It's an understatement to say that Faran Tahir is having a great year as an actor. Not only is Tahir playing the villain Raza in Jon Favreau's upcoming Iron Man but he's also playing Captain Robau in director J.J. Abrams' upcoming 2009 reboot of Star Trek. It's not often that you get to talk to an actor who has two significant roles in two huge movies almost back to back.

The Deadbolt recently caught up with Faran Tahir for an exclusive chat to learn more about what fans can expect from the villainous Raza from Iron Man, his connection to the Iron Monger and Mandarin, wearing power armor, and working with Robert Downey Jr.. At the same time, we also got the latest goods on Captain Robau from Star Trek, the type of ship he commands, and what fans can expect from J.J. Abrams' vision of Star Trek as compared to the original series.

Oh yeah... If you've been wondering if there will be an Iron man sequel on the horizon, Tahir reveals that there's already been talk of not just one sequel but a third movie in the new big screen Iron Man saga.

THE DEADBOLT: Did Jon Favreau have a specific vision for Raza or were you free to add your own creativity and spin to the character?

FARAN TAHIR: Yes, what was great was that Jon - I mean, of course he had a vision, he’s the director of the movie and he wanted certain things in Raza. But even when we went into the process of me being cast, his emphasis was on trying to see how fluid I am. You know, what I can bring. And if we need to change things, if we can play around with it a little bit, he wanted to have that facility. He wanted to find somebody who would actually be game in doing that. I remember my final screen test was with Robert Downey Jr., which we did on one of the actual sets. We did it, I think, ten different ways, the same scene. Jon would go and look at the scene and then he would come back and go, "Okay. Now try it like this." We just kind of went at it, it was almost improvisational. We had the text, but the intention - everything was changed because he wanted to have a very organic way of approaching these characters. I mean, let’s face it, these are fantasy characters, larger than life super-hero, super-villian kind of people. But there needs to be a hook that grounds them into reality. I think that’s what he was going for. And because of that there was a lot of freedom to try things. You could throw things at him and he was totally honest. There were times when you would throw something at him and he’d be like, "Nah, that doesn’t work. Let’s not do that." I love that, because then you know that the person is being totally honest with you and you can be totally honest with him.

THE DEADBOLT: Did you know a lot about the Iron Man comics before you signed on?

TAHIR: I knew a fair amount. When I was growing up I read comics. Was I one of those die-hard comic book fans? No. Well, yeah, when I was little. But then as life went on I wasn’t. Then my son, who’s nine and also in the movie, he does a cameo with me. When he was growing up, he also got into comics. So then you remember your childhood and go, "Oh yeah, I remember that!" So you kind of get back into the whole genre. It became one of those alive things in our house, a topic.

THE DEADBOLT: How much fun was it to rough up Robert Downey Jr.?

TAHIR: [laughs] Oh man, he is such a great guy. The first time I met him at the final screen test, he says, "Hi, I’m Robert." We have our little niceties and all of that. Then he looked at me and said, "You can throw me around, I’m totally pliable. So you do whatever the heck you need to do." And this is one of the most brilliant actors of my age group telling you that you have carte blanch - do whatever you want to do and you’re like, "Alright, let’s do it." And then he kind of rubs off on you and you riff off of each other, because there’s that common trust. I can do that, and if you end up hurting me a little bit, it’s okay. It’s like being nine or ten again, wrestling with your friends and you get a little rough sometimes. Then you dust off and go, "I’m sorry, man. I didn’t mean to do that. Let’s go get a popsicle or whatever."

THE DEADBOLT: How much time did you spend in the original power armor or was that reserved for the stunt guys?

TAHIR: I had all of the big guns, so I was the gun guy. People who are Iron Man fans know that Iron Man’s big nemesis is Mandarin. So Raza is the guy who is the connection to Mandarin. Of course you don’t see Mandarin in the movie, but this is the closest you are to him. My character is the man he wants to rule all of Asia. That’s his dream and that’s his vision. It’s a small little dream he has on par with owning a 7-11, but hey... [laughs] So that’s where he’s operating, on that level. There are alliances with the Iron Monger because it serves their purpose for both of them.

THE DEADBOLT: So it's safe to say the Iron Monger is kind of like the money guy?

TAHIR: Yeah, the Iron Monger is the money guy. We have alliances because he is, in this part of the world, my character will get something to help him facilitate his ruling of Asia at some point. So it’s that kind of collaboration.

Iron Man Sequels and Star Trek Secrets with Faran Tahir Page 2