On the NBC hit TV drama The Blacklist, Red Reddington (James Spader) and the team aim to take down “a menacing abduction master” when an undercover CIA agent is kidnapped by a band of separatists in Uzbekistan. The kidnapper is Ruslan Denisov — a very dangerous past associate of Red’s, who is played by actor Faran Tahir.
Tahir looks familiar because he’s been in tons of TV shows. From Law & Order and NYPD Blue to The West Wing, 24, Monk and Star Trek. He comes from a long line of actors, but doesn’t just rely on the family credentials: he got a graduate degree from the Institute for Advanced Theatre Training at Harvard University. If you like his portrayal of Denisov on The Blacklist, you’re going to love him in NBC’s new hit crime show Backstrom. Thair stars in the “Bogeyman” episode (February 19), when Backstrom has three days to save a teen who was taken by “an elusive online predator.”
