The Conversation: 'Counterpart's' Nazanin Boniadi on the complexities of playing Middle Eastern roles
NEW YORK - Nazanin Boniadi has what may be the juiciest role - make that roles - of her career in "Counterpart," a science-fiction-infused espionage thriller now in its second season on Starz.
The drama, costarring Oscar winner J.K. Simmons, relies on a bold premise: an alternate version of the world was created in the waning days of the Cold War.
Now covert operatives travel between "Prime" and "Alpha" worlds through a portal in - where else? - Berlin. (Think of it as "The Spy Who Came in From the Cold" meets "Sliding Doors.") Boniadi plays Clare, a particularly zealous agent who sneaks across the border and - spoiler alert - assumes her doppelganger's identity.
Despite its outre concept, the series, created by Justin Marks, is rich with "metaphors and allegories of what's going on today," says Boniadi, who is excited by its sociopolitical themes.
Born in Iran and raised in London, the
