Things certainly have changed for actor Navid Negahban, playing Homeland‘s most wanted man. He reveals that airports are now becoming a completely different limelight for his new found fame.

Navid Negahban, known for his recently recurring role in 24 as Jamot and many other hit American dramas, Navid is now more recognisably known as Abu Nazir, from the critically acclaimed Homeland. His character, Abu Nazir, is the man in charge of trying to convert Nicholas Brody (Damian Lewis) into an undercover operative after Brody was tortured for years in Afghanistan.

Navid recently said in an interview with The Daily Record in light of his new found recognition,

“Nobody walks up and says I think we went to high school, that’s for sure. After I finished the first season of Homeland, I went to Toronto to shoot a movie and, when I was ­coming back, I went by New York’s La Guardia airport. As I was going through customs, the agent locked eyes with me and I thought, ‘Oh no’. I had long hair, a beard, I was tired and very scruffy. Even I wouldn’t have trusted me. My passport says I am Iranian.”

And that wasn’t the first alarm that may have caused airport security to raise a few eyebrows. Navid also explained that he plays television’s most wanted man as Homeland‘s Abu Nazir. Navid said;

“Well, lately I’ve been playing the most wanted terrorist. The moment the word came out of my mouth, it woke everybody up. The customs official looks at me, and says, ‘I just saw the series finale. I love the show.’ Then he turns around to his colleagues and says, ‘Abu Nazir is here!'”

Things are definitely on the up for Navid Negahban having on from his previous roles, and with a CV like his, Homeland seems to be his biggest hit since his performances in 24, Lost, CSI: Miami and Law & Order.

To see Navid’s latest performances as Abu Nazir, be sure to check out Homeland on Showtime at 10PM ET/PT with tonight’s airing of the episode, “I’ll Fly Away”.