With the fourth season of Homeland being shot in Cape Town at the moment, production ends in December, it has been the buzzword on the entertainment scene. More so with the Hollywood TV giants soaking up the culture off set. For South African actors Meren Reddy and Zahir Bassa it holds special significance as they bagged support roles among a handful of other locals. Debashine Thangevelo got the lowdown on their experience.
Meren Reddy plays the role of Parvez on Homeland took him out of his comfort zone, but in a good way. He explains: My agent (he is with Owen S Management) got wind of auditions happening around April and sent through a whole bunch of head shots to Moonyeenn Lee. And, from what I understand, they picked out a couple of people they thought would be perfect for. It was a gruelling one-and-a-half-hour audition.
In the storyline, Parvez and Qadir (Bassa) are recruited by Peter Quinn (Rupert Friend) and Carrie Mathison (Claire Danes) in Islamabad.
We sort of help out on surveillance. And with all these missions that Carrie does, Quinn brings them in to help out, he shares.
On sharing the limelight with Durban-born Bassa, he praised: It was the first time we met and we became quick friends. Usually, you bond on set and afterwards it fizzles out. He was good. A bit nervous in the beginning and then he slipped right into it.
He was equally impressed with international actor Friend and his down-to-earth personality.
Reddy laughs: We were on these two nice shoots some three weeks ago. And there we were chatting about that. His profile has just blown up and he is more interested in the craft than the fame aspect; picking his roles carefully.
And Danes as well as Nazanin Boniadi (Fara Sherazi) left an indelible impression on him, too.
Given the context of the story - Reddy had to grow a beard - and due to continuity, his character ended up featuring in several episodes instead of one, which was the initial plan.
They shaped the beard and gave both of us middle path school boy haircuts. And there was a moment in episode five where we had to speak Urdu. So they brought in a vocal trainer and we spent two hours with her .
In the meantime, writing and producing has been monopolising Reddy's time. And he hinted that his production house is writing the next instalment of High Rollers, but on a bigger scale and as a daily drama .
ZAHIR BASSA - QADIR
HIS physical intensity lends heaps of authenticity to his role as a Pakistani intelligence hacker. The 28- year-old actor initially pursued a career as a chiropractor because it was a more practical and solid profession. But his overwhelming magnetism to the world of film-making saw him abandon his studies. Instead, he enrolled for a motion picture production course with Damelin.
Armed with the basics in camera operation, lighting, sound and editing, he ventured into the world as a photographer-cum-videographer as the founder of Ambassador Media.
That became the catalyst in him landing his TV break on Homeland.
He explains: I was contacted by Sasha Nirmul of Go Big Productions to do a screen test with an Arab accent.
He went through and used a comparable scene from Zero Dark Thirty as a guideline to also perform in front of South Africa's most renowned casting director - Lee.
Bassa recalls: She seemed very intimidating at first, but was very accommodating once I auditioned.
She said she could see potential in me. Those words were very comforting as the film industry has been a passion of mine since high school.
Not long thereafter, he was coached by Angela Val Verde, a Hollywood acting coach, to fine tune his performance and accents and the rest is history as we now know it to be.
He notes, with unmistakable humility: It was a moment of gratitude to the universe where it showed me that no one should ever give up on a dream no matter how unattainable it may seem.
On working with Hollywood's heavyweights, he offers: It was an honour to share scenes with Claire Danes, Rupert Friend as well as the talented Nazanin Boniadi.
He continues: The experience was out of this world. I always dreamt of working on a Hollywood set, but to be in the centre along with A-listers was more than a childhood dream come true. So far I appear in four episodes of Homeland, which tested my ability to adapt (to whatever was required).
His highlights aren't contained to being in front of the camera, though.
Bassa offers: The highlight of being in different episodes was to work with different directors: Lesli Linka Glatter, Michael Offer and Charlotte Sieling. I also had the honour of meeting and chatting with writer Meredith Stiehm (The Bridge, Cold Case) as well as co-executive producer Patrick Harbinson (Person of Interest and 24).
Having started his own online sardonic offering on YouTube called GlayingSA, Bassa also appeared in a short film for an Afdda student from Cape Town. And he wrote a director a seven-minute short film for the 48 Hour Film Project.
With his energy feeding his two passions: acting and filmmaking, Bassa favours one mantra: Whatever the mind can conceive and believe, it will achieve. These are the words that motivate me each day.
With one big dream realised, it's full steam ahead for this enthusiastic talent.
Homeland airs on M-Net (DStv channel 103) on Thursdays at 9.30pm.
http://www.iol.co.za
Most recent headlines
11/12/2025
Dalet, a leading provider of cloud-native, end-to-end media workflow solutions, ...
28/11/2025
Nadia Fall attends the 2025 Sundance Film Festival premiere of Brides at the Egyptian Theatre on January 24, 2025, in Park City, Utah. (Photo by Donyale West/...
28/11/2025
It's easy to ignore those little red update available badges. But when it ...
28/11/2025
WASHINGTON Federal Communications Commission has released a tentative agenda for the December Open Commission Meeting scheduled for Thursday, December 18, 2025 ...
28/11/2025
The Professional Fighters League is looking to super-serve fans of mixed martial...
28/11/2025
Fubo has released in beta on select Roku devices a new feature that lets users display up to four simultaneous streams at once....
28/11/2025
The WNBA playoffs and Week 4 of the NFL regular season highlight the list of live sports events airing on television this weekend....
28/11/2025
The 32nd class of honorees to the B+C Hall of Fame took to the stage at New York's Ziegfeld Ballroom on September 26 for a gala induction event. Click below...
28/11/2025
We hold in our hands the very last Next Text for Next TV, the weekly back-and-fo...
28/11/2025
DirecTV said it made a deal with EchoStar to buy EchoStar's video businesses, including satellite-TV provider Dish TV and virtual MVPD Sling TV, for $1 plus...
28/11/2025
The Broadcasting+Cable Hall of Fame, the premier industry event paying tribute to the influencers, innovators and shining lights of broadcast, cable and streami...
28/11/2025
Friday 28 November 2025
Sky Sports x Slawn drop limited-edition football jersey...
28/11/2025
Rohde & Schwarz shows resilience in a challenging environment, revenue exceeds t...
28/11/2025
Unwrapped: The Toy Show Appeal - airing this Sunday on RT One and RT Player- s...
27/11/2025
LONDON Vizrt has added several AI-driven advanced features offering improved speed, intelligence and accuracy in the newest version of its media asset managemen...
27/11/2025
Prime Video has launched AI-powered video season recaps in a beta version for select English-language Prime Original series in the U.S., a move Amazon is callin...
27/11/2025
Back to All News
Netflix's Raat Akeli Hai: The Bansal Murders Marks a Grand...
27/11/2025
27 Nov 2025
GSMA brings M360 Eurasia 2026 to Samarkand in partnership with VEON...
27/11/2025
Tahar Rahim and Izuka Hoyle star in the gripping six-part Sky Original from Acad...
27/11/2025
Thursday 27 November 2025
Sky Arts Reveals the Nation's Greatest Basslines - and Queen Reign Supreme
The UK's most iconic basslines have been revealed...
27/11/2025
Back to All News
Stranger Things 5': Prepare for One Last Adventure With O...
27/11/2025
The media industry has a paradox at its core. It's an industry built on light, color and imagination, yet behind the scenes, it's powered by one of the ...
27/11/2025
Rating reflects rating progress across areas including policies, diversity & inclusion, health & safety and Net Zero leadership
Winchester, UK, 27 November 202...
27/11/2025
What are the industry standards for Retail Media? Kathryn explains that certification is based on the IAB Europe Retail Media Measurement Standards and the IAB ...
27/11/2025
World champion boxer and Irish sporting icon Katie Taylor will be in studio this...
27/11/2025
Roblox, one of the world's most popular online gaming platforms for primary ...
27/11/2025
Black Friday is leveling up. Get ready to score one of the biggest deals of the season - 50% off the first three months of a new GeForce NOW Ultimate membership...
26/11/2025
SVG Sit-Down: Prime Video EP Mike Muriano Previews Massive Black Friday Slate Fe...
26/11/2025
A cinematic snow sculpture at the 1995 Sundance Film Festival. Photo by Randall Michelson...
26/11/2025
Book podcasts are booming. On Spotify, you'll find everything from celebrity book clubs to deep dives with bestselling authors. And in markets where audiobo...
26/11/2025
Mumbai, November 24, 2025: In a first-of-its-kind initiative, JioStar, in collab...
26/11/2025
LONDON Factual content producer ITN Productions has launched a new low-latency IP gallery for news bulletins....
26/11/2025
MIAMI TelevisaUnivision said it struck a new multiyear distribution agreement with YouTube TV that includes distribution of TelevisaUnivision's U.S. network...
26/11/2025
OpenDrives, Inc., a leader in software-defined data storage and data services, today announced the launch of the Atlas Corporate Creative Solution. This new Atl...
26/11/2025
Disguise, the industry-leading company powering the world's biggest live performances, is partnering with pioneering LED wall manufacturer DVS to give atten...
26/11/2025
HighField AI, the pioneer in agentic and multimodal automation for broadcast and media production, today announced the expansion of its global channel partner n...
26/11/2025
As high-stakes Premier League fixtures approach and additional premium content launches, with MONO positioning themselves to dominate Thailand's sports stre...
26/11/2025
Hosting a wide variety of events from high-intensity NHL games to complex live music concerts and major entertainment productions, Montreal's 21,000 capacit...
26/11/2025
Vizrt, the leader in live production technology revolutionizing viewer engagement and experience, releases AI-driven advances focusing on speed, intelligence, a...
26/11/2025
ITN Productions, an award-winning factual content producer, today launched a new low-latency IP gallery for news bulletins. Responsible for delivering a leading...
26/11/2025
Ikegami reports ongoing advances throughout 2025 in developing and delivering coordinated television production solutions that maximize quality, versatility and...
26/11/2025
Following the Nov. 21 blackout of NBCUniversal channels on Fubo, the two sides have traded barbs about their inability to reach a new carriage deal....
26/11/2025
LONDON As TV sports rights become increasingly important for both broadcasters and streamers, Ampere Analysis predicts global investment in the genre will surpa...
26/11/2025
LOS ANGELES Vubiquity said it has achieved the Amazon Web Services (AWS) Media & Entertainment Competency as part of the AWS Partner Network (APN). This designa...
26/11/2025
WASHINGTON The Federal Communications Commission's Enforcement Bureau said it has entered into a consent decree with Comcast calling for the cable company t...
26/11/2025
Berklee Named to the Hollywood Reporters Top Music Schools List The publication highlights the college's screen scoring program, industry partnerships, and ...
26/11/2025
Back to All News
Animated Series Love Through a Prism' Casts New Light on ...
26/11/2025
Back to All News
NALIP Unveils Fifth Cohort of Director Incubator
Social Impact
26 November 2025
United States
Link copied to clipboard
The National Assoc...
26/11/2025
YouView Achieves Greenly Gold Certification for SustainabilityNov 26, 2025
YouView is proud to announce a Gold Certification award from Greenly for our perform...
With the fourth season of Homeland being shot in Cape Town at the moment, production ends in December, it has been the buzzword on the entertainment scene. More so with the Hollywood TV giants soaking up the culture off set. For South African actors Meren Reddy and Zahir Bassa it holds special significance as they bagged support roles among a handful of other locals. Debashine Thangevelo got the lowdown on their experience. 
