'Homeland's' Abu Nazir Wears Christmas Sweater, Wants to Do Comedy

8:00 AM PST 12/13/2012 by Merle Ginsberg & Gary Baum

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Actor Navid Negahban, who played the terrorist mastermind on Showtime's hit series, tells THR he's pushing the network for a role on "Shameless" and wouldn't mind "House of Lies."

This story first appeared in the Dec. 21 edition of The Hollywood Reporter magazine.

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It was strange enough to spot Navid Negahban, Abu Nazir on Homeland, at the Showtime holiday party Dec. 3 in Beverly Hills in a Christmas sweater -- let alone to hear what the actor wants to do next.

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"I want to do comedy," the Iran-born actor pronounced to THR. Negahban said he's been pushing Showtime president David Nevins to let him guest on Shameless, and he spent time posing at the party with Ben Schwartz of House of Lies, a show he wouldn't mind working on, either.

Even though the intense actor's résumé is jammed with such dark dramas as 24, Fringe, NCIS: Los Angeles, The Shield and Law & Order, he reminded us he was in a Slamdance-winning short called Boundaries in 2001 in which he did a comic turn as a mute trombonist.

But the strangest thing the actor said on this night was, "I don't even have cable -- let alone Showtime!"