Blowing up

Maz Jobrani knows better than anyone that heroes come in all colors. Launching his acting career by playing Batman in the Redwood High School rendition of Batman: The Musical, the Tehran born Iranian-American teen would spend a significant portion of his professional life fighting to be the good guy once again.

“My ethnicity didn’t faze me until I got to Hollywood, where they were like, ‘Hold this gun, take these people hostage,’?” says Jobrani. “I don’t know how many terrorists there are in the world, but I’m guessing it’s .000001 percent of the Muslim and Middle Eastern population. But in nine out of 10 films, those are the roles we’re playing.”

Two decades later, Jobrani, 36, embraces the challenge of breaking stereotypes by daring Hollywood to relegate him to terrorist parts in his stand-up act, coming to Lakeshore Theater Saturday. The dare may come as a bit of a surprise to those who recognize Jobrani’s face. Aside from his recent work on the Axis of Evil tour—an international stand-up tour Jobrani headlined with Palestinian-American comic Aron Kader and Egyptian-American artist Ahmed Ahmed—Jobrani is best known for playing the very thing he fights against.

“When I was first getting started, I was offered a part as an Afghan terrorist in a Chuck Norris movie [the 2002 made-for-TV The President’s Man: A Line in the Sand], and I took it thinking that it would help me quit my day job,” Jobrani says. “I felt awful playing that part.”

So he quit playing those roles, for a while. After landing a breakout part as Moly in the Ice Cube film Friday After Next (Jobrani still gets recognized for it six years later), he was offered a recurring role on the second season of 24 as a terrorist Jack Bauer seeks to destroy. Even though his character, “the ambivalent terrorist” who switches sides halfway through the mission, had more emotional depth than the usual Middle Eastern villain, Jobrani still felt his work promoted hostile attitudes toward the Muslim community.

“After that role I was like, You know what, I’m done with this,” Jobrani says. “When I was asked to audition for United 93, I asked my agent if there were any good-guy parts. He said, ‘Yeah, but they’re all just white guys,’ and I told him forget it.”

From 2002 to 2006, Jobrani focused on landing “regular guy” parts and sharpening his stand-up, a laid-back routine that pokes fun at his heritage. “Iranians now just say we’re Persian. It sounds nicer. I’m Persian like a rug.”

When Lisa Shore, owner of the Comedy Store in Los Angeles, started forming a Middle Eastern comics showcase, Jobrani joined and toured with Arabian Nights, a group that later became the Axis of Evil.

“I didn’t realize how big it was until we got this letter from the king of Jordan [Abdallah II], thanking us for what we were doing,” Jobrani says.

This year, Jobrani completed a series of YouTube shorts addressing Middle Eastern stereotypes for Queen Rania of Jordan and played Dr. Bhamba on the ABC comedy Better Off Ted.

“I think that one of the jobs of a comedian is to expose hypocrisy, and if I can do that and make people laugh, I’m happy,” Jobrani says. “I have a social and political conscience, but in the end, I want everyone to laugh together.”

Maz Jobrani gives stereotypes the Chuck Norris treatment Saturday 14 at 7 and 9:30pm at Lakeshore Theater.

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