Glenn Close And Niv Sultan Talk Taking ‘Tehran’ To Another Level In Its Second Season

Glenn Close joining the second season cast of Tehran takes the acclaimed show to another level. Then again, the same can be said for pretty much anything that features the award-winning actress.

Close joins the ensemble cast as a British Mossad spy opposite Niv Sultan’s returning hacker agent, and there is no shortage of action and intrigue as the eight-part series unfolds.

I caught up with Close and Sultan to talk about the challenges and opportunities in Tehran‘s second season for both of them and Close’s thoughts on celebrating Fatal Attraction‘s 35th anniversary later this year.

Simon Thompson: Niv, what did season two of Tehran allow you to do that wasn’t possible with the first season?

Niv Sultan: The most significant thing was that I was standing in front of Glenn Close. Besides Glenn being what everyone knows, she brought so many things to my character. Her being so powerful, strong, and scary and her beautiful energy made me feel bare and fragile. It made my character, Tamar, even more interesting.

Thompson: The first scene you share in the first episode is so authentic. Often shows and movies get filmed out of sequence but was that actually the first scene you filmed together?

Glenn Close: It was, and we have to hand credit for that to the director, Daniel Syrkin. I think he did that totally on purpose.

Sultan: Absolutely, and you’re right; it was perfect.

Thompson: It sets up the connection and relationship between your characters brilliantly. Glenn, when they approached you to join the cast, how familiar were you with the show? I am sure you are not short of offers, so what stood out about Tehran for you?

Close: I don’t think I was terribly familiar with it, but I thought it was fantastic that out of the blue came this offer to go to Athens and be in a thriller. It was then that I saw the first season, and it was incredible and would represent firsts on so many levels. For me, that’s always incredibly seductive. I think I Zoomed with Danny, and Dana Eden, who was the show’s originator, and I Zoomed with somebody who would be my Farsi coach on set, and that was it. I was in.

Thompson: Niv, when you found out that Glenn was on board, what was your reaction? I can’t imagine anybody not being exceptionally excited about working with her.

Sultan: Danny, the director, called me and he said, ‘Listen, I have something that you should know. Glenn Close is joining the cast. She’s going to be a British Mossad agent.’ I asked, ‘How? What do you mean?’ That was my first reaction, but then I felt everything. I was stressed, nervous, happy, and excited. What can I say? I got this fantastic opportunity at the age of 29. I graduated from acting school four years ago, and I got the chance to watch up close how she works for three or four months. That’s beyond anything I can explain.

Thompson: You mentioned how Glenn Close works, so let’s talk about that. There are challenges, but what was the biggest challenge for you here? Was it learning a new language? Was it about getting the sounds right for the words or completely understanding what you were saying?

Close: I had a wonderful coach in San Francisco who I Zoomed with three times a week for about two months. At first, it was learning the sounds, how to say them, and different phrases. We started with things like good morning and good afternoon and then graduated to actual lines in the script. The sounds mean nothing to you at that stage, but then you start to understand the structure of the sentences. When you can say it, you say it before you go to bed, when you wake up in the morning, then you get to the set, and it all goes out of your head because everybody’s watching you. That is when you put the final intonation, so it makes sense, and then finally, it’s the rhythm which is so much faster if you want to seem fluent. On top of all that, you have to figure out what you’re doing acting-wise.

Thompson: Even with your level of skill and experience, at any point, did you think maybe you had bitten off more than you could chew?

Sultan: It didn’t feel that way.

Close: I wanted to be an American speaking Farsi in a way that Farsi speakers would say, ‘Wow.’ I had so much help. On set, I had two people on their phones at all times, and sometimes you keep doing a take, they keep the camera running, and I’d repeat and repeat, giving nuance until we got it right, but it was a challenge.

Thompson: It certainly pays off and is something worth celebrating. On the subject of celebrations, 2022 marks the 35th anniversary of Fatal Attraction. Are you planning to do anything to mark that occasion, or will you save the celebrations for the 40th?

Close: I don’t know. What could I do to celebrate? Maybe go to a restaurant that serves rabbit?

Sultan: (Laughs) Oh my God.

Close: That was an incredible chapter in my career with Michael Douglas and Adrian Lyne, Sherry Lansing, and Stanley Jaffe. It was incredibly creative, and it was a real milestone for me.

Season two of Tehran begins streaming on Apple TV+ from Friday, May 6, 2022.