What Has The Blacklist's Mozhan Marnò Been Up To Since Leaving The Show?
NBC's "The Blacklist" has always been a show set apart by its unusually rich and engaging character work amidst the weekly cases and procedural thrills, from Raymond "Red" Reddington (James Spader) himself down to each of the principal cast members. And the character of Samar Navabi was no exception. A Mossad agent from Iran who joins the FBI Blacklist task force on Season 2, Samar took some time to really come into her own on the show, as the second season's initial run of episodes favored mystery and suspense over her motives as an agent. But as more of Samar's past was revealed and she proved her mettle as a true team member, she became one of the show's most compelling characters — aided, of course, by Mozhan Marnò's consistently strong performance in the role.
An Iranian American actress whose film and TV career already spans a decade and a half, Marnò had multiple notable roles prior to her "Blacklist" part. Fans of "House of Cards" will remember her time as fearless Wall Street Telegraph reporter Ayla Sayyad, a role she played concurrently with her first couple of seasons as Samar Navabi. Indie horror cinema enthusiasts, meanwhile, may have seen her as the despondent Iranian prostitute Atti, who strikes up a connection with the titular bloodsucking girl in Ana Lily Amirpour's "A Girl Walks Home Alone at Night."
However, Marnò's career after leaving "The Blacklist" on Season 6 has been just as fruitful, with several notable TV roles to show for it.
Mozhan Marnò has appeared on The Affair, Maid, and Pam & Tommy
2019 wasn't just the year Mozhan Marnò left "The Blacklist." It was also the year Showtime aired the final season of its popular multi-perspective drama, "The Affair." Originally following the two conflicting accounts from the parties involved in an extramarital affair, Noah Solloway (Dominic West) and Alison Bailey (Ruth Wilson), the series gradually expanded into a more intricate and populous overarching narrative, with the final season depicting Noah's long-overdue reckoning with his past history of sexual misconduct. Mozhan Marnò joined the show on that season, with her three episodes airing just a few months after her final "Blacklist" appearances as a series regular. She played Petra, a Vanity Fair journalist who interviews Noah for an exposé.
Two years later, in 2021, Mozhan Marnò could once again be seen in a recurring capacity on a notable prestige drama series: Netflix's "Maid." She played Tara, the family lawyer of protagonist Alexandra "Alex" Russell (Margaret Qualley), who helps her take on her abusive ex-boyfriend Sean Boyd (Nick Robinson) in court and retain custody of their daughter Maddy (Rylea Nevaeh Whittet). This was followed up by an equally substantial role on another streaming miniseries, Hulu's "Pam & Tommy," which tells the story of the relationship between Pamela Anderson (Lily James) and Tommy Lee (Sebastian Stan). Marnò appeared on three of the series' eight episodes, playing Gail Chwatsky, a studio publicist in charge of PR for the Anderson-starring film "Barb Wire."