Tahir's villain gives flex to 'Iron Man'

At a youthful-looking 45, Faran Tahir describes himself as "one of those boxers who's delivered a few punches and taken some too."

An ideal resume for a rugged leading man, or a well-developed villain.

Scion of a celebrated Pakistani acting family, Tahir is a Los Angeles-born veteran of stage, screen and TV. Like most actors, he's taken his theatrical lumps, but delivered a strike to the solar plexus with enough regularity to remain in steady demand.

On Friday, he goes toe to toe with Robert Downey Jr. as the antagonist of "Iron Man."

More, as Raza, the arms dealer who kidnaps billionaire playboy industrialist Tony Stark, he's the bad guy whose acts lead directly to the evolution of the superhero. A bit of a twist with which to play.

"It is, and a lot of fun besides," says Tahir, last seen in the feature "Charlie Wilson's War."

"My character is the one who pushes Stark gently, or not so gently, into becoming Iron Man. He's just Tony Stark before coming into contact with me. It is not until he's in my captivity that this inner conflict starts in him, this desire to right wrongs and fight an evil he helped create in this world."

Which is to say, Stark is an arm's merchant, as well, albeit of a different stripe. It's just that now, at long last, he has a problem with it.

Tahir, who also will play a featured role as a starship captain in the next "Star Trek" film, joins a weighty cast that includes Downey in the title role, Jeff Bridges, Gwyneth Paltrow and Terrence Howard. With theater work and another feature ("Ashes") in post-production, it's been a busy and profitable last 12 months for the actor, but he takes nothing for granted. "You need to take advantage of this while can," he says. "I know that this well can dry up any time."

A third-generation performer, Tahir was born in L.A. while his parents — actors/directors/writers well known in Pakistan and India — were studying in the UCLA Theatre Department. His playground in Pakistan was the green room and the costume shop. Faran moved back to the States in 1980, earning a B.A. from the University of California-Berkeley and his graduate degree from the Institute for Advanced Theatre Training at Harvard University.

His numerous TV guest star and recurring credits including "The Practice," "NYPD Blue," "24," and "Alias," where he first worked with "Star Trek" director J.J. Abrams.

Overriding it all, for the moment, is the release of "Iron Man," a prospective blockbuster. Though a serious actor, Tahir has no qualms about working in such broad entertainment vehicles.

"Whether big budget or small, it's a matter of telling the story. While you're doing that, you totally forget how big a movie it might be, You're playing the moment. And I love playing a diversity of characters. In 'Ashes,' which I think is a little gem, I play a schizo manic depressive. Then I go on to work in 'Star Trek,' which had its own merits. And the roles have nothing to do with my ethnicity. It's a non- issue. And that's very freeing."

In "Iron Man," Tahir worked with his son for the first time.

"We have no real fantasy of turning our son into an actor," he says, "though he can do it if he wants to. The casting director asked me if he'd audition. I said 'Sure, but don't tell the director he's my kid.' I didn't want him to feel, at age 9, he got into the movie because of me. As all this was coming about I was not sure I wanted him to do it, but I realized that for me to keep a 9-year-old boy from being in a superhero movie would be unforgivable. Plus, it's a great way for him to learn what I go through in terms of successes and rejections in this business."

Adding dimension to a part in a movie where the sets and special effects threaten to overwhelm the actors is a welcome challenge for Tahir. "My entire quest is to take these characters out of their iconic shell and make them a little more human. The more tangible you can make them, the more effect they have on audiences. My responsibility is to show something human, some sort of vulnerability, and you need to find those moments in a film. Whenever I can slip that in, sometimes with blessing of the director, that's what gets me going."

Bringing his A-game was vital.

"You do that or you lose the moment. People of the level of Downey and Bridges, Paltrow and Howard — they came in without a trace of ego. People were just there to work, trying to get the best result. And it shows. We sometimes underrate the audience. People can tell when there is no chemistry. That wasn't going to happen with this movie. Like my original screen test with Robert, it set a tone of trust and fun from the start."