new remake of 'Ben-Hur' og:url: https://time.com/collections/american-voices-2017/4437117/nazanin-boniadi/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt0fde8995026c0e40/6988a16ea988caa7e86b8feb/nazanin-boniadi.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 1200 og:image:height: 675 og:image:alt: This Iranian-Born Actress Is Changing the Acting World og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: This Iranian-Born Actress Is Changing the Acting World twitter:description: Nazanin Boniadi conquers the big screen in the new remake of 'Ben-Hur' twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt0fde8995026c0e40/6988a16ea988caa7e86b8feb/nazanin-boniadi.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 --- Aug 08, 2016 # This Iranian-Born Actress Is Changing the Acting World by Nina Terrero  Nazanin Boniadi, on April 26, 2016 in Beverly Hills, Calif. Nazanin Boniadi, on April 26, 2016 in Beverly Hills, Calif.Matt Winkelmeyer—Getty Images **Child of the Revolution** Born in Tehran in the aftermath of the Iranian revolution, ­Nazanin Boniadi was just 20 days old when her parents immigrated to London in 1980\. “They were forced to flee,” she says. “My parents didn’t want to raise their daughter in a place that was growing increasingly oppressive towards women and girls.” Boniadi channels her independent streak as _Ben-Hur_’s Esther, the courageous wife of the titular Jerusalem prince Judah Ben-Hur (Jack Huston). “She really is a moral compass in the film,” the 37-year-old says. “She pulls Judah through.” **Night Nurse** After graduating with honors in biology from the University of California, Irvine, Boniadi swapped the security of a ­medical career for her dream of becoming an actor. “Luckily, nine months after I made that decision, I got my SAG card,” she says. She landed her first role as a nurse on the soap opera _General Hospital: The Night Shift_. Since then, she’s played a seductive terrorist on _Scandal_, a clever CIA analyst on _Homeland_, and a charming girl next door on _How I Met Your Mother_. She prides herself on being able to move between genres and mediums—and hopes Hollywood will one day make it easier for other actors of color to do so. “I’m grateful for every Middle Eastern role I’ve done,” she says. “But it’s very limiting when people only look at you for your skin color.” **Old Soul** _Ben-Hur_ fulfilled a lifetime wish for Boniadi, who has always wanted to make a film about the ancient world. “It was on my bucket list to do a period piece set in that era,” she says. “I feel really connected to antiquity for some reason.” An added bonus: picking up horseback-riding skills and a renewed appreciation for Roman cuisine. Says Boniadi, laughing, “When we wrapped, I binged on all the wine and pasta and cappuccinos and gelato.” **Change Agent** “I entered the acting world at a time when there was a higher demand for Middle Eastern actors in the post-9/11 world, and yeah, the roles weren’t great,” Boniadi says. Most parts were one-dimensional, or sinister, or both. “But when that one interesting role did come along, I was ready to win it.” Her latest victory? A starring role opposite Armie Hammer and Dev Patel in _Hotel Mumbai_, a dramatization of the 2008 terrorist attacks in India that killed 164 people. “I’ve hit my stride,” she says. ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"Article","@id":"https://time.com/collections/american-voices-2017/4437117/nazanin-boniadi/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/collections/american-voices-2017/4437117/nazanin-boniadi/"},"headline":"This Iranian-Born Actress Is Changing the Acting World","datePublished":"2016-08-08T13:51:46.000Z","dateModified":"2026-03-02T23:15:06.947Z","description":"The Iranian-born actress is going from the small screen to the silver screen in the new remake of 'Ben-Hur.'","url":"https://time.com/collections/american-voices-2017/4437117/nazanin-boniadi/","keywords":["American Voices"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt0fde8995026c0e40/6988a16ea988caa7e86b8feb/nazanin-boniadi.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"TIME Staff","jobTitle":null,"url":"https://time.com/author/time-staff/"}],"creator":"TIME Staff","articleSection":"","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt0fde8995026c0e40/6988a16ea988caa7e86b8feb/nazanin-boniadi.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/collections/american-voices-2017/4437117/nazanin-boniadi/","name":"This Iranian-Born Actress Is Changing the Acting World"}}]}] ```