Nick E. Tarabay
Nick E. Tarabay | |
|---|---|
 Tarabay at Florida SuperCon 2014 | |
| Born | Emad Tarabay (عماد تاراباي) 28 August 1975 |
| Occupation | Actor |
| Years active | 2000–present |
Nick Emad Tarabay (arabic: عماد تاراباي, born 28 August 1975) is a Lebanese actor. He is known for portraying Ashur in the Starz television series Spartacus and Cotyar in the science fiction television series The Expanse.
Early life
Tarabay was born in Beirut, Lebanon, to a large family. His parents reside in Lebanon, as does his younger brother and a large extended family of cousins, uncles and aunts.[1] He moved to New York after high school. As a clothing salesman, he worked for Hugo Boss and Gucci, while studying acting at the T. Schreiber Studio and appearing in Off-Off-Broadway plays. He moved to Los Angeles in 2004, where he studied under Larry Moss and appeared in their studio's staging of John Patrick Shanley's Danny and the Deep Blue Sea.
Career
Tarabay made his television debut as an extra in an episode of Sex and the City (2000). He got another minor role in The Sopranos (2001–2004), where he played the role of Matush, a drug dealer. He also played the role of The Captor in David Ellison's 2005 dramatic short film When All Else Fails.[2] As well he played a role in the 2008's television series Crash, in which he played the character Axel Finet, a hot-tempered police lieutenant.[3][4] He was not brought back for the second season.
Tarabay played a central supporting role in the Starz series Spartacus: Blood and Sand in the character of Ashur, a former gladiator who was injured and now is used as an agent and spy.[5] He also appears in the prequel miniseries Spartacus: Gods of the Arena with the same role prior to his injury, as well as the sequel to Blood and Sand, Spartacus: Vengeance.[6] Tarabay reprised his role in a starring turn in Spartacus: House of Ashur, which presents an alternate timeline during which Ashur was not killed on Mount Vesuvius. [7] In 2013, he appeared as Klingon patrol officer in J. J. Abrams' Star Trek Into Darkness.
Tarabay played a role in the seventh season of USA Network's Burn Notice as "Dexter Gamble."[8] Additionally, Tarabay portrays Reiken in the Brent Ryan Green film The Veil.[9] In 2014, he joined the cast of the CW series Arrow as supervillain Digger Harkness/Captain Boomerang.[10] Tarabay served as a recurring character in the fourth season of Person of Interest as "Devon Grice," an ISA operative. He joined the TV show The Expanse in its second season.[11] He played a delightful Russian 'security guard' in a Castle episode in February 2016. He voiced the role of Haluk in Bioware's 2019 video game Anthem. In October 2020 he was cast as the villain Eclipso in the second season of the CW television series Stargirl.[12]
Filmography
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2013 | Star Trek Into Darkness | Klingon | |
| 2015 | Death Valley | Roy Dillen | |
| 2017 | The Veil | Reiken | |
| 2018 | Pacific Rim: Uprising | Sonny | |
| 2022 | Wendell & Wild | Fawzi | Voice role |
| 2026 | The Odyssey † | TBA | Post-production |
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | Sex and the City | Dancer (uncredited) | Episode: "Where There's Smoke..." |
| 2001–2004 | The Sopranos | Matush | 3 episodes (credited as Emad Tarabay) |
| 2007 | CSI: Miami | Neil Massey | Episode: "Triple Threat" |
| The Unit | Fat Man / Man | 2 episodes | |
| Moonlight | Ralf Martan | Episode: "Sleeping Beauty" | |
| 2008–2009 | Crash | Axel Finet | Main role (season 1) |
| 2009 | Without a Trace | Bobby Elber | Episode: "Voir Dire" |
| NCIS | Haziq Khaleel | Episode: "Legend (Part II)" | |
| 2010–2012 | Spartacus: Blood and Sand | Ashur | Main role, 27 episodes |
| 2011 | Detroit 1-8-7 | Amir Sakhani | Episode: "Stone Cold" |
| 2012 | Common Law | Cooper Williams | Episode: "Odd Couples" |
| 2013 | Burn Notice | Dexter Gamble | 2 episodes |
| Major Crimes | Jason Goss | Episode: "Backfire" | |
| 2014 | Believe | Niko Zepada | 5 episodes |
| 2014, 2017 | Arrow | Digger Harkness / Captain Boomerang | 3 episodes |
| 2014–2015 | Person of Interest | Devon Grice | 3 episodes |
| 2015 | Longmire | Tyler Malone | 3 episodes |
| 2016 | Castle | Vasily Zhirov | Episode: "Dead Red" |
| 2017–2018 | The Expanse | Cotyar Ghazi | Recurring role (seasons 2–3), 15 episodes |
| 2018 | Taken | Boone | Episode: "Render" |
| 2020 | Motherland: Fort Salem | Witchfather | 3 episodes |
| 2021 | MacGyver | Tibor Babic | Episode: "Jack + Kinematics + Safe Cracker + MgKNO3 + GTO" |
| Stargirl | Eclipso | Main role (season 2)[12] | |
| 2022 | The Cleaning Lady | Julian Cortes | Episode: "Paradise Lost" |
| 2025 | Spartacus: House of Ashur | Ashur | Main role[13] |
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2019 | Anthem | Haluk | Voice role |
| Call of Duty: Modern Warfare | Jamal "The Butcher" Rahar | Voice role and motion capture | |
| 2021 | The Dark Pictures Anthology: House of Ashes | Salim Othman | Voice role |
References
- ^ Godbee, Kevin (22 January 2009). "Cigar Smoking Celebrity Interview - Nick Tarabay". Puff. Puff Enterprises. Archived from the original on 6 October 2017. Retrieved 30 August 2009.
- ^ "When All Else Fails (2005)". Internet Movie Database. Retrieved 15 February 2015.
- ^ Perry, Byron (18 June 2008). "D.B. Sweeney, Nick Tarabay". Variety. Retrieved 30 August 2009.
{{cite news}}: CS1 maint: deprecated archival service (link) - ^ "Crash". Starz Entertainment. Archived from the original on 15 October 2009. Retrieved 30 August 2009.
- ^ "Australian Andy Whitfield is 'Spartacus'". The Hollywood Reporter. 30 March 2009. Retrieved 30 August 2009.[dead link]
- ^ Goldberg, Lesley (7 November 2011). "Starz Renews 'Spartacus' for Third Season". The Hollywood Reporter.
- ^ Flook, Ray (14 July 2025). "STARZ's Spartacus: House of Ashur Is Bringing The Arena to SDCC 2025". Bleeding Cool. Archived from the original on 15 July 2025. Retrieved 15 July 2025.
- ^ "Burn Notice Episode Guide". USA Network.
- ^ "First Look At Actors William Moseley And Serinda Swan In 'The Veil'". Knowshi Magazine. 6 March 2014. Archived from the original on 5 February 2018. Retrieved 8 August 2014.
- ^ "'Arrow' Casts 'Flash' Villain 'Captain Boomerang'". Screenrant. 17 September 2014. Retrieved 17 September 2014.
- ^ KEVIN (26 April 2018). "Pop-Culturalist Chats with The Expanse's Nick E. Tarabay". Pop-Culturalist.com.
there is a certain freedom to play the "villain" because they're never bound by rules
- ^ a b Petski, Denise (26 October 2020). "'Stargirl' Casts Nick Tarabay & Jonathan Cake As Eclipso & The Shade, Adds Ysa Penarejo As Recurring". Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved 26 October 2020.
- ^ Flook, Ray (14 July 2025). "STARZ's Spartacus: House of Ashur Is Bringing The Arena to SDCC 2025". Bleeding Cool. Archived from the original on 15 July 2025. Retrieved 15 July 2025.
External links
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