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Anthony Azizi
Rushing against the time clock and unrelenting traffic, I made my way to the Kimberly Hotel to meet Anthony Azizi, the Iranian born actor who plays the role of Moe in ABC's new 8:00 PM, Thursday night drama, "Threat Matrix." Azizi plays an Egyptian-American, who is a former CIA operative working as part of a super secret task force created by the Homeland Security Agency. His charge is to fight terrorism and neutralize threats against America.
Anthony Azizi was born in Iran. Azizi's father, a physician, moved the family to America when Anthony was 2 years old. Anthony lived in Brooklyn and then moved to Bethlehem, Pennsylvania where he grew up among diverse ethnicities. Azizi attended Freedom High School with Dwayne Johnson (The Rock). Later, he won a BFA in Theatre from Muhlenberg College. His father passed in 1986, when Anthony was 17 years old. Originally, Azizi thought he would follow in the medical footsteps of his father, but after his father's death, decided his heart belonged to the Arts. "I played a lot of instruments and studied theatre as a youth, often doing plays for theatre companies that needed kids. I wrote a slap stick comedy when I was 8 years old and performed it before 500 people," reminisced Azizi.
Love of the Arts ran in the family. "My sister Mona is a reporter for ABC. It's weird, because my sister ended up interviewing me via a live satellite feed. It was really a momentous moment and I was very moved by it. I believe in divine intervention, so to have both my sister and me working for ABC at the same time, seems more than coincidence. Also, to have my friend Omid Djalil, co-starring as Nasim, on the "Whoopie" Show, when there are so few middle-eastern actors on network TV, seems divinely inspired. Especially, at a time, when there is so much misunderstanding about the Arab culture. In fact, my character on "Threat Matrix," is the first Arab American Moslem character featured as a series regular in a drama on T.V. It's a very historic moment. I think of it as being close to what Sydney Poitier experienced as the first groundbreaking African American in film and television," remarked Azizi. "
It feels very exciting. I represent my people and more importantly I represent America. Usually, Arabs are represented in a very negative light. However, my character on "Threat Matrix" is very positive. He's a fair guy and very religious. (I, myself, am of the Bahai faith, a faith that believes in the Oneness of All.) I have to give credit to the producers of "Threat Matrix" for trying to educate people and show them the positive side of Arab culture."
Azizi has played a variety of characters in his career. He has played both dramatic and comedic parts. Some of his TV credits include "24," "Malcolm & Eddie," "The Agency," "That's Life," "J.A.G.," "Strong Medicine" and "War Stories." On film he has appeared in "Tomcats," "McHale's Navy," "Three Kings" and the "Dating Games." "I have had a lot of interesting experiences in Hollywood. I worked with the great David Gerber, who is one of the most powerful producers in Hollywood. He gave me one of my breaks via the "Lost Battalion," a World War I film. I think I have to be one of the first middle-eastern people to play a Brooklyn German Jewish doe boy in an American World War I film. I have also worked with actor Jeff Goldblum, a great man, who is very committed to his craft," continued Anthony. "I have had great success in crossing over with the characters I portray. I just don't play middle-eastern characters, I play everybody. I can play a variety of ethnicities: Italian, Hispanic, Black, Russian, Greek and Jewish characters. It's great because I really love all kinds of people," grins the charismatic actor.
Azizi is the co-founder of a theatre group he started in New York called the Clandestine Group. "A lot of people saw some of the productions we did. Agents came down and that helped me get representation which eventually led to Hollywood. I started on stage because I think all actors need that experience. In theatre you get one shot. It's not like film where you can cut and do it again until you get it right. Stage is the purest form of acting. You can fall flat on your face or you can rise to the top in one night. Often, you can tell whether an audience likes you or not. Depending on what part of town you are in, the audience even gets vocal. They yell: "Shut up! "Get Off!" chuckles Anthony. "Filming a weekly program is a lot faster. In film, you might have 4 months to shoot 2 hours of footage whereas in television you have 8-10 days to shoot one-hour of footage."
Married to a fellow thespian for 3 1/2 years, Azizi loves his life. "After New York, I moved out to California where I did odd jobs while continuing to audition. I was waiting tables in Pasadena when I started auditioning for "Threat Matrix," recalled the vivacious actor. "I had numerous auditions, most, were around the time I had to get to my waiter job." Azizi ended up having to audition in his waiter uniform. He got the part. "The "Threat Matrix" cast is very diverse and the show covers a lot of ground. One of the shows we did was even about the Patriot Act."
"To make it as an actor requires part luck, skill, perseverance, inner strength and a lot of hard work," explained Anthony. "I believe in the fundamental oneness of the human race and always try to bring that kind of humanity to my characters, even to the bad characters I play. You have to love people and cultures. I speak 4 or 5 different languages yet never went to school to study language. I simply listen to people and get involved in their culture. I care about the Mexican, I care about the African, and I care about the Italian. So when you care about people you come to study their accents and culture. You asked whether I can do a black accent. I am a black guy. Definitely, in some ways I feel I am a Black guy. I definitely understand the discrimination Black people experience. I've been called the "N" word, sometimes, even "Sand Nig__r." In fact, the first friends my family had when we came to this country were black people. I love the music, the food, and the black culture. I'm told, the NAACP, may nominate me for an award for the work that I am doing in "Threat Matrix." Whether red, yellow, brown, black, or white, it's all good!"
Azizi is also involved in humanitarian projects. "I work with the homeless and started an organization called One World One Love Organization (OWOLO). Through the organization, we try to raise money for scholarship for kids. We try to bring people of different diversities together through this work. We try to help heal race relationships amongst kids at a young age. I feel a need in me to do this. I want to make a difference in the world. We all have a responsibility to give a damn while on this earth. I care, and I know it's our responsibility as human beings to care about one another."
Anthony Azizi was born in Iran. Azizi's father, a physician, moved the family to America when Anthony was 2 years old. Anthony lived in Brooklyn and then moved to Bethlehem, Pennsylvania where he grew up among diverse ethnicities. Azizi attended Freedom High School with Dwayne Johnson (The Rock). Later, he won a BFA in Theatre from Muhlenberg College. His father passed in 1986, when Anthony was 17 years old. Originally, Azizi thought he would follow in the medical footsteps of his father, but after his father's death, decided his heart belonged to the Arts. "I played a lot of instruments and studied theatre as a youth, often doing plays for theatre companies that needed kids. I wrote a slap stick comedy when I was 8 years old and performed it before 500 people," reminisced Azizi.
Love of the Arts ran in the family. "My sister Mona is a reporter for ABC. It's weird, because my sister ended up interviewing me via a live satellite feed. It was really a momentous moment and I was very moved by it. I believe in divine intervention, so to have both my sister and me working for ABC at the same time, seems more than coincidence. Also, to have my friend Omid Djalil, co-starring as Nasim, on the "Whoopie" Show, when there are so few middle-eastern actors on network TV, seems divinely inspired. Especially, at a time, when there is so much misunderstanding about the Arab culture. In fact, my character on "Threat Matrix," is the first Arab American Moslem character featured as a series regular in a drama on T.V. It's a very historic moment. I think of it as being close to what Sydney Poitier experienced as the first groundbreaking African American in film and television," remarked Azizi. "
It feels very exciting. I represent my people and more importantly I represent America. Usually, Arabs are represented in a very negative light. However, my character on "Threat Matrix" is very positive. He's a fair guy and very religious. (I, myself, am of the Bahai faith, a faith that believes in the Oneness of All.) I have to give credit to the producers of "Threat Matrix" for trying to educate people and show them the positive side of Arab culture."
Azizi has played a variety of characters in his career. He has played both dramatic and comedic parts. Some of his TV credits include "24," "Malcolm & Eddie," "The Agency," "That's Life," "J.A.G.," "Strong Medicine" and "War Stories." On film he has appeared in "Tomcats," "McHale's Navy," "Three Kings" and the "Dating Games." "I have had a lot of interesting experiences in Hollywood. I worked with the great David Gerber, who is one of the most powerful producers in Hollywood. He gave me one of my breaks via the "Lost Battalion," a World War I film. I think I have to be one of the first middle-eastern people to play a Brooklyn German Jewish doe boy in an American World War I film. I have also worked with actor Jeff Goldblum, a great man, who is very committed to his craft," continued Anthony. "I have had great success in crossing over with the characters I portray. I just don't play middle-eastern characters, I play everybody. I can play a variety of ethnicities: Italian, Hispanic, Black, Russian, Greek and Jewish characters. It's great because I really love all kinds of people," grins the charismatic actor.
Azizi is the co-founder of a theatre group he started in New York called the Clandestine Group. "A lot of people saw some of the productions we did. Agents came down and that helped me get representation which eventually led to Hollywood. I started on stage because I think all actors need that experience. In theatre you get one shot. It's not like film where you can cut and do it again until you get it right. Stage is the purest form of acting. You can fall flat on your face or you can rise to the top in one night. Often, you can tell whether an audience likes you or not. Depending on what part of town you are in, the audience even gets vocal. They yell: "Shut up! "Get Off!" chuckles Anthony. "Filming a weekly program is a lot faster. In film, you might have 4 months to shoot 2 hours of footage whereas in television you have 8-10 days to shoot one-hour of footage."
Married to a fellow thespian for 3 1/2 years, Azizi loves his life. "After New York, I moved out to California where I did odd jobs while continuing to audition. I was waiting tables in Pasadena when I started auditioning for "Threat Matrix," recalled the vivacious actor. "I had numerous auditions, most, were around the time I had to get to my waiter job." Azizi ended up having to audition in his waiter uniform. He got the part. "The "Threat Matrix" cast is very diverse and the show covers a lot of ground. One of the shows we did was even about the Patriot Act."
"To make it as an actor requires part luck, skill, perseverance, inner strength and a lot of hard work," explained Anthony. "I believe in the fundamental oneness of the human race and always try to bring that kind of humanity to my characters, even to the bad characters I play. You have to love people and cultures. I speak 4 or 5 different languages yet never went to school to study language. I simply listen to people and get involved in their culture. I care about the Mexican, I care about the African, and I care about the Italian. So when you care about people you come to study their accents and culture. You asked whether I can do a black accent. I am a black guy. Definitely, in some ways I feel I am a Black guy. I definitely understand the discrimination Black people experience. I've been called the "N" word, sometimes, even "Sand Nig__r." In fact, the first friends my family had when we came to this country were black people. I love the music, the food, and the black culture. I'm told, the NAACP, may nominate me for an award for the work that I am doing in "Threat Matrix." Whether red, yellow, brown, black, or white, it's all good!"
Azizi is also involved in humanitarian projects. "I work with the homeless and started an organization called One World One Love Organization (OWOLO). Through the organization, we try to raise money for scholarship for kids. We try to bring people of different diversities together through this work. We try to help heal race relationships amongst kids at a young age. I feel a need in me to do this. I want to make a difference in the world. We all have a responsibility to give a damn while on this earth. I care, and I know it's our responsibility as human beings to care about one another."
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