Glenn Close And Niv Sultan On Tehran Season 2: ‘It All Came Down To Trust’

The stars of Tehran Season 2 talk the return of Apple TV+'s Israeli thriller with the Pilot TV podcast.

Glenn Close And Niv Sultan On Tehran Season 2: ‘It All Came Down To Trust’

How do you level up your TV show for its second run? You add Glenn Close into the mix. Hit thriller Tehran is back with Season 2 on Apple TV+, bringing more tense tales of Mossad agents in Israel with returning star Niv Sultan – and joining her this time is none other than the legendary Close, playing British psychoanalyst Marjan Montazeri.

Sultan and Close sat down with the Pilot TV Podcast recently to discuss the return of Tehran – with Close discussing the challenge of speaking Farsi and the roles that have stayed with her over the years, and Sultan talking the bond she forged with her new co-star. Listen to the full interview on the podcast here, and read an edited transcript below.

PILOT TV: Niv, what was it like stepping back onto the set for Season 2, versus when you began the show last time?

Niv Sultan: I have to say, for me – I'm putting Glenn aside for a minute – it was the same experience, because I'm overthinking always, every scene I'm getting nervous about everything. I can't remember even one scene when I came on set, super easy-breezy. So the work is still happening, and we put a lot of effort in Season 2 and Season 1. But this time I had Glenn, so that was the huge difference.

Glenn, what was it like jumping on to this moving train?

Glenn Close: Well, I had been studying Farsi for two and a half months before I left to join the company. So the thing I was most nervous about when I first started was Farsi. The first scene we shot, I spoke most of my lines in Farsi, so I was grateful to have such a good teacher to begin with, and then to have people on the set. Because I really wanted to speak Farsi that would impress Farsi-speaking people. And then it was just a whole new world for me. The first time I put on the long coat and the burqa, I really felt what it's like to be in a culture where women have to cover themselves up – even though, you know, we're told that it's getting looser and looser as far as how much hair is shown and everything. I was very aware of that when I first put it on, "Oh, no, no, you have to wear this coat, and you have to have a scarf on when there are men around." It hit me that we were portraying a culture very, very different, obviously, from the one I come from. And I really liked that, it was a great learning experience.

The relationship between your characters is built on trust, but the business that they're in is very untrustworthy. How did you build that dynamic?

GC: It was beautifully written in the script, actually. It started on- I was very aware, as that character, that she had rank over me. She had come from Israel, she was a trained Mossad agent. I probably did some basic training, but I had years on her, and I had better knowledge of the country. But what I think was very well-written in the script was how our dynamic shifted, sometimes back and forth within even one episode. And I think we ended up having great respect for each other, and affection. It all came down to trust. There is that line that you see where I said, "My life depends on yours. And her life depends on mine. You have to trust."

Niv, how long did it take to go from, "Oh my god, it's Glenn Close!”, to, "Hey, it's time to do another scene with Glenn, my bestie”?

NS: It was never 'Another scene with Glenn', I have to tell you. Because every scene, she celebrates every moment. She celebrates things. I felt every cell in her body, her eyes, her face, everything is involved in the scene, in the dramatic moment. But from the very beginning, I was really nervous before our first meeting. But then she came and the first thing she did was, she hugged me. And then I could breathe. But in terms of acting together, it was never "Oh, another scene…" Everything was totally there from the beginning.

Glenn, you’ve played so many incredible characters in your career. Which one did you have the hardest time letting go of?

GC: Well, on stage it was Norma Desmond [in Sunset Boulevard]. On film, I guess it was Patty Hewes in Damages, because I'd lived with that character for five years. And thewriters are so brilliant, they didn't put me together with my father until the very last episode. And then I realised, as the actor, "Oh my god, she's the damaged one. She is damaged." You know, that's where it begins. So yeah, she haunted me for a while.

Niv, you’re two seasons into the story now. Do you have an ending in mind for your character? Have you discussed that with the writers?

NS: I don't have an ending. But I have some ideas, and I have to say we do have a very open relationship and open conversation, me and the writers and Danny the director. And that's an amazing thing, and it's truly a gift for an actor. But I won't tell you!

Tehran Season 2 is streaming weekly on Apple TV+, with new episodes dropping every Friday. Listen to new episodes of the Pilot TV Podcast every Monday.