Behzad Dabu has emerged from the Chicago theater scene and taken Hollywood by storm with his role as Simon Drake on ABC’s “How to Get Away With Murder.” Behzad chatted with us about his role on the hit series, his Chicago theater background and more.
How did you go about getting the role of Simon Drake on How To Get Away With Murder, and what specifically do you like about the character?
Behzad: Well I originated a role in a play called Disgraced in 2012 and I have been doing that play all over the country and in 2016 that play brought me to Los Angeles. The producer saw me in the play in Los Angeles and called me in for an audition and that’s how I got the role of Simon. What I like about the character of Simon is that I think for the first time in three years we get to see the perspective of a student outside of the Keating Five. We get to see what it’s like to see a student who is in the classroom and has been working hard in the classroom but just isn’t a part of the Keating Five.
What was it like working with Viola Davis and, what advice did she give you that you feel would be useful in your acting career?
Behzad: She’s amazing. She is so intense and lovely and sweet and also very talented. What I loved listening to her about is, she talked to me about the difference between theater and on camera acting. I always thought about it as different sizes, different levels, and she told me it’s not about different sizes but just about honesty. Her lessons have all been about honesty in acting and it’s really kind of stuck in my head about how to be honest on camera.
Tell us what it was like working with the other cast members?
Behzad: They’re lovely. They’ve always been really welcoming. They’re all hardworking and it’s really amazing to see them balance this like fandom this fame that they have this really intense like cult following for How To Get Away With Murder and the way they balance that also with their dedication to being a legitimate and real actor. They do a really good job of balancing that, and that’s what I appreciate about them.
What was your favorite scene to film?
Behzad: My favorite scene to film actually a lot of it got cut. But my favorite scene to film was the scene that took place in episode five it was in Simon drake’s apartment and Viola Davis comes in and kind of confronts me about the flyers . Actually when we shot that on set it was two or three pages long. So shooting that back and forth over and over again for several hours with Viola Davis was a dream come true. A lot of that scene didn’t make it to air time but it was a lot of fun to shoot.
Now you have garnered your own fandom from playing Simon, however there has been a lot of negative feedback about your character. How do you go about portraying your character without letting the negative response affect how you portray the character?
Behzad: It doesn’t influence my portrayal no. But the fact so many people are responding to the character negatively means that I am doing a good job. I mean he’s sort of set to be a foil for the Keating Five and he’s sort of there to give them some drama to work with. But I always think about Simon as misunderstood. So everybody that gets mad about the character Simon it’s just more confirmation that I’m doing a good job in the role.
What’s next for Simon Drake on How To Get Away With Murder?
Behzad: I don’t know. That’s what’s great about episodic network television is that every week we get the script not too long before you all see the show. The writers are writing week to week and to be honest I don’t know where Simon Drake is going.
Now with you having gone to theater school in Chicago, how has Chicago influenced your acting career?
Behzad: Chicago is without a doubt the best city in the country for theater. It is the theater capitol of the world I believe, Chicago and London and all of the new work and exciting work and new plays and directors right now are coming out of Chicago. So when you work in Chicago you know what it is to think on your feet and work quickly and get new pages from playwrights, and learn lines fast and that has really helped in the television world because in television sometimes you get a new script the morning of the day you are shooting and just like in Chicago a playwright might give you a new scene the day before an audience. So the quick thinking on your feet has been a great help for me in the television world.
Although you went to school in Chicago, you grew up in Syracuse. Can you speak about the contrast between your theater experience in Chicago with growing up in Syracuse?
Behzad: Well I grew up in Syracuse, but I went to Chicago when I was 17 years old. So really my formation as an actor has all been Chicago. I consider myself a Chicago actor. What Syracuse gave me is a loving family and supportive community that was really supportive of me being an actor and performer. My mom and dad are still in Syracuse and they’re really really just supportive of my career choice. I have fond memories of a supportive community in Syracruse and I have fond memories of an amazing Chicago theater scene. Now I’m building new memoires with this screen career in Los Angeles.
How did you become involved with the Chicago Inclusion Project?
Behzad: I’m a founding member of the Chicago Inclusion Project. The Chicago inclusion Project has a emphasis on creating a equal playing field and responding to controversies when it comes to people of color, women, the LGBTQ population and people with disabilities and for those groups we seek to strive to create a level playing field for them in the areas of music, theater and dance.
What kind of events does the Chicago Inclusion Project coming up that we should know about?
Behzad: the Chicago Inclusion Project has a reading series where we do readings of classic plays that cast diversely and cast with diversity in mind and then we invite the public at large to attend. There’s a series of readings coming and you can check those dates on the Chicago inclusion Projects’ website.
What else do you have coming up?
Behzad: Right now my theater company Timeline Theater Company has a few shows coming up that I helped work on. The next one coming up is a show in Chicago called A Disappearing Number and it’s a beautiful play that Timeline Theater Company is doing in Chicago (that’s my company), and that’s the next thing that I am working on. As far as me on screen hopefully more How to Get Away With Murder.c