BONES: Shohreh Aghdashloo on Her Connection to Mrs. Vaziri, Working with Pej Vahdat and Tamara Taylor, and More

BONES viewers have been getting to know squintern Arastoo since his season 4 introduction, but in light of his serious relationship with Cam, his parents will finally be introduced in Monday’s brand new episode, “The Cold in the Case.” And in the tradition of BONES characters being given incredible actors/performers to portray their parents (Ryan O’Neal, Billy Gibbons, and Joanna Cassidy), the series recruited Emmy-winner/Academy Award-nominee Shohreh Aghdashloo to play Arastoo’s mother.

“They approached me [for the role],” Aghdashloo (Deena Vaziri) shared of getting involved with the Fox series. “My agents called me and told me I had an offer, and I went, ‘I like that show, let me read it’ — I’m very particular about my work, so I have to read it before [accepting things] — and I’m reading it and the first thing I see is [her name is] Mrs. Vaziri?…I was so overwhelmed with the name of my character, because the character’s [last name] is my real family name. My parents didn’t allow me to become an actor, so I got married first, and I used my first husband’s family name to become an actor.”

“I get to the set, and I told the director [Milan Cheylov], whom every actor would give a leg and an arm to work with — I enjoyed working with him and everybody so much — and I said, ‘Milan! Did you know my real family name is Vaziri?'” she continued. “And he went, ‘You’ve got to be kidding me.’ And I said, ‘Honest to God. My [last name I was born with] is Vaziri, but I’ve used Aghdashloo professionally.’ So the character felt familiar.”

And while Arastoo is wary of what his mother’s intentions might be in wanting to meet Cam, Aghdashloo could relate to the protectiveness she got to display as Deena.

“And [she’s] an Iranian mother, whom I know intimately: overprotective, but loving her son,”  Aghdashloo explained. “Wanting to make sure the girl that is dating her son is the best girl in the world: she’s not only beautiful, but she’s rich, she’s educated, she comes from a great family. She comes in with a big basket of expectations [for meeting Cam], great expectations. I loved [the role]. I said, ‘I’m doing it!’ There is not by any means stereotyping in this character at all. What I tried to do, I tried to portray this Iranian mother who is walking a very fine line [with protectiveness]…I know her. She’s like my mother. She’s like my aunt. And, maybe sometimes, I even act like that.”

“It was the main thing to try and portray this mother that more than anything else, she’s a human,” she continued. “She’s worried about her offspring. More than anything else, that’s all I had in mind on set: she’s loving, she’s caring, she’s done her best to send [her son] to the best schools in the U.S., most probably she migrated for her sons so they could have a better future, and a better education…[she wants Arastoo to realize] I’m not the enemy.”

Whether she accomplishes that or not is something viewers will have to wait until Monday night to see. But in the meantime, Aghdashloo had nothing but praise for her time on BONES.

“I loved working with them,” Aghdashloo gushed. “To be honest with you, I’ve always loved working with Fox [shows], for whatever reason. But brilliant cast, amazing crew, and great director. But Pej Vahdat (Arastoo) and Tamara Taylor (Cam), it was as if they were really expecting Arastoo’s mother. They treated me as if I was his mother. No problems fitting myself into this story. It was very easy. Acting is not really acting, I keep saying. I tell others, ‘Don’t say acting. It’s interacting. Acting is for superstars who come in, say their lines, and then dash out with their entourage. Acting is about interacting.’ And if your colleagues or peers don’t allow the situation to happen, if you don’t feel at home, you can’t do that. And Tamara and Pej made me feel at home.”

“They’re so good,” she continued. “They’re so nice. [Steven] Spielberg is right: he once said, if it’s not fun, don’t do it. Doesn’t matter if it’s a tragedy or a comedy, you’re supposed to have fun while you’re making it. And I hope the audience will enjoy watching it as much as we enjoyed making it…everybody was happy.”

And, as it turns out, it wasn’t just the BONES cast and crew that was excited to have Aghdashloo on the show: she got the seal of approval from Vahdat’s real-life parents.

“Pej came into the trailer [on set] and said, ‘Mrs. Aghdashloo, my parents are very, very, very excited I’m working with you. I’ve worked with a handful of great actors on this show, and usually my parents don’t inquire a lot about them. But as soon as I told them you were coming, they’re calling me to say,  ‘Make sure you take a picture!”” she laughed.

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BONES’ “The Cold in the Case” airs Monday, April 14th at 8 PM on Fox.

Related:

BONES: Tamara Taylor Previews ‘The Cold in the Case’
BONES: ‘The Nail in the Coffin’ Photo Preview
BONES: ‘The Cold in the Case’ Photo Preview

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