When audiences first meet Hassan Zamani in The Agency Season 2, it’s easy to believe they have him figured out.
He’s charismatic. Wealthy. Hot-headed. Reckless. The son of a powerful Iranian government advisor, Hassan appears to be someone who has spent his life getting whatever he wants. In a world built on espionage, deception, and shifting allegiances, he initially feels like another dangerous variable waiting to explode.
But as the season unfolds, Hassan becomes something far more compelling.
Rather than reducing him to a stereotype, The Agency slowly peels back the layers to reveal a young man searching for something far more valuable than power or privilege. Underneath the confidence, designer suits, and impulsive decisions is someone desperate to be seen, understood, and genuinely loved.
It’s one of Season 2’s most surprising character arcs, and much of that is thanks to breakout actor Keanush Tafreshi.
A first-generation Persian-American actor, Tafreshi delivers one of the season’s most layered performances, bringing humanity to a character who could have easily remained one-dimensional. During our conversation, he reflected on Hassan’s emotional journey, the complicated relationship at the center of his story, and why audiences may ultimately find themselves empathizing with someone they never expected to.
About The Agency Season 2
The Agency follows Martian (Michael Fassbender), a CIA operative living undercover in his own life. In Season 2, Martian’s lover, Samia (Jodie Turner-Smith), has become a political prisoner in Sudan, sending him on a dangerous mission that forces him deeper into espionage, betrayal, and impossible choices.
Alongside that central story, the season introduces Hassan Zamani, the volatile son of an influential Iranian government advisor whose growing relationship with undercover CIA operative Danny becomes one of the show’s most emotionally complex storylines.
All ten episodes of The Agency Season 2 are now streaming on Paramount+.
Topics Covered
- Bringing Hassan Zamani to life
- Finding the humanity beneath Hassan’s confidence
- Love, trust, and vulnerability
- Working alongside Sarah Lightfoot Leon
- Hassan’s emotional evolution throughout the season
- Preparing physically for the role
- Representing Persian culture on screen
- The psychological complexity of The Agency
Looking Beyond First Impressions
One of the greatest strengths of The Agency is its refusal to let any character remain exactly as they first appear.
That is especially true of Hassan.
“When we meet him, he’s this very aggressive, intense guy,” Tafreshi explained. “As you get to understand more about him and his situation, I’m hoping people will feel that sort of empathy for him and his circumstances.”
That gradual shift becomes one of the season’s most rewarding experiences.
Initially, Hassan feels unpredictable and intimidating. Yet every episode slowly reveals another layer, exposing someone carrying the weight of expectations, loneliness, and emotional isolation. The further the audience follows his journey, the harder it becomes to define him simply by his wealth, status, or family name.
Instead, Hassan emerges as one of the season’s most human characters.
Love Was Always What Hassan Was Searching For
Although The Agency is built around intelligence operations, covert missions, and political intrigue, Tafreshi believes Hassan’s story has always been rooted in something much simpler.
Love.
When discussing Hassan’s relationship with trust, Tafreshi described someone who has spent his life questioning whether anyone genuinely cared about him beyond what he could provide.
“I think that’s the root of who he is,” Tafreshi said. “He’s gone his whole life not trusting anybody and not feeling that love from anybody.”
That emotional vulnerability ultimately becomes the foundation of Hassan’s relationship with Danny.
Rather than seeing him as another powerful man with influence and money, Danny forces Hassan to consider the possibility that someone may actually value him for who he is.
“She’s starting to open his eyes to maybe this is a person that actually sees me for who I am and doesn’t want to just be with me because of what I can offer.”
Looking back after the season’s conclusion, it’s that emotional honesty that makes Hassan’s storyline resonate far beyond the espionage surrounding it.
More Than Status, Money and Power
One of the most revealing moments from our conversation came when discussing whether Hassan had ever truly experienced authentic love before the events of Season 2.
Tafreshi believes Hassan spent much of his life trying to earn affection through external success rather than emotional connection.
“He’s used his status. He’s used his possessions to achieve love,” Tafreshi reflected. “That’s what we’re all chasing as people, as human beings… that love and that acceptance.”
That perspective completely reframes Hassan’s character.
The expensive lifestyle, confidence, and bravado no longer feel like signs of arrogance. Instead, they become coping mechanisms for someone who has never truly believed he was enough on his own.
It’s a remarkably vulnerable interpretation of a character who could have easily remained nothing more than the privileged son of a political insider.
A Relationship Built on Trust
Much of Hassan’s story succeeds because of the chemistry between Tafreshi and Sarah Lightfoot Leon, whose portrayal of Danny constantly blurs the line between professional obligation and genuine emotional connection.
Tafreshi credits much of that success to the collaborative environment they built together.
“From day one, she was just so ready, so excited, so welcoming,” he said. “Having someone like her in my corner just be supportive and be down for anything… it was really a gift.”
Their scenes become some of Season 2’s most psychologically engaging because viewers are never entirely certain where performance ends and authenticity begins.
Even Tafreshi admits that uncertainty became part of the creative process.
“There were times when we had the opportunity to try both… and sort of leave it to the powers that were cutting the story together to piece it the way they wanted to.”
That ambiguity perfectly captures the spirit of The Agency, where trust is always questioned and motives are rarely straightforward.
Representing Persian Identity with Authenticity
For Tafreshi, portraying Hassan carried significance beyond simply landing a breakout role.
As a first-generation Persian-American actor, he has spoken about working closely with his parents while preparing for the role, spending months refining his Farsi dialect and ensuring Hassan’s cultural identity felt authentic rather than performative.
That authenticity matters.
Too often, Iranian characters in Western espionage stories exist only as political symbols or antagonists. Hassan breaks away from those familiar archetypes. While the geopolitical backdrop certainly shapes his world, the series allows him to exist as something far more complete: a son struggling under expectations, a young man craving acceptance, and someone wrestling with the universal desire to belong.
It’s a refreshing example of representation that embraces complexity rather than stereotypes.
Building Hassan Through Physicality
While Hassan’s emotional journey defines the season, Tafreshi also embraced the physical demands of the role.
Before production began, he intentionally added weight and muscle to better capture the intimidating presence he envisioned for Hassan.
“I knew that this guy had to have some sort of physical intimidation and presence on screen,” he explained.
That preparation extended into stunt rehearsals, fight choreography, and action sequences that required extensive collaboration with the production’s stunt team.
For Tafreshi, those moments became another way to understand the character.
“Once you do those stunts, once you explore the physicality, then all the other thoughts and underlying inspirations come through the character.”
A Breakout Performance Worth Watching
Looking back now that all ten episodes have premiered, Hassan Zamani stands as one of Season 2’s biggest revelations.
He arrives as someone audiences may instinctively distrust, but gradually becomes one of the show’s most emotionally layered characters.
It’s a testament not only to the writing, but to Tafreshi’s ability to uncover the humanity beneath Hassan’s contradictions.
By the season’s end, viewers aren’t simply watching the son of an influential advisor navigating a dangerous world of espionage.
They’re watching someone searching for acceptance, struggling to trust, and discovering that genuine connection may be the rarest thing he has ever encountered.
For a breakout television performance, it’s an impressive debut and one that firmly establishes Keanush Tafreshi as an actor worth watching well beyond The Agency.
Watch the Full Interview
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