Sam Asghari
Appearances
The Viall Files
E883 Going Deeper with Sam Asghari: Moving on From Britney Spears
I think it's 80 million to 88 million people, but they're sort of diverse, kind of like America where you got, you know, Kurds and Turks and, you know, people from the South there, people from the North and people from my capital city, which was Tehran. It's very diverse. So you have to make sure there's a perfect democracy put in place, whatever the case, that's going to work.
The Viall Files
E883 Going Deeper with Sam Asghari: Moving on From Britney Spears
But unfortunately, when you take out those dictators, there's always someone that's worse that takes place. So I hope so one day.
The Viall Files
E883 Going Deeper with Sam Asghari: Moving on From Britney Spears
You know what? I think now if you go back because of the new generation, if there's a morale police that goes up to a girl, I've seen videos, goes up to a girl, says something, there's a bunch of other people come in and get involved and make sure that doesn't happen. People have each other's back.
The Viall Files
E883 Going Deeper with Sam Asghari: Moving on From Britney Spears
But yeah, of course, I mean, half of the people are happy with the government, half are not, majority are not. So it's tough. It's tough. But it's a blessing. Like I said, it's a blessing to sort of have that. And it makes me very upset sometimes when I go to Dubai and Saudi Arabia and they do it. And these people, they do it amazing. And
The Viall Files
E883 Going Deeper with Sam Asghari: Moving on From Britney Spears
What Iran had in the 70s, they were much further than Saudi Arabia and Dubai. And what they have now, they're back by 50 years. Yeah, that's sad.
The Viall Files
E883 Going Deeper with Sam Asghari: Moving on From Britney Spears
So in high school, half of my time I was spending in the theater program. And we had a great theater program at Westlake High School in California here. And we had a really good football program. So I was going from hanging out with the jocks to hanging out with the drama kids.
The Viall Files
E883 Going Deeper with Sam Asghari: Moving on From Britney Spears
Nothing wrong with the drama kids, but there's something about when you're creative and you're an artist, it makes you different and you do things different. So I was doing that. I was doing both. And when football was no longer an option for me, I had to, you know, some sort of part ways from it and part ways from the size that you have when you're playing football. You're a little bit bigger.
The Viall Files
E883 Going Deeper with Sam Asghari: Moving on From Britney Spears
You don't really care about physique and the way you look. You care about performance. What positions you play? I played, uh, when I stopped, I played tight end, but in, in high school I was a D lineman. Okay. So I was, you know, already 300 pounds. It was much bigger. You can't get into the entertainment when you're 300 pounds, uh, the way I wanted to. I mean, sure.
The Viall Files
E883 Going Deeper with Sam Asghari: Moving on From Britney Spears
Especially in L.A. Yeah. Especially in LA, you can't do that. But where I grew up, it was, you know, if you misbehave, somebody's there to make sure you're- Like even a stranger. Yeah. So, you know, there's no bullying. Wow. That's crazy. You guys want to wear the headphones? You want to wear them?
The Viall Files
E883 Going Deeper with Sam Asghari: Moving on From Britney Spears
You can be a comedian and there's a lot, a lot of other stuff around it, or you can take Ozempic. That's a new thing. But you're like, I got this space, you know, like I got a. Well, you don't know you got some sort of a face until you lose it because then, you know, the puff goes away and everything goes away.
The Viall Files
E883 Going Deeper with Sam Asghari: Moving on From Britney Spears
So I had that, you know, I had that going naturally and I was paying attention to what I was eating and exercising and so on and everything. My sister and one of my friends really was like, oh, you should get into modeling. I was like, okay, I don't want to model because I'm not a model. I didn't grow up with people throwing compliments of the way you look and things like that.
The Viall Files
E883 Going Deeper with Sam Asghari: Moving on From Britney Spears
But I do genuinely love acting and I want to get into acting and maybe I'll go in to get an agent and start doing commercial acting.
The Viall Files
E883 Going Deeper with Sam Asghari: Moving on From Britney Spears
um and that's what i did i got into commercial acting and after that that went really well and after that i want to get to tv and film and we did a um with the same commercial agent uh i did a music video audition one time it was for fifth harmony group with uh you know i don't know if you've seen that one it's it's called work from home it was some sort of It's a good song. It's a catchy song.
The Viall Files
E883 Going Deeper with Sam Asghari: Moving on From Britney Spears
But, you know, they had us dress in construction clothes and you got jackhammered.
The Viall Files
E883 Going Deeper with Sam Asghari: Moving on From Britney Spears
Yeah, jackhammering. It was a cool one. And I think that was one of the times where I already had a social media, but pop culture is crazy because they love, it's just like the biggest thing in the world. And they did, Cosmopolitan ran an article on that music video and they were introducing all the people that were on it.
The Viall Files
E883 Going Deeper with Sam Asghari: Moving on From Britney Spears
And I think that was my first time of getting some sort of, uh, you know, a taste of pop culture and a little notoriety.
The Viall Files
E883 Going Deeper with Sam Asghari: Moving on From Britney Spears
So what happened was at the time, uh, you know, music videos are great, but MTV is no longer around.
The Viall Files
E883 Going Deeper with Sam Asghari: Moving on From Britney Spears
Yeah. People are not watching them unless, you know, it goes viral and people love it and whatever the case may be. Time's a difference. So, And I'm no longer going to be at that level. There's nothing wrong with commercial acting. There's nothing wrong with soap opera acting and that stuff and music videos.
The Viall Files
E883 Going Deeper with Sam Asghari: Moving on From Britney Spears
But there's a respect that the TV and film side, they don't really have for that acting part, even though you might make more money on the commercial side. So I wanted to really get into that. My passion was to do TV and film. And, uh, so we said, let's no longer do a music video. Let's no longer do any commercial, put a stop to that so I can go to the next level.
The Viall Files
E883 Going Deeper with Sam Asghari: Moving on From Britney Spears
And one day, one of, uh, my agents, I think it was some sort of a print agent I had at the time they reached out and they said, Oh, there's a music video for the, for, for you. And I said, Oh, immediately. No. And then they're like, okay, good. And then they went away and then they came back another day and then they asked again. And then I was like, I don't think so.
The Viall Files
E883 Going Deeper with Sam Asghari: Moving on From Britney Spears
And they weren't giving any details or anything like that. And then a friend of mine, a mentor that does makeup and hair, has done it for many years in Hollywood, called me and said, oh, just so you know, somebody might reach out to do a music video. I'm working on a music video. And my friend is a good director, Colin Tilley. He does a lot of great music videos and he does feature films now.
The Viall Files
E883 Going Deeper with Sam Asghari: Moving on From Britney Spears
And he's, he's really respected in that world. And he said, you know, my friend's doing it. I'm doing it. Just come do it. Who cares? And I said, okay, cool. I'll tell my agent. Yes. And so I told them I'm available. Then they revealed like who the music video was for and whatever it is, is Britney Spears, uh, you know, with, uh, Tinashe and it's called slumber party.
The Viall Files
E883 Going Deeper with Sam Asghari: Moving on From Britney Spears
Anyway, uh, I go into this house in Beverly Hills on cold water and we start, you know, it was a two day shoot and it was really beautiful set and it was really fun. It was really great. Except the food that they gave me or whoever the production was had warm in it. The salmon had warmed in it. So I couldn't, I couldn't eat. Oh, it was, it was crazy. So a worm was crawling outside the salmon.
The Viall Files
E883 Going Deeper with Sam Asghari: Moving on From Britney Spears
I wanted to eat it, toughen up and eat it, but I didn't eat it. No, yeah, yeah, yeah. No, I didn't eat it.
The Viall Files
E883 Going Deeper with Sam Asghari: Moving on From Britney Spears
I was eating it. I was eating it, then I saw it. But, you know, that stuff doesn't... You survived. I just put it away. Craft services, you know. Yeah, whoever that craft services was was... I don't know. I'm not the type of person to tell on you or whatever the case is. It might be a mistake.
The Viall Files
E883 Going Deeper with Sam Asghari: Moving on From Britney Spears
I just put it away, didn't tell anybody. I don't want to freak anybody out. But that happened and it was a really good time.
The Viall Files
E883 Going Deeper with Sam Asghari: Moving on From Britney Spears
So in the music video is a very... I don't know how to explain it. It's some sort of a masquerade party type of theme. It's a slumber party, but there's a lot of different people on it. And some of her dancers, they're amazing people, by the way. I think this was one of her dancers. His name is Willie Gomez. And he had some sort of a thunder type of mark on his eye. Like a scar? Yeah.
The Viall Files
E883 Going Deeper with Sam Asghari: Moving on From Britney Spears
Like a tundra mark, like an emoji of a tundra or something like that. But it was in between a scar and some sort of a drawing. And so I was the leading man where, you know, there's a big, the first scene was a big long table. And I'm in a suit sitting down with that because I wanted to get that. I saw her dance. I was like, just give me that too, because you know, why not?
The Viall Files
E883 Going Deeper with Sam Asghari: Moving on From Britney Spears
And it's, she's crawling like a cat and she's licking milk from the glass that I spilled or something like that. It's really interesting.
The Viall Files
E883 Going Deeper with Sam Asghari: Moving on From Britney Spears
yeah whatever but it's a music video you know yeah it's an easy video everyone's weird everyone's yeah no it all makes sense in a music video once it all comes together it all makes sense no you know it's shot really well it's dark themed it's there's a lot of um costumes and a lot of dancing there's a lot of things that go into it and
The Viall Files
E883 Going Deeper with Sam Asghari: Moving on From Britney Spears
And by the way, I think it's weird for TV and film not to have respect for music video or commercial because they're doing this thing in two days. So if you pick up anybody from production, anybody that's worked in music video, they will get the work done much faster than the TV people. Shout out to the TV people, but I'm just saying, I think they deserve some more respect as well.
The Viall Files
E883 Going Deeper with Sam Asghari: Moving on From Britney Spears
They're efficient. You know, you got a budget, you got time, you got people. Everybody works hard.
The Viall Files
E883 Going Deeper with Sam Asghari: Moving on From Britney Spears
I love it. Bad Bunny. I love Bad Bunny.
The Viall Files
E883 Going Deeper with Sam Asghari: Moving on From Britney Spears
So long story short, it happened very naturally. And there's something about work that is going to sound cliche and it's going to sound like I'm saying this, but really, truly, I want to be a professional because- In my life, in my personal life, I'm messy and, you know, I have to work really hard to be on time. I am on time. Not today. You're back.
The Viall Files
E883 Going Deeper with Sam Asghari: Moving on From Britney Spears
I think so. I think so. You know, it's sort of a thing that you have to deal with. I think just being in the public eye, there's a perception of you, even when people do know you.
The Viall Files
E883 Going Deeper with Sam Asghari: Moving on From Britney Spears
You know, but when it comes to professional job, I'd like to be as professional as possible and, you know, be there and be excited, be on time and not really do any of that or not to try to make anything out of it. And I'm not a... Even though I was in a music video already and I'm not really too...
The Viall Files
E883 Going Deeper with Sam Asghari: Moving on From Britney Spears
familiar with her songs or i know she's a icon well i'm familiar now very familiar i was going to ask you because you grew up in iran yeah i'm guessing there wasn't a lot of pop culture i'm going to tell you something about fame when it comes to fame pop culture you know bad bunny uh for example
The Viall Files
E883 Going Deeper with Sam Asghari: Moving on From Britney Spears
International pop culture, and then also there's a thing that says Michael Jackson, Madonna, and Britney Spears. Michael Jackson is the king of pop, Madonna is the queen of pop, and Britney Spears is the princess of pop, period. I wasn't aware, right? I'm not aware of that because the music I listen to is 50 Cent.
The Viall Files
E883 Going Deeper with Sam Asghari: Moving on From Britney Spears
And Eminem and, you know, all these things and, and, and very trying to be very manly and not really pink and Barbie and, and, and pop culture like that.
The Viall Files
E883 Going Deeper with Sam Asghari: Moving on From Britney Spears
I was familiar, but I never, I didn't know any of the songs. If you put it on, I couldn't tell you different. So I wasn't, it was, it wasn't anything like that. We kind of spoke and everything went naturally. And in between, you know, uh, set, everything was moving fast, but it's two days. So in between things, uh, we kind of had a conversation of, well, have you had, you know, sushi?
The Viall Files
E883 Going Deeper with Sam Asghari: Moving on From Britney Spears
I was like, oh yeah, believe it or not. I had sushi. And matter of fact, I had one with the warm in it about two hours ago. And, you know, we kind of hit it off and we were talking and everything was normal. And she mentioned, let's grab sushi sometime. And I said, okay, cool.
The Viall Files
E883 Going Deeper with Sam Asghari: Moving on From Britney Spears
things about you uh there's still your selfness that nobody really gets to know yeah and even with some of these reality people that you think that's their personality there's still someone out there that they just that's who they are and you put up this mask to go out and sort of
The Viall Files
E883 Going Deeper with Sam Asghari: Moving on From Britney Spears
And then when music video was done on the second day, one of her assistants came up to me and is like, oh, a special goodbye. She's not here. So just give me your number and then I'll have her reach out. So she had me write my number on a piece of paper. And then I think a few weeks later, she texted me and said, let's go grab sushi.
The Viall Files
E883 Going Deeper with Sam Asghari: Moving on From Britney Spears
No, no. The reason why is because I was just focused on, in this industry, you have to forget, you have to have short-term memory. I built that up with sports. When you mess up in a sport, when you throw an interception and you're the quarterback, it has to go out of your mind. It's short-term memory, it's called. If you keep it up, then you're going to keep messing up.
The Viall Files
E883 Going Deeper with Sam Asghari: Moving on From Britney Spears
And when you audition or you go into a job or you go do something, you can't keep your hopes up. You have to do the best thing possible, then forget about it onto the next. So that way, if I keep my hopes up every single audition, I'm going to get disencouraged and I'm going to give up back. But she was asking you to sushi. You know, but like I said, for me, it was... You didn't really know it.
The Viall Files
E883 Going Deeper with Sam Asghari: Moving on From Britney Spears
Sushi was great. You know, I, I sort of, um, okay. I'm not too nervous about super mega stars texting me to go to sushi. I'm more nervous about if I picked the right restaurant.
The Viall Files
E883 Going Deeper with Sam Asghari: Moving on From Britney Spears
Well, you know, I still have to be the man, of
The Viall Files
E883 Going Deeper with Sam Asghari: Moving on From Britney Spears
No, I have to pick the restaurant because I, you know, it still has to be some sort of a traditional ways to it. Okay.
The Viall Files
E883 Going Deeper with Sam Asghari: Moving on From Britney Spears
So I, I was nervous about picking the right type of restaurant. And do you remember where you picked?
The Viall Files
E883 Going Deeper with Sam Asghari: Moving on From Britney Spears
Uh, I picked Koi on La Cienega, you know, that Koi restaurant. It was really good. And we went there, we ordered a few things and it was very brief. It was about like maybe half an hour. And It was, it was great. It was really cool. And we were talking and I got to know her a little bit and she was super sweet and everything was perfect. And then after that, I think we went to a movie.
The Viall Files
E883 Going Deeper with Sam Asghari: Moving on From Britney Spears
We kept seeing each other for a very long time and, uh, very traditional. Then, uh, she invited me to her Vegas residency and that's when I went and that's when I started seeing what an amazing performer she was. And I started putting two and two together and I was like, okay, I'm
The Viall Files
E883 Going Deeper with Sam Asghari: Moving on From Britney Spears
If you need to be an absolute hard worker and you need to be obsessed about your work and you need to be absolute genius in order to be a superstar. And there's a reason why people are superstars. And there's a reason it's not by accident. So that's when it was. But things went naturally and I was handling that really well.
The Viall Files
E883 Going Deeper with Sam Asghari: Moving on From Britney Spears
Even if you're not in Hollywood and you're not in the industry, but you still have to wear a mask of this positive person or whatever, but you might be struggling deep down. So everybody's dealing with that. But I think when it comes to being in the public eye and being in the industry, it's even worse because people put presumptions based on your past.
The Viall Files
E883 Going Deeper with Sam Asghari: Moving on From Britney Spears
You know, my friend, that was the reason I did the music video because I remember when I was in the music video, he's like, oh, I think you're going to start dating, you know, dating her. I was like, okay, that's cool, whatever. So I was like, oh, what you said came true. I was like, oh, I know. I've seen it in my dreams. I was like, that's weird. Oh, my God.
The Viall Files
E883 Going Deeper with Sam Asghari: Moving on From Britney Spears
Were you like her type or something? I hope so. I hope so. But right place, right time, meant to be. It's life, man.
The Viall Files
E883 Going Deeper with Sam Asghari: Moving on From Britney Spears
So what drew me the most is the perception, like you say. And you say, you know, people know you for something and people know who you are based on your work and things like that. What I saw was a sweet, beautiful woman. And I think America fell in love with her because she was America's sweetheart. And that's what I saw. I truly saw that. And I didn't know the music. I was really fresh into it.
The Viall Files
E883 Going Deeper with Sam Asghari: Moving on From Britney Spears
I love that because when you don't know anything about the person, and you don't know what's happening, then when you get to really know them and you're the only few people that really actually know this person.
The Viall Files
E883 Going Deeper with Sam Asghari: Moving on From Britney Spears
Yeah, exactly. You don't know, especially with, was it a reality show you were on? Yeah, I was The Bachelor. Okay. So he's a bad... I don't know anything about reality. Still, to this day, I'm absolutely clueless. But I know they can edit you to look completely different. I know perception is different. I know the media wants somebody to be the bad guy or somebody to be the good guy.
The Viall Files
E883 Going Deeper with Sam Asghari: Moving on From Britney Spears
So I think perception is wrong. And I think who really gets to know you is someone that gets to see you. And then when... That's what really drew me into her was I saw the exact reason why America fell in love with her and the reason why she was America's sweetheart. And I've always said, I think when you go to England, you got the royal family.
The Viall Files
E883 Going Deeper with Sam Asghari: Moving on From Britney Spears
For America, royalty is our princess of pop, king of pop, and queen of pop.
The Viall Files
E883 Going Deeper with Sam Asghari: Moving on From Britney Spears
And that's why her fans are super protective of her.
The Viall Files
E883 Going Deeper with Sam Asghari: Moving on From Britney Spears
based on the people that you are involved with and they kind of sort of make assumptions and that's what it is.
The Viall Files
E883 Going Deeper with Sam Asghari: Moving on From Britney Spears
Thank you. Thank you.
The Viall Files
E883 Going Deeper with Sam Asghari: Moving on From Britney Spears
Thank you. Thank you. Thank you.
The Viall Files
E883 Going Deeper with Sam Asghari: Moving on From Britney Spears
Thank you. Thank you.
The Viall Files
E883 Going Deeper with Sam Asghari: Moving on From Britney Spears
Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. That's sad.
The Viall Files
E883 Going Deeper with Sam Asghari: Moving on From Britney Spears
Yeah, absolutely, man. It's really good to do this. Podcasts are always amazing because, you know, you're talking and there's no clickbaits and there's no, you know, let's take this and put it next to this and then make it something else. Yeah.
The Viall Files
E883 Going Deeper with Sam Asghari: Moving on From Britney Spears
You know what? I don't think I had a relationship with him. I had a relationship with her and I wanted him to know that. So I was like, I'm dating her, not you. But that's about it. I mean, I will always have my respect for everybody and I will always stay respectful. And I always try to understand what really happens and why and how I could help in both sides and how I could just protect someone.
The Viall Files
E883 Going Deeper with Sam Asghari: Moving on From Britney Spears
as well. So my relationship is always respectful, even though I didn't agree with some of the stuff or anything really, but I always try to stay respectful.
The Viall Files
E883 Going Deeper with Sam Asghari: Moving on From Britney Spears
I think it's, you know, when you have... That's the toughest part is that and then you also have media, which I... By the way, it doesn't bother me, but it does at the same time.
The Viall Files
E883 Going Deeper with Sam Asghari: Moving on From Britney Spears
You're only human.
The Viall Files
E883 Going Deeper with Sam Asghari: Moving on From Britney Spears
I think, I think it's that. I think it's the upbringing and the experience and everything's a beautiful experience. Even if you are going through something tough and difficult, it's always, it makes you a better person. Yeah. It teaches you so much stuff. So grateful for all the experiences that I had Growing up, I had as an adult and, you know, I had in Hollywood and I had with her.
The Viall Files
E883 Going Deeper with Sam Asghari: Moving on From Britney Spears
I always say, even though it's over now, I'm never sad that it's over. I'm grateful it even happened. Did your sisters know about her when you got together? Yeah, of course.
The Viall Files
E883 Going Deeper with Sam Asghari: Moving on From Britney Spears
I don't remember if they were too excited, but they've always been on my team, no matter what. They were always, the excitement was always the same amount as I was doing something that had nothing to do with, you know, something that was going to be public and, Because people freak out when things go on TMZ, they think it's this, or when things go on, people, they think it's like this big deal.
The Viall Files
E883 Going Deeper with Sam Asghari: Moving on From Britney Spears
It's not really, but people think you're alien or something. My family didn't have that. And that's how I knew that, you know, that's, that I have a solid base, which is very uncommon. And it's not fair because if those people hurt you, they're the most closest to you. Yeah. And you're going to let them because, you know, you're vulnerable to them. Yeah. But no, they weren't too excited.
The Viall Files
E883 Going Deeper with Sam Asghari: Moving on From Britney Spears
I mean, they, you know, of course they knew who she was and they were a fan of hers. I think any, anybody at that age is coming up. They, at some point they dressed up in the same outfits and, They had posters and things like that. Yeah. So, you know, it's normal.
The Viall Files
E883 Going Deeper with Sam Asghari: Moving on From Britney Spears
And that's why I felt weird not talking about it, you know, and being so restricted to talk about it because it was a sensitive subject or whatever the case may be. But it's my life for seven years. So, you know, it'll be super weird if I didn't.
The Viall Files
E883 Going Deeper with Sam Asghari: Moving on From Britney Spears
We had a lot of fun, man. I mean, it's a seven year long relationship. We watched a TV shows. Uh, we had a lot of pets.
The Viall Files
E883 Going Deeper with Sam Asghari: Moving on From Britney Spears
Friends. Friends was something that we watched all the time and a lot of cartoons because I genuinely like cartoons. I think they teach us a lot of things. There was a movie we watched one time that was really sad, and I remember it to this day. It was Purpose of a Dog. Have you not seen that? Dog's Purpose or something? Dog's Purpose? Dog's Purpose. Google it.
The Viall Files
E883 Going Deeper with Sam Asghari: Moving on From Britney Spears
It's the saddest movie in the world. Yeah.
The Viall Files
E883 Going Deeper with Sam Asghari: Moving on From Britney Spears
A Dog's Purpose. Dog's Purpose or something like that. Yeah.
The Viall Files
E883 Going Deeper with Sam Asghari: Moving on From Britney Spears
Yeah, it's so sad. God, with a golden retriever. Beautiful, yeah. What a headshot. Watch it. You will not last.
The Viall Files
E883 Going Deeper with Sam Asghari: Moving on From Britney Spears
fears insecurities and things like that so it's always fun to sit down and actually get to know people when we get to when we get to talk to them i think that's great because you know doing interviews with anybody i don't want to name names because i love all the media stuff i think they do a great job and i think it's weird when celebrities do complain about media
The Viall Files
E883 Going Deeper with Sam Asghari: Moving on From Britney Spears
So you remember watching that and just- I remember watching that and it was a sad movie, but a lot of that, a lot of cooking, a lot of exercising, a lot of hiking. Who's more of the cook? Uh, I think me. Yeah.
The Viall Files
E883 Going Deeper with Sam Asghari: Moving on From Britney Spears
I like to cook. You know, I grew up, I had a job as a chef and they taught me a lot of New Orleans cuisines and, and Italian cuisine. It was a catering job. So I learned, I got to learn how to roll sushi. So I like to, you know, I like to cook. You still do a lot of cooking?
The Viall Files
E883 Going Deeper with Sam Asghari: Moving on From Britney Spears
My favorite thing is basically what I like to do is take a food that's already made and make it gourmet. I think that's really interesting.
The Viall Files
E883 Going Deeper with Sam Asghari: Moving on From Britney Spears
I don't make it. Not like that. Not like that. But I'm talking about like, let's say if something's already pre-made and you add a few things in it and you make it gourmet. But I think my favorite food to make not to eat is Italian food. Persian food is very, very good for me to eat not to make because it takes a lot of patience.
The Viall Files
E883 Going Deeper with Sam Asghari: Moving on From Britney Spears
A lot of steaks. I did steaks really good. How do you cook your steak? Anywhere between medium to medium rare.
The Viall Files
E883 Going Deeper with Sam Asghari: Moving on From Britney Spears
How do I prep it? I like to just season it with Montreal seasoning and make sure the seasoning is basically inside and grill it on the green egg. On the green egg. And then once the blood comes to the top, You flip it and on the other side, this is well done. This is, I don't know. No, no, I'm sorry. This is medium or this is rare. This is medium rare. That's well, and then this is well done.
The Viall Files
E883 Going Deeper with Sam Asghari: Moving on From Britney Spears
Yeah, it'll feel like this.
The Viall Files
E883 Going Deeper with Sam Asghari: Moving on From Britney Spears
Other than moving. The hardest thing, I don't know. You're asking someone that, if I get in a, knock on wood, if I get into an accident.
The Viall Files
E883 Going Deeper with Sam Asghari: Moving on From Britney Spears
I don't know. It's just so weird for me. I'm not going to, I'm not really, I never really see any bad moments in, I just think it's a waste of time to stress and it's a waste of time because when there's nothing you can do about it, there's nothing you can do about it. What am I going to do? I'm not going to dwell on the fact that this happened or that happened.
The Viall Files
E883 Going Deeper with Sam Asghari: Moving on From Britney Spears
I just know we live a short life and nothing matters at the end. And we're just all going to, sort of, hopefully, not soon, but sort of pass on and it's somebody else's turn.
The Viall Files
E883 Going Deeper with Sam Asghari: Moving on From Britney Spears
You know, when it comes to breakups, splits, divorce, it sucks. Everybody, no matter what the point is, it sucks. But when it comes to, like I said, back to the gag order, and you can't take a poop in Hollywood without having an NDA. So that's the true part of it. Yes, but also put that away, put that to a side.
The Viall Files
E883 Going Deeper with Sam Asghari: Moving on From Britney Spears
Because that's media gives you some sort of a platform, but they do like to, you know, focus on specific things and you go into an interview and nobody really gets to know you. Your personality doesn't even show up besides one thing you said that they think might make people click on it. So that's the difference.
The Viall Files
E883 Going Deeper with Sam Asghari: Moving on From Britney Spears
I have three sisters, I have a family, and I always hated the fact that somebody goes and talks about this and cries and tries to get attention or use that as leverage. It's my life. I lived it. I experienced it. But I think certain things you talk about in public and certain things you don't. And I think it doesn't matter what the cause was.
The Viall Files
E883 Going Deeper with Sam Asghari: Moving on From Britney Spears
I think what matters the most is the time that we spent together, the things that we've learned. And that was a big part of my life and her life as well.
The Viall Files
E883 Going Deeper with Sam Asghari: Moving on From Britney Spears
I'm always going to have like, I'm always going to have respect for her because of what she's been through. And that was never her fault. And why she is who she is and why she was the princess of pop is because it was a genuine person that wasn't trying to get famous. It wasn't.
The Viall Files
E883 Going Deeper with Sam Asghari: Moving on From Britney Spears
They weren't forcing, they weren't going through all these media strategies and doing this to get famous and force it down your throat or agency. What do they call agency? It wasn't any of that. It wasn't any of that. It was just true talent and true hard work and just one of a kind that came out and did that and still didn't want to be famous. Still didn't care about any of that.
The Viall Files
E883 Going Deeper with Sam Asghari: Moving on From Britney Spears
I wish her the best. And I would like to, at some point I would, I wouldn't mind.
The Viall Files
E883 Going Deeper with Sam Asghari: Moving on From Britney Spears
Yes, absolutely. You know, I didn't think I was going to be ready because I was just focused on, uh, you know, I was just focused on work and I was traveling. I did a show that I couldn't be on the phone. So I couldn't really, And it was just me and my dog for a little bit. Me and my dog were going on a lot of dates. And yes, I've been dating. I have a new girl now that she's super supportive.
The Viall Files
E883 Going Deeper with Sam Asghari: Moving on From Britney Spears
And it's just... Are we keeping her name private still? No, I mean, if you go online, you'll see it. TMZ is all over the place. How did y'all meet? What's that? How'd y'all meet? We met just coincidentally and we met just out in the apartment I used to live at and we never saw each other and we saw each other again. A couple months down the road I end up
The Viall Files
E883 Going Deeper with Sam Asghari: Moving on From Britney Spears
making a phone call for another place i was moving into and and we reconnected and it was sort of sweet and she's super supportive is very different to for people that are not in the industry to understand some of the things that happens so you know i don't think she cares about the industry and what does she do uh she does real estate okay Yeah. So it was really interesting.
The Viall Files
E883 Going Deeper with Sam Asghari: Moving on From Britney Spears
It's always interesting because people in the industry, they care about a certain thing and they have a certain perception. And it's nice to have someone that's not. And it's time for me to really focus on what I have going on. And it's a good way to do that.
The Viall Files
E883 Going Deeper with Sam Asghari: Moving on From Britney Spears
She didn't bring it up one time. Never one time? Never one time. That's what it was really cool because then I had some people... Yeah, you must have really appreciated that, yeah. There's nothing wrong with it. I think it's weird to not talk about, you know, something... Have it be an elephant in the room or something, yeah.
The Viall Files
E883 Going Deeper with Sam Asghari: Moving on From Britney Spears
No. So what happened was we were always supposed to come to the U S and where I'm from, the country of Iran, it's such a privilege to come to America. It's such a amazing opportunity. It's like, I feel so weird speaking about this because I sound like a Like a super proud American, which I am. And I always said, you know.
The Viall Files
E883 Going Deeper with Sam Asghari: Moving on From Britney Spears
I think that's really cool because if you, like again, you said if you had perception of him, it might not even happen. And it's different because I try to give the benefit of the doubt to some people. Some people, that perception is perception. And that's who they actually are. And some people are not completely opposite.
The Viall Files
E883 Going Deeper with Sam Asghari: Moving on From Britney Spears
I mean, but I think the best way to be is to be yourself, especially if yourself is, as long as you're not hurting other people with you just being yourself. But I think people,
The Viall Files
E883 Going Deeper with Sam Asghari: Moving on From Britney Spears
could read through the bullshit and they're like that person is not genuine and there's been many times I met someone that I was like okay you haven't said a word to me but I love your energy or you've been talking a lot and I hate your energy you know so people feed off of perception and I think the toughest thing for me
The Viall Files
E883 Going Deeper with Sam Asghari: Moving on From Britney Spears
to overcome was like some of the stuff I post on social media and who, like I present this, like people think, oh, it's a model actor. Like he must be stupid or he must be, oh, it's the ex-husband of the Princess of Pop. He must be, you know, using people and doing all this. I was like, no.
The Viall Files
E883 Going Deeper with Sam Asghari: Moving on From Britney Spears
Let me tell you what, I had to use a lot of my personality to win over people because as a former president of the Chubby Boys Club, I had to do that. When you're an immigrant or you're a minority or you don't exactly look in schools and stuff like that, you have to use your personality. So it's different. And having this perception and really internally being different
The Viall Files
E883 Going Deeper with Sam Asghari: Moving on From Britney Spears
is is uh interesting that only people around me my friends and people and and and if i get to speak on a platform that's longer than something which i was hoping to do on that show uh but it was really scary to be part of uh a show with a bunch of uh reality stars not gonna lie reality stars are tough yeah they're i mean they're emotionally resilient
The Viall Files
E883 Going Deeper with Sam Asghari: Moving on From Britney Spears
I mean, going into that show, usually as an actor, you don't want to go into a competition show. But Alan Cummings is the host of it, and it looks amazing, and it looks like a scripted show.
The Viall Files
E883 Going Deeper with Sam Asghari: Moving on From Britney Spears
So it's been a while that I've been getting a lot of offers for Dancing with the Stars, and Traders came around a couple times, but it wasn't the right time to do it because... I was focused on acting talking to Dylan yesterday.
The Viall Files
E883 Going Deeper with Sam Asghari: Moving on From Britney Spears
Absolutely. But if you were born here, you don't understand that, you know, a lot of my friends, my best friend doesn't understand that what you really have. And certain things, like we had to leave because I had three sisters in my family. And in that country, basic human rights, especially for women, is next to nothing. They can't sing in public. They can't do many things in public.
The Viall Files
E883 Going Deeper with Sam Asghari: Moving on From Britney Spears
Yeah, of course, man. I mean, going into the show, there was a lot of people that, you know, I brainstormed with and I was like, what is this? Because I don't know. Like, I don't, what is a housewife? What is like survivor? What is big? What is the show? What am I going to do? Because the only thing I know about a project is scripted stuff and it's fake, you know, play. It's not real.
The Viall Files
E883 Going Deeper with Sam Asghari: Moving on From Britney Spears
It's like, no, this is real. Like you're going to see, I didn't know anything. So I walk in there and I don't know anybody in the reality space because I just don't watch it besides the Kardashian. But that's not even because of reality show. But anyway, I walk in there the first day. They don't let you see anybody. Everything is a surprise.
The Viall Files
E883 Going Deeper with Sam Asghari: Moving on From Britney Spears
And the first day is when you get to see people and in the car right away. And of course I anticipated like people are going to only know me for my past relationship and they're going to ask me. I didn't know it was going to be the second. The second I was in, it's like, oh, you're Sam. You're so-and-so's ex. I was like, yeah.
The Viall Files
E883 Going Deeper with Sam Asghari: Moving on From Britney Spears
And then to myself, I was like, okay, I need to just shut up because they're going to, if I want to strategize, I need to just be as quiet as possible and do good in the missions, the physical missions that they have and, and really go into it with just, just let it settle. Let the beasts and the people that are really good at this game to kill each other and just play ignorant.
The Viall Files
E883 Going Deeper with Sam Asghari: Moving on From Britney Spears
Ignorance is a blessing.
The Viall Files
E883 Going Deeper with Sam Asghari: Moving on From Britney Spears
Why not? I mean, I didn't want to be a traitor because of perceptions. And I was like, okay, this is against the perception. I'm going to feed more into this? No. There's for sure, you know, something about that. So I didn't want to do that. I wanted to be... And I didn't want to have that pressure anyway. Even though as an actor, if you...
The Viall Files
E883 Going Deeper with Sam Asghari: Moving on From Britney Spears
Danielle on the show she's a great well she's not that good because when you cry and yeah she's really she's really putting on a performance right now we're like come on everyone knows yeah she's she's putting on a performance but in the show you have to be I mean I'm going in there and there's like
The Viall Files
E883 Going Deeper with Sam Asghari: Moving on From Britney Spears
take this guy's mask off and he's like everybody's like whoa who like we love him i was like i have no idea who that is oh and they did uh rob in the beginning i have no idea who that is i don't know anybody besides nikki and nikki thought i was the guy from this other show love island to have a day and she's i saw the show he's like i thought you were that i was like oh come on
The Viall Files
E883 Going Deeper with Sam Asghari: Moving on From Britney Spears
don't you hate it when people say you look like so-and-so and they show you a picture you're like him yeah i i for this is a trick that i do when somebody says somebody said uh to my girl now she's like you look like my cousin i was like okay let me see a picture like pull it up now nothing like yeah if you do that it never no you have to ask for a picture instantly it never works
The Viall Files
E883 Going Deeper with Sam Asghari: Moving on From Britney Spears
No, nothing hurts me. Nothing's the Hulk. Come on. Honestly, nothing hurts me because... You can't listen to the- I know.
The Viall Files
E883 Going Deeper with Sam Asghari: Moving on From Britney Spears
So listen to this. One thing I left out, I played sports. I played football for almost six years. And I was in the police academy. I was doing the cadet program as well.
The Viall Files
E883 Going Deeper with Sam Asghari: Moving on From Britney Spears
Yeah, I was doing the cadet program. I was trying to be a sheriff. My uncles were sheriff. But this discipline thing that I've made in my head, you know, being away from my family and the upgrowing thing, this discipline that you sit in the noise, like in the loudest room, you sit in the noise and you just watch it all disappear. Like all of a sudden, all the noise goes away.
The Viall Files
E883 Going Deeper with Sam Asghari: Moving on From Britney Spears
They don't have control of themselves when they get married and things like that. So being in a family with three sisters, we have to get out of here. And they're, you know, they're, they're just such amazing people at accomplishing. They just want to reach the sky. One of them is a forensic scientist.
The Viall Files
E883 Going Deeper with Sam Asghari: Moving on From Britney Spears
The second you sit in all the noise and it just goes away, then you focus. Yeah. And nothing else is going to hurt you. Of course, if somebody says to me something that's going to actually, if you say something about my sisters or the people that I love the most, then I'm going to be offended.
The Viall Files
E883 Going Deeper with Sam Asghari: Moving on From Britney Spears
But if you say anything to me about me, unless it's the truth, unless it's like you're my friend or you're my mentor and you say, Sam, you're not working hard enough. And I say, absolutely. I love you for that. And unless it's that.
The Viall Files
E883 Going Deeper with Sam Asghari: Moving on From Britney Spears
Absolutely. What is someone that's something, they're going to tell me something that's absolutely the... And I don't blame people when they have a certain perception. I don't get mad because you... There's a reason. Of course, you're going to blame somebody that's in a relationship that's, you know, we have an age gap difference. It's Hollywood. Everybody uses people.
The Viall Files
E883 Going Deeper with Sam Asghari: Moving on From Britney Spears
And then better yet, that person was used by every single person, including the person, the people that are close to her. Of course. But I'm going to make sure I don't do that. I'm going to make sure I'm not the example to my family or they don't look at me as the embarrassment. It's not even about me. I want to make everybody that loves me proud.
The Viall Files
E883 Going Deeper with Sam Asghari: Moving on From Britney Spears
So why would I do something for them to be like, wait a minute, my brother is a piece of shit. I would never want that.
The Viall Files
E883 Going Deeper with Sam Asghari: Moving on From Britney Spears
yeah i think i hope so i hope so but that's that's never been my focus is is i know i love the fans i think fans are amazing uh but it's nice if they're like chill with you you know i mean it's nice but if you've never done anything wrong and you never done anything to if you've always been honorable and been a good person why would that matter what made you uh not want to end up being a sheriff
The Viall Files
E883 Going Deeper with Sam Asghari: Moving on From Britney Spears
I think it was just, I was sidetracked by the acting stuff and I was just, I was like, it's time to put a focus on it and it's time to go play a cop. Maybe if you really want to be a cop, go play. So I did a movie with Mel Gibson and I was a SWAT team. I was like, okay, I made it.
The Viall Files
E883 Going Deeper with Sam Asghari: Moving on From Britney Spears
The other one is a doctor and the other one has their medical spa and I'm the stupid one in the family.
The Viall Files
E883 Going Deeper with Sam Asghari: Moving on From Britney Spears
What movie was that? It was called Hot Seat. Okay. Yeah. It was really cool. Good experience. Good guy. Interesting guy. Obviously there's a lot of perception there too, uh, because what his past has been, but he taught me so much things about acting. He was so nice to people and he was the hardest working person in there.
The Viall Files
E883 Going Deeper with Sam Asghari: Moving on From Britney Spears
And that's why I say like, it's going to take some sort of a, like, it's not by accident, you know, people get to the top by, by working and, and being, you know, being themselves and being nice. So it was really interesting to learn from him and, and,
The Viall Files
E883 Going Deeper with Sam Asghari: Moving on From Britney Spears
Everybody really I work with, even traders, when we went into it, I mean, yeah, there's people that are over the top and they've been practicing their lines in the bathroom of their hotel rooms every night, you know, because they know what's going to be on TV and what's going to be good on TV. But they were also good people. I met a lot of people and I tried not to judge them by who they are.
The Viall Files
E883 Going Deeper with Sam Asghari: Moving on From Britney Spears
And I didn't know. The second the sweaty guy walked out, there was a guy that was... The second that guy walked out, I was like, wait a minute, I have no idea who these are. I was like, okay, maybe I'm thankful because there's the antagonist right there. So maybe, you know, I'm not going to be the antagonist. They're going to be him. And he kept doing things that fit into it.
The Viall Files
E883 Going Deeper with Sam Asghari: Moving on From Britney Spears
I was like, wait a minute, like drink some water, relax.
The Viall Files
E883 Going Deeper with Sam Asghari: Moving on From Britney Spears
It was really strange, man. It was so strange. And it was just, he was the most strangest one, but everybody else was great. But, you know, I feel bad for him that they edited him the way they did.
The Viall Files
E883 Going Deeper with Sam Asghari: Moving on From Britney Spears
I'm last. I'm last. You're the baby? I'm the baby and the difference is by eight years and then they're back to back. And long story short, my dad was wanting a son because of those reasons. And, you know, he was a player. So God or whatever the case was like, no, you're not getting a son. You're getting three daughters.
The Viall Files
E883 Going Deeper with Sam Asghari: Moving on From Britney Spears
Or do you think he was... I mean, if they see you sweating like that and then they leave you in it, they're trying to do that on purpose. For sure. Well, with a sweat, there's not much you can do. And I think by the time this episode is out, there's going to be other things that's going to be even worse. But I'm just saying...
The Viall Files
E883 Going Deeper with Sam Asghari: Moving on From Britney Spears
If you know your perception, you man up to, I think, I don't know what he did. I don't follow reality, but people were talking like, this guy did this and he's the most hated person in America. I was like, Bin Laden or Tom? Because he's the most, why? He's like, oh, he did this to his girl, to his thing and drama and all that. I was like, wait, so that's real? He did that on real? Yeah.
The Viall Files
E883 Going Deeper with Sam Asghari: Moving on From Britney Spears
I was like, okay, then go man up. Even Alan said, go man up to it and don't feed into it and just move on. Learn from your mistakes and move on and try to be a good person.
The Viall Files
E883 Going Deeper with Sam Asghari: Moving on From Britney Spears
Let me tell you something about Ion. She does things that come out to be genius, but it's, so what you see in those episodes, I think she's in what, two episodes or one and a half, but there's a lot of things that happen. We, there's a lot more talking. The edits are, you know, basically made into like an hour, but you got a whole day worth of talking. And I spend a lot of time with her.
The Viall Files
E883 Going Deeper with Sam Asghari: Moving on From Britney Spears
And she was so great. And she was just saying like, the dead man is going to catch me. The dead man is coming after me tonight. It was just such a fun time. And like I said, I know she has a perception in reality or whatever the case is, but I liked her as a person. She spoke about her husband and her son. And, you know, I think she's a businesswoman and she's doing amazing, but she was so funny.
The Viall Files
E883 Going Deeper with Sam Asghari: Moving on From Britney Spears
And she made that experience so good for me.
The Viall Files
E883 Going Deeper with Sam Asghari: Moving on From Britney Spears
She was nosy at the beginning, but listen, I don't blame you. She said, I'm sorry I asked that on camera, but I was like, no, what are you talking about? She was the first one right off the bat. She was like, oh, you did this. I was like, give me a second. Give me a minute. Now my strategy changes. I'm not going to speak. No. You know, I did speak a lot.
The Viall Files
E883 Going Deeper with Sam Asghari: Moving on From Britney Spears
There's just in that edit and things like that. And it's a good thing, I think, because, you know, I wasn't about to go after these people and get killed from, you know, the dead man was going to get me, uh, the treasures that we're going to get me, you know, the, the first night or so that was a good strategy. And Dylan does speak up a lot and he's right and wrong about a lot of things, but
The Viall Files
E883 Going Deeper with Sam Asghari: Moving on From Britney Spears
you know, I didn't want what happened to Dylan to happen to me, which was, you know, Bob, the drag queen was, had everything ready. He was prepared. He was ready for, you know, the round tables every night. And Dylan said one time, you know, I grew up with an actor and, and you're at the way you're acting. And then the guy's like, Oh man,
The Viall Files
E883 Going Deeper with Sam Asghari: Moving on From Britney Spears
Oh, where? It'll tuck my ears on.
The Viall Files
E883 Going Deeper with Sam Asghari: Moving on From Britney Spears
uh your brother's not even a great actor and that's like you know it's just it's a cheap shot dirty there's no point and right after the traders i spent a lot of time with zach uh we spent time in venice together and i told him about dylan we both had a truck stolen in five months ago like a trx truck zach had his stolen and i had mine stolen so
The Viall Files
E883 Going Deeper with Sam Asghari: Moving on From Britney Spears
We were talking about that and he was so genuine and he was so cool. And his performance in 17 again is actually amazing as an actor.
The Viall Files
E883 Going Deeper with Sam Asghari: Moving on From Britney Spears
And the wrestling movie he did, he's, he's an amazing actor. So much better actor than Bob the drag queen. And Bob the drag queen is a great, everybody's good at their own things. And he made TV Bob the drag queen. What was the, what was the movie where Zach played Ted Bundy?
The Viall Files
E883 Going Deeper with Sam Asghari: Moving on From Britney Spears
I have family that I don't keep in touch with. Um, but you know, luckily all of our, my mom's here and everybody that's close to me is here. And it's just, it's sad because it's, it's a different culture and it's a different government that, that takes, that takes, you know, that took over that country. And, and yeah,
The Viall Files
E883 Going Deeper with Sam Asghari: Moving on From Britney Spears
no he's those brothers they're genuine they dylan especially super genuine and and even on the show and even now when i speak to him after the show he's super genuine and same with zach so i i didn't like that and i didn't like some of the personal stuff that happened and but i it wasn't it wasn't the right show for me to shine it was let these people go after themselves and
The Viall Files
E883 Going Deeper with Sam Asghari: Moving on From Britney Spears
You know what? The reason why I wasn't interested is because I wasn't limber and I wasn't flexible. But I think... You've been stretching? No, I've been taking a lot of Zumba classes in LA Fitness.
The Viall Files
E883 Going Deeper with Sam Asghari: Moving on From Britney Spears
You know, there's a possibility when there's time in between acting thing, like just like the traders to do it. But if I'm going to do it, I'm going to be dancing. So don't get me wrong. Yeah.
The Viall Files
E883 Going Deeper with Sam Asghari: Moving on From Britney Spears
I've been offered Special Forces many times. You should do that. It's really cool. It's really, really cool. It's really cool. It's badass.
The Viall Files
E883 Going Deeper with Sam Asghari: Moving on From Britney Spears
So everything has, if there is time for it, you know, my manager and agents, they, they're amazing. They work really hard and sometimes they have good ideas. So if it makes sense, uh, it's to do it, but I'm right now, I'm not planning on becoming a reality. W H O R E core. Ooh. Yeah.
The Viall Files
E883 Going Deeper with Sam Asghari: Moving on From Britney Spears
Davide, what's his name? I'm not about to.
The Viall Files
E883 Going Deeper with Sam Asghari: Moving on From Britney Spears
So from a professional standpoint, I love what Tyler Perry is doing, Taylor Sheridan is doing, Mark Wahlberg and all these people. They're creating jobs and they're creating productions and producing. I want to get into that. But before you be the coach, you have to play the game. So we have a little bit of time into establishing the acting career a little bit.
The Viall Files
E883 Going Deeper with Sam Asghari: Moving on From Britney Spears
And, you know, perception had to do a lot with that because my background is in acting as literally theater and arts. And that's what I've been loving. And my relationship that people know me the most happened because of acting. It was an acting job that we met on. So, you know, it's a period of time where I'm going to be focusing on acting and I'm going to be making some projects as well.
The Viall Files
E883 Going Deeper with Sam Asghari: Moving on From Britney Spears
I do have my own production that's creating some great short films right now. We have a TV series in development. And we have a movie in development as well. It's called PB&J Productions. And that's because that's what I ate to fit in, in America, PB&J and drank Gatorade. That's what it was literally doing. I thought that was an American thing to do. I mean, it is. Definitely.
The Viall Files
E883 Going Deeper with Sam Asghari: Moving on From Britney Spears
Yeah, it is. Yeah. I mean, you guys, and I love that, but that's, you know, and in the meetings I have with some of the studios, I do bring in peanut butter and jelly sandwich because everybody likes peanut butter and jelly sandwich, except they're allergic to it.
The Viall Files
E883 Going Deeper with Sam Asghari: Moving on From Britney Spears
it's not the people talking about perception when i when i moved here i was in i think i went to seventh grade seventh grade and everybody was like the only thing we know about iran is the same thing we knew about iraq or those middle eastern countries There's a bunch of sands and camels and a bunch of suicide bombers. I'm like, wait a minute. I never seen a camel in my life.
The Viall Files
E883 Going Deeper with Sam Asghari: Moving on From Britney Spears
Okay. So glitch is a amazing idea. You know, me and my mentor have been working on this for a while and is some sort of a very relevant TV series that we developed. We wrote the script and we're in talks with some studios, but It's a series about what the next generation of social media is going to be about, slash AI. Of course, it's about AI. No AI is being used to make it.
The Viall Files
E883 Going Deeper with Sam Asghari: Moving on From Britney Spears
But basically, it's people that have perceptions online. Everybody uses Facetune and avatars and all that, but Now we're so advanced that you can actually project that filter into you. So it's people using filters to advance their careers and, you know, to advance their relationships or whatever the case may be. So they are wearing some sort of an avatar. So you can go from white to black.
The Viall Files
E883 Going Deeper with Sam Asghari: Moving on From Britney Spears
You can go from female to male, but it's all connected to the satellite. And if that satellite glitches, then you reveal yourself. So the whole show is sort of like Black Mirror. What would you really do? It's very Black Mirror. So what would you really do to protect your identity when all you have is based on that? Some people kill. There's characters in it that don't really care.
The Viall Files
E883 Going Deeper with Sam Asghari: Moving on From Britney Spears
They're like, well, we don't really want to. Let's plan around the glitch when the next crash is to reveal ourselves because we love each other. And then they reveal themselves and they don't really love each other.
The Viall Files
E883 Going Deeper with Sam Asghari: Moving on From Britney Spears
Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you.
The Viall Files
E883 Going Deeper with Sam Asghari: Moving on From Britney Spears
I mean, the first camel was here in a zoo, whatever they have. The first llamas and camels I've seen are here. And I haven't seen sand. We have mountains and, you know, it's a diverse culture. But unfortunately, the government is, you know, taking the people as hostage and taking the country as hostage. So I have to fight that perception in America.
The Viall Files
E883 Going Deeper with Sam Asghari: Moving on From Britney Spears
Thank you. Thank you. Thank you.
The Viall Files
E883 Going Deeper with Sam Asghari: Moving on From Britney Spears
Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. , , , , , , , the P P P P P P P P實, , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , a P P P P P P P P P P P P P And I think we're in this generation, we're missing that because there's a lot of ego. I don't know if you, I'm not talking about him, but there's no egos involved.
The Viall Files
E883 Going Deeper with Sam Asghari: Moving on From Britney Spears
And everybody's like, oh, like you're not, you know, you're this, you're that. But I was so enthusiastic that that perception didn't matter. It's me. You get to know me. Let me make American friends. Let me make all the people that all the other immigrants that are here. We're all here for a reason.
The Viall Files
E883 Going Deeper with Sam Asghari: Moving on From Britney Spears
You got to just improve and be a man. And it's not this toxic bullshit that you hear online. Of course, you have fanboys and all that, but that's not what a man is. A man is someone that your daughter could look up to and be like, that's the person that That's an example of a man. That's who I should be with. And your sisters and your mom and you know, that type of stuff.
The Viall Files
E883 Going Deeper with Sam Asghari: Moving on From Britney Spears
So you have to own up to the things you've done. If they're wrong, you know, he's not good at that.
The Viall Files
E883 Going Deeper with Sam Asghari: Moving on From Britney Spears
I think so. I think it's family. If they like this, they like to take the credit for it. No, it's just, I think, personality, family.
The Viall Files
E883 Going Deeper with Sam Asghari: Moving on From Britney Spears
I think the most dangerous time and the most dangerous person is the person that doesn't have anything to lose. And they're here. They're like, I already made it. And to me, I made it. I'm already in this country.
The Viall Files
E883 Going Deeper with Sam Asghari: Moving on From Britney Spears
legit there's a lottery system where you enter and you win a lottery for an American visa from where I'm from that's what it is it's a lottery system so it's like if you already came here you made it you won the lottery and everything else is sort of like the cream yeah whatever they say
The Viall Files
E883 Going Deeper with Sam Asghari: Moving on From Britney Spears
Um, what? I mean...
The Viall Files
E883 Going Deeper with Sam Asghari: Moving on From Britney Spears
I mean, listen, I remember when I was, I think, five or six, we got a call, me and my mom, and they were taken into some sort of a morale police. They have morale police that kind of go around the city and see if you're misdressed, if your hair is out. You got to cover your hair. If any skin is showing, then they're going to take you.
The Viall Files
E883 Going Deeper with Sam Asghari: Moving on From Britney Spears
And the whole purpose of the morale police is to teach you the proper ways of a Muslim woman. By the way, I'm not religious, but Islam is a beautiful religion. But that country, they've taken that religion to, you know, sort of make it a propaganda. For sure. You know, suppress.
The Viall Files
E883 Going Deeper with Sam Asghari: Moving on From Britney Spears
Yeah, we don't have to relive your childhood trauma. Different languages. I was bullied in different ways. We don't call it bullying. What do you call it? Torture? We call it just growing up. And I was born in Iran. And I think the cultures are different because in Iran, a child is never being watched by their parents. They're out and about. My father was working when he was seven years old.
The Viall Files
E883 Going Deeper with Sam Asghari: Moving on From Britney Spears
Yeah. Basically what happened was they take you in and then they're going to teach you about this, you know, how to properly dress and how to do this, but they don't do that. What they do is they do things that, you know, nobody hears from.
The Viall Files
E883 Going Deeper with Sam Asghari: Moving on From Britney Spears
And, you know, they, they, anywhere between, you know, torturing people, they do weird stuff to a point two years ago, they, they did something with this girl, this young girl, 19 year old girl, and she died. She suffocated. And there was a lot of protest around, and that raised a lot of awareness. Some guy did a song about it. It was like some sort of a YouTube song, and he won a Grammy for it.
The Viall Files
E883 Going Deeper with Sam Asghari: Moving on From Britney Spears
He couldn't even collect the Grammy because he lives there. They took him to prison. But long story short, I'm here now. I'm an American citizen. But coming from that country to the total opposite, it was just such a great experience to where perception was, you know, any perception. Hollywood is easy. Let's handle that with no problem coming from that. You know what I mean?
The Viall Files
E883 Going Deeper with Sam Asghari: Moving on From Britney Spears
Oh, absolutely. I mean, they were probably out doing whatever, you know, they were teenagers and they were dressed in a certain way that you're not supposed to dress, which I don't know if you can show a couple inches of skin they can take you in. And they're not, there's no laws. There's no, you know. They just get to decide. They just get to decide, yeah.
The Viall Files
E883 Going Deeper with Sam Asghari: Moving on From Britney Spears
So when I migrated, I was 12. Alone. The reason why I was alone was because I was under the age of 18 and you don't need some sort of a background check or anything to go further in an American visa. So I came here first. Two of my sisters, it took them about six years. And then the other one was about eight years.
The Viall Files
E883 Going Deeper with Sam Asghari: Moving on From Britney Spears
I had family here. I had, my uncle was here and my dad was here for a brief amount of time and he went back to kind of sort them out. But pretty much when I was in high school and middle school and high school years, I was pretty much with my uncle, which was, you know, keep in mind it's different culture. So nobody really needed to watch me.
The Viall Files
E883 Going Deeper with Sam Asghari: Moving on From Britney Spears
So I was staying at my uncle's condo and he had OCD and I couldn't stay at his house and all sorts of stuff. It was an interesting time, but The number one thing I did the second I came to the US, and I was so proud to be here, and I changed my name to Sam. And one of my best friends that I met right when I moved here in eighth grade, his name was Sam. My name was Hesam, H-E-S-A-M.
The Viall Files
E883 Going Deeper with Sam Asghari: Moving on From Britney Spears
His name was already Sam. It was already changed. And when I went to school, I met this guy, and I knew right away from the way he looked, I said, he's one of my kind. He's going to speak my language. So I went and spoke to him and I think the counselors put us together and they said, like, you know, go to the classes and he speaks a little bit of English. He'll translate for you.
The Viall Files
E883 Going Deeper with Sam Asghari: Moving on From Britney Spears
So we went to a math class and, you know, we have this math teacher, wonderful teacher. I think her name was Miss Ortega or something. And, you know, she's explaining this thing for like 10 minutes. Like she's talking about how the homeworks work and how the school works. She's being helpful. And my friend is my translator. He doesn't speak much English. So he turns to me and says one word.
The Viall Files
E883 Going Deeper with Sam Asghari: Moving on From Britney Spears
And then the teacher's like, wait a minute. I just spoke for 10 minutes. How could you just translate? And she's like, you know, he gets it. And then she's like, what's your name? She asked me. And then I look at my friend, Sam, and I look at her and then I say, Sam. And then he goes, wait a minute. That's my name. You can't, your name is not Sam. You can't take my name.
The Viall Files
E883 Going Deeper with Sam Asghari: Moving on From Britney Spears
I said, no, my name is closer. Just cancel the H E and it's Sam. Your name is S A J J J A D. That's not Sam. You can change it. And he's like, oh, try Henry. Why don't you try Henry? I was like, I don't want Henry. That sounds old. So, you know, yeah.
The Viall Files
E883 Going Deeper with Sam Asghari: Moving on From Britney Spears
At the time you have to change it. You know, again, I'm not going to fall into the trap of people were calling me names. People, they were, but they're kids. That's part of growing up is tough, tough, tough skin. I'm not going to take away from bullying. I think, you know, I stand up against bullies any time of the day. But for me, what I was made out of, I was able to hand, I needed it.
The Viall Files
E883 Going Deeper with Sam Asghari: Moving on From Britney Spears
You know what I mean? So people were going to call you names. They're just going to assume that name is something else or they're just not going to pronounce it.
The Viall Files
E883 Going Deeper with Sam Asghari: Moving on From Britney Spears
It's a different culture. I think just it was different growing up. And when I came here, I was like, oh, you need your parents' signatures to go to a field trip when you're like 17? Yeah. You know, so it's different, you know. And other people kind of if you see a child, you know, misbehaving in public, you kind of discipline and that's okay. That's the type of culture. You just never hear. Yeah.
The Viall Files
E883 Going Deeper with Sam Asghari: Moving on From Britney Spears
I had it nice because I was, I don't know, but I think, I don't think I'm stupid. I'm only stupid in school and subjects that I don't like. I don't, I don't, because I don't pay attention. If I don't, if I don't like something, I genuinely don't pay attention to it. I just can't. That's me with math.
The Viall Files
E883 Going Deeper with Sam Asghari: Moving on From Britney Spears
me with every subject, but history, I was, uh, I was very smart and, you know, I, it was just fascinating. I don't know why I liked history. I was in drama and arts at the time. And that helps me a lot. Drama was because you get to improv and you get to talk and you get to, you know, learn Shakespeare and that's far more advanced, uh, English than it is.
The Viall Files
E883 Going Deeper with Sam Asghari: Moving on From Britney Spears
And then I had friends, I played football, and that was a big factor of learning. I learned it right away, I think. I don't think I struggled much.
The Viall Files
E883 Going Deeper with Sam Asghari: Moving on From Britney Spears
You know what? I think when it comes to politics and what's happening there, you take out whoever the dictator is, then you have to replace it with the right one. The problem is the country has a lot of history. It has beautiful culture. People, but it's very diverse. It's 88 million people.