Patrick Wymore/Hulu I love the episode where you skipped school with Victor.
But I really felt like I could get into character as soon as we started the wardrobe fittings and seeing the kind of clothes that Rahim would be rocking - really figuring out with the costume department what Rahim is and what he wants to wear. I was listening to a lot of music that I felt like Rahim would be listening to, like Slayyyter, Cobrah, and all of the queer girlies out there. How did you prepare to play him? Was there a Spotify playlist you put on? What got you into the zone? So it was really awesome to see how in such a short amount of time, how close we got, because I hang out with the cast every day, almost.
I’m literally roommates with one of my castmates now. But everyone pretty much welcomed me with open arms, and I couldn’t have asked for a better cast to be a part of. And it’s always nerve-wracking, coming on to a show as a guest and entering yourself in that dynamic and seeing how that works. I was really nervous to show up and be there because I knew how close the cast was from Season 1. I remember my first day on set for Episode 2. What was it like joining the cast? From a viewer’s perspective, it seems like the cast is pretty close. And I think it was the perfect way to segue into another realm of people, people of the Muslim heritage, which I think is really cool that we get to tell that story now. But I think the showrunners and the entire team just wanted to expand that idea of coming out as a person who’s not white. I like to think it’s because they love me so much. They never explained why they wanted it specifically that. Did the showrunners ever explain why they wanted an Iranian character specifically? I’ve always been playing characters that are not accurately representing myself ethnically. That’s the first time I’d ever seen a breakdown that said Iranian American before. And when I saw the breakdown for the role, it was perfect for me: 16 years old, Iranian American. Lo and behold, I was on set for another project that I was doing, Genera+ion for HBO Max, and my manager called and he said that casting was gearing up for Season 2 and they were really interested in me because of my history with them from the previous year for this role. But I kind of thought I was just going to cut my losses and never be a part of the show.
I think Michael is amazing, and I don’t think anyone else could have played Victor as well as he could. So I auditioned for Season 1 for the role of Victor, and I ended up testing for it and it was between me, Michael, and I think one other guy, but ended up not getting it, which is for the best. I originally auditioned for the show back when it was just a pilot and they were just developing the series. How did you become involved with the project? So, you were my favorite addition to the new season. Greg Gayne/Hulu From left: Michael Cimino and Anthony Keyvan in Love, Victor Season 2.