Iranian-British actress Nazanin Boniadi will appear in the upcoming Roger Ailes movie in the role of former Fox News reporter Rudi Bakhtiar, as reported by Deadline.
‘After FNC host Gretchen Carlson came forward with sexual allegations against late Fox News chief Ailes in July 2016, Bakhtiar spoke to the New York Times and New York magazine sharing how she was sexually propositioned for a a full-time Washington D.C. correspondent position by FNC colleague Brian Wilson who was being upped to the network’s DC bureau chief. She also detailed incidents of being harassed by Ailes whereby he asked to see her legs during an interview, and through others at the network, insisted she wear short skirts on Fox & Friends. In 2007, Ailes fired her saying the network didn’t like Bakhtiar’s reporting. During her tenure at FNC, Bakhtiar was key in covering news inside Iran (She is related to late Iranian prime minister Shapour Bakhtiar). In mediation, Bakhtiar won $670K plus legal fees. Soon after Carlson came forward, Bakhtiar risked breaking her non-disparagement agreement with FNC. “I just feel like I shut up because I didn’t want to hurt my career,” she told the Times. “It’s awful what happened to me, and to other people, with a nod from management.” The whole experience made it hard for Bakhtiar to land another news gig; she is currently a producer for Reuters in Washington D.C.’
The movie, directed by Jay Roach, includes as star studded cast featuring Nicole Kidman, Margot Robbie, Charlize Theron and John Lithgow as Ailes.
The 38 year-old Iranian born Boniadi stars on Starz’s Counterpart and co-starred as CIA analyst Fara Sherazi on Showtime’s Emmy and Golden Globe award-winning Homeland for which she shared a 2015 SAG Award nomination in the Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble in a Drama Series category. The Iranian-born actress stars opposite Armie Hammer and Dev Patel in Bleecker Street’s upcoming Hotel Mumbai which made its world premiere at TIFF. Other film credits include Passengers, Iron Man, and Paul Haggis’ The Next Three Days. Boniadi is also an activist serving as spokeswoman for Amnesty International USA (AIUSA) and was recently added as an Academy Member.
The Roger Ailes film is currently in production and has yet to be titled.
