Haaz Sleiman Explained

Haaz Sleiman
Native Name:هاز سليمان
Native Name Lang:ar
Birth Date:1 July 1976
Birth Place:United Arab Emirates
Occupation:Actor
Years Active:2004–present

Haaz Sleiman (; Arabic: هاز سليمان; born July 1, 1976) is a Lebanese actor.[1] He most notably played the role of Tarek in the 2007 film The Visitor for which he was nominated for the Independent Spirit Award for Best Supporting Male and the role of Jesus in the American TV mini-series Killing Jesus, in addition to a number of American TV series.

Early life

Sleiman was born in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and raised in Beirut, Lebanon. He immigrated to the United States when he was twenty-one years old.[2]

Career

In 2006, Sleiman portrayed an American soldier in Iraq on the NBC series ER and, that same year, had a recurring role as an Arab billionaire in the CBS series Company Town. He portrayed the terrorist suspect Heydar in three 2007 episodes of the FOX series 24 and appeared on both NCIS and Veronica Mars in 2007.

He co-starred as Tarek, an undocumented Syrian immigrant in the critically acclaimed 2007 independent film The Visitor, a drama directed by Tom McCarthy. The film was nominated for a Screen Actors Guild Award and an Academy Award.[1] [3] Sleiman also had small roles in the 2006 film American Dreamz and the 2007 film AmericanEast.[3] [4]

Sleiman played nurse Mohammed "Mo-Mo" De La Cruz in the first season of the Showtime dark comedy series Nurse Jackie, which premiered in June 2009.[3] [5] [6] [7]

In 2011, Sleiman played the role of Omar, a Palestinian activist, in the Channel 4 mini-series The Promise.

Sleiman also played the role of Kasim Tariq in the CW Network TV show Nikita; he appeared in two episodes.

Sleiman played Dr Rabia, a Syrian doctor in Channel 4's The State.

In 2013, Sleiman started as the titular character in the short lived Off-Broadway musical Venice.[8]

Personal life

In an interview with the Christian Broadcasting Network, Sleiman said that he is Muslim, Christian, and Jewish.[9] On August 22, 2017, he came out as gay via a Facebook video.[10] [11]

Filmography

Film

YearTitleRoleNotes
2004The Ski TripTyson
2006American DreamzMujeheddin Captain
The Fourth EstateShort film
2007The VisitorTarek
Futbaal: The Price of DreamsAce
2008AmericanEastSlick Ali
2011Dorfman in LoveCookie
2012Highland ParkAli RasheedVideo on demand
2015Those PeopleTim
IdealPhotographerShort film
2016Offer and CompromiseScott
2019Love & DebtScott
20193022Thomas Dahan
2020Breaking FastMo
2021EternalsBen
2022Moving OnGun Shop Salesman

Television

YearTitleRoleNotes
2006Company TownUnsold television pilot
ERHodgkinsEpisode: "The Gallant Hero and the Tragic Victor"
200724Heydar3 episodes (season 6)
NCISEpisode: "Grace Period"
Veronica MarsEpisode: "Un-American Graffiti"
2009Nurse JackieMain role (season 1; 12 episodes)
2010, 2011Nikita2 episodes
2011The PromiseMiniseries
Episode: "Mayday"
RicochetTelevision film
Meet JaneTelevision film
2012Beauty & the BeastEpisode: "All In"
2012, 2015Covert Affairs3 episodes (season 3), 1 episode (season 5)
2013Blue BloodsEpisode: "Drawing Dead"
The Good WifeEpisode: "Whack-a-Mole"
2014Person of InterestEpisode: "Allegiance"
RecklessEpisode: "Fifty-One Percent"
2015Allegiance2 episodes
Killing JesusJesus of NazarethTelevision film
2015The PlayerFaridEpisode: "Pilot"
2016Of Kings and ProphetsJonathanMain cast
2017The StateMinisiries (3 episodes)
2018Tommy in La La LandHimselfDocumentary (3 episodes)
Jack RyanAli bin SuleimanRecurring role; 6 episodes
2020Little AmericaRafiqEpisode "The Son"

Video game

YearTitleVoice roleNotes
2007Assassin's CreedMalik al-Sayf
2011Suleiman I
2012Diablo IIIAdditional voices
2014Additional voices

Awards and nominations

!Year!Association!Category!Project!Result!Ref.
2008Boston Society of Film Critics AwardsBest Ensemble CastThe Visitor
Independent Spirit AwardsBest Supporting Actor
Gotham AwardsBest Ensemble Cast
Online Film & Television Association AwardsBest Breakthrough Performance – Male

Notes and References

  1. Web site: A Chat with Haaz Sleiman, Star of Tom McCarthy's The Visitor. Durling. Roger. May 1, 2008. Santa Barbara Independent. Independent.com. February 5, 2009. https://web.archive.org/web/20180908164341/https://www.independent.com/news/2008/may/01/chat-haaz-sleiman-star-tom-mccarthys-em-visitorem/. September 8, 2018. dead.
  2. Web site: Killing Jesus Star Haaz Sleiman Talks the Crucifixion and 11/11 . patheos.com. March 25, 2015. en.
  3. Web site: Nurse Jackie Actor Bios: Haaz Sleiman . Sho.com . June 16, 2009 . dead . https://archive.today/20130202085920/http://www.sho.com/site/nursejackie/actor-bios.do?actor=haaz_sleiman . February 2, 2013 .
  4. Web site: American East (2007) Cast Biographies: Haaz Sleiman. AmericanEastMovie.com (Internet Archive). October 16, 2007 . https://web.archive.org/web/20071016232610/http://americaneastmovie.com/bios_inline.html . October 16, 2007.
  5. Web site: Nurse Jackie: Official Site. Sho.com. March 3, 2009. dead. http://webarchive.loc.gov/all/20100614212036/http://www.sho.com/site/nursejackie/home.do. June 14, 2010.
  6. Web site: Meet the gays of The United States of Tara and Nurse Jackie. Juergens. Brian. December 23, 2008. AfterElton.com. March 8, 2009.
  7. Web site: Exclusive: 'Nurse Jackie' Drops Mo-Mo!. Ausiello. Michael. December 22, 2009.
  8. News: 'Venice,' by Eric Rosen and Matt Sax, Teems With Action. Brantley. Ben. 2013-06-13. The New York Times. 2017-10-17. en-US. 0362-4331.
  9. Web site: Killing Jesus' Haaz Sleiman: "Jesus Belongs to All of Us". 2020-10-08. Christian Broadcasting Network. 30 March 2015 . en-US.
  10. Web site: Nurse Jackie Star Haaz Sleiman Comes Out As Gay In New Facebook Video . instinctmagazine.com. en. 2017-08-26. https://web.archive.org/web/20170827051302/http://instinctmagazine.com/post/nurse-jackie-star-haaz-sleiman-comes-out-gay-new-facebook-video. 2017-08-27. dead.
  11. Web site: Haaz Sleiman. www.facebook.com. en. 2017-08-26.