Iranian ‘Paterson’ Actress Golshifteh Farahani Says She Could Lose a Role Because of the Travel Ban

“Paterson” actress Golshifteh Farahani was exiled from Iran after she appeared in Ridley’s Scott’s 2008 film “Body of Lies” and appeared on screen and on the red carpet without a veil. The actress then moved to Paris, and while she doesn’t carry an Iranian passport, Donald Trump’s new travel ban could affect her career and next role.

“I’m supposed to go to the US this Saturday for a movie, but I might not be able to go,” Farahani told The Hollywood Reporter. “The embassy is so busy. I’ve been trying to get an ESTA, but I can’t even get onto the website. I think some crazy things are happening.”

The actress didn’t reveal the project she was scheduled to appear in, but added that producers were already searching for her replacement in case she was unable to travel.

READ MORE: ‘The Salesman’ Director Asghar Farhadi Won’t Attend Oscars, Citing Muslim Ban

Farahani continued by expressing that the visa problems are “terrible,” and while her problems are logistical, she explained how many Iranian refugees aren’t able to return home.

“We can’t even go back there. We don’t even have the opportunity of living in our own country, but still we are being punished,” she expressed.

Questioning Trump’s order, she added that he should be bringing people together, not diving them. “I want to tell him that at this time in the world the only thing leaders should be doing is reuniting people instead of representing one nation or another as an enemy. It’s not going to work.”

Farahani will next star in “The Night Eats the World,” “The Song of Scorpions” and Disney’s “Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Men Tell No Tales,” out May 26.

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