{"id":121924,"date":"2025-06-18T19:31:00","date_gmt":"2025-06-18T23:31:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/cfa\/?post_type=bu-article&#038;p=121924"},"modified":"2025-08-12T09:29:02","modified_gmt":"2025-08-12T13:29:02","slug":"plays-the-thing","status":"publish","type":"bu-article","link":"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/cfa\/magazine\/articles\/2025\/plays-the-thing\/","title":{"rendered":"Play\u2019s the Thing"},"content":{"rendered":"\t<div class=\"wp-block-editorial-leadin magazine-block-editorial-leadin is-style-side-by-side has-media has-flip has-box has-media-focus-center-middle has-secondary-theme\">\n\t\t<div class=\"container-lockup\">\n\n\t\t\t<div class=\"wp-block-leadin-media\">\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t<img width=\"3000\" height=\"2000\" src=\"\/cfa\/files\/2025\/05\/Plays-the-Thing-The-Bands-Visit-Charles-Erickson.jpg\" class=\"\" alt=\"\" loading=\"lazy\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/cfa\/files\/2025\/05\/Plays-the-Thing-The-Bands-Visit-Charles-Erickson.jpg 3000w, https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/cfa\/files\/2025\/05\/Plays-the-Thing-The-Bands-Visit-Charles-Erickson-636x424.jpg 636w, https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/cfa\/files\/2025\/05\/Plays-the-Thing-The-Bands-Visit-Charles-Erickson-1024x683.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/cfa\/files\/2025\/05\/Plays-the-Thing-The-Bands-Visit-Charles-Erickson-768x512.jpg 768w, https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/cfa\/files\/2025\/05\/Plays-the-Thing-The-Bands-Visit-Charles-Erickson-1536x1024.jpg 1536w, https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/cfa\/files\/2025\/05\/Plays-the-Thing-The-Bands-Visit-Charles-Erickson-2048x1365.jpg 2048w, https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/cfa\/files\/2025\/05\/Plays-the-Thing-The-Bands-Visit-Charles-Erickson-1500x1000.jpg 1500w, https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/cfa\/files\/2025\/05\/Plays-the-Thing-The-Bands-Visit-Charles-Erickson-900x600.jpg 900w, https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/cfa\/files\/2025\/05\/Plays-the-Thing-The-Bands-Visit-Charles-Erickson-450x300.jpg 450w, https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/cfa\/files\/2025\/05\/Plays-the-Thing-The-Bands-Visit-Charles-Erickson-600x400.jpg 600w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 3000px) 100vw, 3000px\" \/>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<p class=\"wp-block-editorial-leadin-caption wp-prepress-component-caption\">Before breaking onto the small screen, Fady Demian (\u201923) (right) appeared in The Band\u2019s Visit, an award-winning coproduction of the Huntington Theatre and SpeakEasy Stage. Photo by Stanislav Callas<\/p>\n\t\t\t\n\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"container-words-outer\">\n\n\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"container-words-inner\">\n\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<span class=\"wp-prepress-tag\">Theatre<\/span>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<h1 class=\"head\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tPlay\u2019s the Thing\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/h1>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<h4 class=\"deck\">Rising Star Fady Demian shares insights on his acting career\u2014past, present, and future.<\/h4>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\n\t\t\t\n\t\t<\/div>\n\n\t\t\n\t<\/div>\n\n\t\n<div class=\"wp-prepress-component-metabar magazine-prepress-layout-metabar\">\n\t<div class=\"wp-prepress-component-metabar-wrapper\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"wp-prepress-component-metabar-date\">June 18, 2025<\/div>\n\t\t\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"wp-prepress-component-metabar-credits\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<ul data-credit-type=\"By\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/cfa\/magazine\/authors\/sophie-yarin\/\">Sophie Yarin<\/a><\/li>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/ul>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<div class=\"wp-prepress-component-metabar-share js-bu-prepress-share-tools\">\n\t\t\t<span class=\"icon-twitter\"><span>Twitter<\/span><\/span>\n\t\t\t<span class=\"icon-facebook\"><span>Facebook<\/span><\/span>\n\t\t\t<span class=\"icon-action\"><\/span>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\t\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-editorial-introparagraph magazine-block-editorial-introparagraph is-style-dropcap-boxed has-dropcap has-dropcap-color-secondary\"><div class=\"wp-block-editorial-introparagraph-content\"><p>Fady Demian started acting as a teenager, inspired by the movies he watched in middle and high school. The future theater star moved a lot during that time, and in his isolation from his peers, he found company in the likes of <em>Fight Club<\/em> (1999), <em>The Imitation Game<\/em> (2014), and the films of Christopher Nolan.<\/p><\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cI started to re-create the scenes I saw in the films or improvise my own characters. I\u2019d start by prepping a scene by myself, without knowing that\u2019s what I was doing, and I noticed that hours would pass by,\u201d says Demian (\u201923). \u201cIt allowed me to channel a lot of things that I felt I couldn\u2019t express in real life.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Later in high school, as he took more roles in school plays, Demian became inspired by the therapeutic aspect of acting\u2014how energizing it felt to step into another life. He honed his craft at CFA, later landing roles in <em>The Band\u2019s Visit<\/em> at the Huntington Theatre and <em>English<\/em> at the Cincinnati Playhouse. This year, he\u2019ll tackle his biggest project yet, in Amazon Studios\u2019 <em>The Terminal List: Dark Wolf<\/em>. Like its predecessor series, <em>The Terminal List<\/em>, based on military thriller novels by Jack Carr, <em>Dark Wolf<\/em> is a gritty depiction of modern espionage, and the choices made behind enemy lines.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>CFA spoke with Demian, who plays Sergeant Daran Amiri, about his acting career\u2014past, present, and future.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<section class=\"wp-block-editorial-q-and-a magazine-block-editorial-q-and-a\">\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-editorial-q-and-a-question\"><span class=\"wp-block-editorial-q-and-a-content\">How do you usually break into a new role?<\/span><\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-editorial-q-and-a-answer\"><span class=\"wp-block-editorial-q-and-a-content\">I start with the body. I love finding the physicality of the person, because once I get into the way they move, it starts to affect the thought patterns. Once I find thought patterns, I\u2019m able to get underneath everything else.<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-editorial-q-and-a-question\"><span class=\"wp-block-editorial-q-and-a-content\">What are some differences between acting for the stage and acting for the screen?<\/span><\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-editorial-q-and-a-answer\"><span class=\"wp-block-editorial-q-and-a-content\">I find theater to be about discovering what\u2019s new within repetition, experiencing it for the first time every time, and getting to live the whole journey of a life, whereas film is about immediate instinct and first impulse\u2014you don\u2019t get to live that particular moment in your character\u2019s life ever again.<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-editorial-q-and-a-question\"><span class=\"wp-block-editorial-q-and-a-content\">How did it feel to film an Amazon Studios production?<\/span><\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-editorial-q-and-a-answer\"><span class=\"wp-block-editorial-q-and-a-content\">It was definitely a huge jump. I\u2019ve done a lot of indie films, but I have never done something of that scale. At some point, I realized this is the same stuff I was doing in acting class. At the end of the day, from action to cut, that moment of play is the same.<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-editorial-q-and-a-question\"><span class=\"wp-block-editorial-q-and-a-content\">What do you want to say to your younger self, who created those characters in his bedroom?<\/span><\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-editorial-q-and-a-answer\"><span class=\"wp-block-editorial-q-and-a-content\">I\u2019d tell him to not lose the unshakable, fervent belief in what he\u2019s doing. When I first started, I had no experience or training, but I had so much more courage than I sometimes find now. I would tell him to never lose that. In a way, I hope he\u2019d tell me that.<\/span><\/p>\n<\/section>\n\n\n\t<section class=\"wp-block-editorial-collection-billboard magazine-block-editorial-collection-billboard\">\n\n\t\t<h3 class=\"collection-billboard-intro-title\">This Series<\/h3>\n\t\t<article class=\"collection-billboard-article\">\n\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"collection-billboard-media\">\n\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<figure class=\"collection-navigation-image\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<img width=\"600\" height=\"400\" src=\"\/cfa\/files\/2024\/05\/Rising-Star_Roz-Bevan_Ken-Yotsukura-Photography_thumbnail.jpg\" class=\"attachment-large size-large wp-post-image\" alt=\"\" loading=\"lazy\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/cfa\/files\/2024\/05\/Rising-Star_Roz-Bevan_Ken-Yotsukura-Photography_thumbnail.jpg 600w, https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/cfa\/files\/2024\/05\/Rising-Star_Roz-Bevan_Ken-Yotsukura-Photography_thumbnail-450x300.jpg 450w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 600px) 100vw, 600px\" \/>\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/figure>\n\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t<h3 class=\"collection-billboard-media-title\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<a\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\thref=\"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/cfa\/magazine\/articles\/2024\/roz-bevan-a-directing-hit\/\"\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\tclass=\"collection-billboard-media-title-link\"\n\t\t\t\t\t\t>A Directing Hit<\/a>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/h3>\n\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t<div class=\"collection-billboard-content\">\n\t\t\t\t<h4 class=\"collection-billboard-small-title\">Also in<\/h4>\n\n\t\t\t\t<h3 class=\"collection-billboard-title\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<a\n\t\t\t\t\t\thref=\"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/cfa\/magazine\/collections\/rising-star-2\/\"\n\t\t\t\t\t\tclass=\"collection-billboard-title-link\"\n\t\t\t\t\t>Rising Star<\/a>\n\t\t\t\t<\/h3>\n\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<ul class=\"collection-billboard-list\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<li class=\"collection-billboard-list-item\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<article class=\"collection-billboard-list-item-article\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<p class=\"collection-billboard-list-item-article-date\">June 15, 2026<\/p>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<h4 class=\"collection-billboard-list-item-article-title\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<a\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\thref=\"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/cfa\/magazine\/articles\/2026\/entrepreneurial-spirit-sarah-coleman\/\"\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tclass=\"collection-card-article-title-link\"\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t>Entrepreneurial Spirit<\/a>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/h4>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/article>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/li>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<li class=\"collection-billboard-list-item\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<article class=\"collection-billboard-list-item-article\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<p class=\"collection-billboard-list-item-article-date\">January 8, 2024<\/p>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<h4 class=\"collection-billboard-list-item-article-title\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<a\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\thref=\"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/cfa\/magazine\/articles\/2024\/bold-music\/\"\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tclass=\"collection-card-article-title-link\"\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t>Bold Music<\/a>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/h4>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/article>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/li>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<li class=\"collection-billboard-list-item\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<article class=\"collection-billboard-list-item-article\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<p class=\"collection-billboard-list-item-article-date\">May 31, 2023<\/p>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<h4 class=\"collection-billboard-list-item-article-title\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<a\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\thref=\"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/cfa\/magazine\/articles\/2023\/niko-cohen-designing-figure-skating-costumes\/\"\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tclass=\"collection-card-article-title-link\"\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t>Designing for the Ice<\/a>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/h4>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/article>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/li>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/ul>\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t\t<a\n\t\t\t\t\t\thref=\"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/cfa\/magazine\/collections\/rising-star-2\/\"\n\t\t\t\t\t\tclass=\"collection-billboard-link\"\n\t\t\t\t\t>Series home<\/a>\n\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n\n\t\t\t<\/div>\n\n\t\t<\/article>\n\n\t<\/section>\n\t","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>\u201cI started to re-create the scenes I saw in the films or improvise my own characters. I\u2019d start by prepping a scene by myself, without knowing that\u2019s what I was doing, and I noticed that hours would pass by,\u201d says Demian (\u201923). \u201cIt allowed me to channel a lot of things that I felt I [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":14125,"featured_media":121905,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"bu_prepress_billboard":"","_bu_prepress_primary_term":"","_bu_prepress_primary_term_manual":""},"tags":[],"bu-publication":[191],"magazine-article-category":[372,378],"magazine-topic":[392],"news-article-category":[],"news-topic":[],"bu_edition":[446],"media_type":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/cfa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/bu-article\/121924"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/cfa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/bu-article"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/cfa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/bu-article"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/cfa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/14125"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/cfa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=121924"}],"version-history":[{"count":9,"href":"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/cfa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/bu-article\/121924\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":127450,"href":"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/cfa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/bu-article\/121924\/revisions\/127450"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/cfa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/121905"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/cfa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=121924"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/cfa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=121924"},{"taxonomy":"bu-publication","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/cfa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/bu-publication?post=121924"},{"taxonomy":"magazine-article-category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/cfa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/magazine-article-category?post=121924"},{"taxonomy":"magazine-topic","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/cfa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/magazine-topic?post=121924"},{"taxonomy":"news-article-category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/cfa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/news-article-category?post=121924"},{"taxonomy":"news-topic","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/cfa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/news-topic?post=121924"},{"taxonomy":"bu_edition","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/cfa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/bu_edition?post=121924"},{"taxonomy":"media_type","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/cfa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media_type?post=121924"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}