Set within the nasty world of arms dealers and drug traffickers, Extraction follows a
mercenary named Tyler Rake who's been tasked with recovering a kidnapped boy — a boy
who's unwittingly become the pawn in an ongoing battle between local drug lords.
Avengers: Endgame helmers Anthony and Joe Russo produced the high-octane flick from
a script written by Joe, and they even brought along one of their mightiest heroes, Chris
Hemsworth, to star.
Extraction also features a supporting cast that features some familiar faces.
Stranger Things fans will of course immediately recognize David Harbour's mug, but we're betting
many viewers will also be trying to place the face of the woman who portrays Rake's
handler, Nik.
That's Iranian-born actor Golshifteh Farahani.
Having played lead roles in critically acclaimed international movies like 2011's Chicken with
Plums and 2009's About Elly, she's steadily becoming a rising star in the world of film.
Here's why she looks so familiar.
Over the course of the last decade, horror movie lovers have been treated to no end of
films about undead, reanimated masses laying waste to humanity and running amok in a post-apocalyptic
landscape, so much so, that the zombie genre itself has become a bit stale in recent years.
But every now and again, a zombie flick turns up that takes a bold new approach to the subject
and breathes new life into the realm of z-fiction.
While Dominique Rocher's 2018 stunner The Night Eats the World didn't reinvent the zombie
genre, it brought a lot of fresh energy to the mix.
And although she wasn't in the film long, Golshifteh Farahani definitely made an impression.
Set in modern day Paris, the film follows the travails of Sam, who, after a night of
heavy partying, wakes to find the city overrun with flesh-eating ghouls and virtually no
sign of human life left.
With no other option, he barricades himself inside and tries to make a go of the apocalypse
solo.
Of course, surviving the end times on your own is far from easy, and Sam quickly begins
to spiral into a darkness he may not emerge from.
His fortunes seemingly change for the better with the unexpected arrival of Sarah, another
survivor.
Portrayed by Farahani, Sarah tries her best to make Sam see his situation in a different
light.
If you've seen the film, you'll recognize her immediately.
And if you haven't, well, it's definitely worth a watch.
In 2017, the actress set sail with Disney for Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Men Tell
No Tales.
Though the film was hardly a critical smash, for many viewers, Dead Men Tell No Tales proved
to be a welcome return to the spirit of the original Pirates of the Caribbean after a
handful of increasingly cluttered sequels.
That had much to do with the swaggering antics of Johnny Depp, who reprised his role of Captain
Jack Sparrow for the film.
The star-studded Dead Men Tell No Tales also saw the return of several original cast members
like Keira Knightley and Orlando Bloom, not to mention a bevy of impressive new faces
including Javier Bardem as the villainous Captain Salazar.
Among those new franchise faces was Farahani, who was all but unrecognizable sans hair and
covered in tattoos in the role of sea witch Shansa.
As it happens, she was also one of the most memorable new characters to a franchise that
thrives on unabashed silliness and epic spectacle.
2017 was a great year for Farahani, at least professionally.
In addition to working on Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Men Tell No Tales, that same year she
also appeared onscreen opposite Kevin Hart, Bryan Cranston, and Nicole Kidman in The Upside.
A heartwarming fish-out-of-water story about a down-on-his-luck single dad fresh out of
jail who becomes a caretaker for a wealthy quadriplegic, The Upside sees Hart and Cranston
bring some of their trademark charisma to life on the screen.
Even though they butt heads at the beginning, eventually they both teach each other to step
outside their comfort zones and live life to the fullest.
As the physical therapist Maggie, Farahani pops in throughout the movie for some truly
memorable scenes, playing the foil to Kevin Hart's larger-than-life antics and proving
yet again that she's perfectly at home with the biggest names in the business.
There are few names on the indie film scene that carry quite as much reverence as Jim
Jarmusch.
Since quietly emerging with 1984's free-wheeling dramedy Stranger Than Paradise, Jarmush has
applied his singular style to a dozen feature films, each of which has further established
him as an auteur whose work simply oozes cinematic cool.
Most recently, Jarmusch hit it off with the one and only Adam Driver in his 2016 drama
Paterson.
Set in Paterson, New Jersey, the film finds Driver playing a gifted poet whose day job
is driving a bus around the city.
Oh, and his name is also Paterson.
It's just that kind of movie.
The film touches on the theme of discovering uncommon beauty in the seemingly everyday
aspects of the world, which is reflected in the poetry Paterson writes throughout.
When Paterson isn't finding poetic inspiration in the world passing by his windshield, he
frequently finds it at home, where his impetuous wife Laura trips from one minor obsession
to the next.
Farahani played Laura, bringing a bright energy to the otherwise ponderous film.
Even as Golshifteh Farahani has featured in films large and small throughout her career,
it's likely that most American audiences had their first encounter with the actress when
she appeared in Ridley Scott's 2008 political thriller Body of Lies.
While Fahrani frequently stole the show from lead actor Leonardo DiCaprio, her character,
a nurse named Aisha, stole the heart of DiCaprio's character, CIA field officer Roger Ferris.
Set in the Middle East, Body of Lies also features a winning turn from Russell Crowe,
who plays DiCaprio's smooth-talking handler Ed Hoffman, and a pair of intriguing performances
from Mark Strong as intelligence chief Hani Salaam and Oscar Isaac as Ferris' CIA associate
Bassam.
What you may not know about Farahani's involvement in Body of Lies is that it didn't sit well
with government officials in her home country of Iran.
After appearing in the film, she was barred from leaving the country for six months as
punishment.
Once she was allowed to leave Iran, Farahani never returned.
Even as she continues to wow in thrillers like Extraction, she also continues to fight
for individuals' rights in Iran both on screen and off.
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