We caught up with actor Keanush Tafreshi about joining Season 2 of Paramount+’s espionage thriller series The Agency, starring Michael Fassbender, Jeffrey Wright, Richard Gere, Jodie Turner-Smith, and Saura Lightfoot-Leon. Tafreshi joins the ensemble as Hassan Zamani, a key antagonist introduced in the new season’s storyline. The son of a powerful Iranian official, Hassan becomes entangled in the CIA’s investigation when his connection with Dany (Lightfood-Leon), an undercover operative, places him at the center of a dangerous web of international intrigue. The new season debuted with all 10 episodes on June 21 to a 92% Rotten Tomatoes score.
Joining a hit series in its second season can feel like walking into an already established world. Tafreshi shared what it was like arriving on set and becoming part of The Agency family: “I got the audition and then booked the role after, had a callback, and I was off to London the following weekend. So I had a lot of material to go through and prep before day one. I was definitely feeling like the new kid at school, but I was welcomed in with open arms. The whole cast was so just amazing and welcoming, and made me feel like I was really a part of the team.”
Tafreshi also praised the collaborative nature of the experience, highlighting the trust and openness he found while working with his co-star, Saura Lightfoot-Leon: “I was really lucky to work with such an amazing co-star, and she was very open to possibilities and trying things out. And I think when you have someone that’s open to you like that, without invading on their process, it’s a gift. You could find a way to really make it collaborative and bring the best work to the surface.”
Reflecting on the experience of working on the second season of The Agency, he highlighted the range and complexity the series allowed him to delve into through his character: “This show really gave me and my character an opportunity to explore all [these] different levels. There’s scenes that are very action-driven, and then there’s scenes that are very grounded and still. We had a lot of opportunities to explore that [from] intimacy [scenes], stunts, and aggression, but also to mind games and manipulation.”
Given that The Agency is based on the French series Le Bureau des Légendes, we asked Tafreshi how much he looked to the original for inspiration versus approaching the role as something entirely new: “I think for me, it’s important to not get swayed by another performance. I didn’t want that to be in my consciousness when I was approaching the role. I wanted things to come in fresh and new, and with whatever inspiration I was pulling from the text or whatever was happening in life.”
“But, you know, it’s a completely different story. It’s based on the source material, however, it’s different circumstances, a different timeline, even different countries that it’s set in. So I think it’s important when you are working on something that does have source material that you’re bringing that new lens to it.”
Hassan was unlike any character Tafreshi had portrayed before: “Hassan is so different than any character I’ve played so far,” he explained. While he drew on elements from his previous roles and personal life experiences, he approached the character as something entirely new. “I had five or six months to work on this character, and by the end of it, there was new inspiration coming,” he added. “By the end of it, I felt like a channel or a vessel for Hassan. It was just kind of flowing through me, and I could trust that.”
The extended preparation allowed him to move beyond simply building a character, and instead, develop a deeper connection with Hassan, trusting the instincts and discoveries that emerged throughout the process.
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Season 2 of The Agency is streaming on Paramount+.
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