Shohreh Aghdashloo On Her Role As Basim’s Mentor, Roshan, In Assassin’s Creed Mirage

Assassin’s Creed Mirage is finally available on PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X/S (PS4), PlayStation 4, Xbox One (Xbox One), Amazon Luna and PC. It’s been on our radar for several weeks as part of Game Informer exclusive cover story coverage – check out our Mirage hub here for exclusive features, interviews, previews, and more – but everyone can play the game starting October 5. 

We spoke with Shohreh AGhdashloo, the renowned actress, ahead of Mirage’s release. She talked about what it was like to play Roshan in Mirage. What she learned from her experience, and what lessons players can take from Roshan. You can also read our interview with Mirage’s narrative director Sarah Beaulieu, and Basim voice actress Lee Majdoub.

Below is our exclusive interview with Shohreh Aghdashloo.

Shohreh Aghandashloo: An Interview

Play InformerWesley LeBlanc: What is your quick elevator pitch about Mirage’s character? 

Shohreh Aghdashloo: She’s definitely one of the most powerful female warriors that I have seen. She is a woman with a strong sense of justice. She wouldn’t mind putting her life in danger and at the forefront to bring justice to this town. And she’s a representative of diversity, ethnicities, and cultures, in the Ninth Century in Baghdad and its golden time. 

It’s been a while since Assassin’s Creed returned to its Middle Eastern origins. You’re an Iranian actor, but Basim is a Middle Eastern character. It’s interesting to know how it was for you to bring this character alive, especially if there is a cultural link. 

Aghdashloo: Obviously, projects closer to you are closer to your heart. The role was given to me with the hope that the actress would be Persian. You know, from Baghdad’s golden age in the 9th century. When I read the script I also noticed she was one of the Hidden Ones. I’m thinking, “Hidden Ones, I do remember hearing stories about the Hidden Ones in Persia.” As a child, my grandmother would tell me a number of stories about The Hidden Ones. Then I did more research and found that it was based on a book entitled The Book of LordYou can also find out more about The Book of God and it comes from Persia. Because I felt so connected to it, and because I love the feeling of being so close I wanted to think that perhaps I could improve my performance. This is a very sophisticated and multi-layered video game. I think that knowing the history of what happened back in those days with The Hidden Ones would make it easier for me to create a great game.

Could you tell us a little about the relationship between your character and Basim? 

Aghdashloo: It’s interesting. When I first read the script, it was obvious, it’s on the surface: this female warrior is looking for young people to recruit and to be able to bring justice to Baghdad with Basim. The relationship of the two characters is complex. After reading a few pages, it became clear that she doesn’t just trust him and that she believes he has what it takes to become a great assassin. She feels for him as if he were her son. This character really interested me because this mother is so committed to justice that she would be willing to fight alongside her own children for it. This is a complex, multi-layered, and sophisticated relationship.

When did you first get into the game? 

Aghdashloo: I was offered the role. It’s been 15 years since I began doing games. When I first did it, I was so impressed that I decided to continue doing more. As I continued to play video games, I found that they were becoming more sophisticated. I keep saying this: the first time I played a video game was with my nieces decades ago, and it was all about the guy jumping from one roof to the other.

It didn’t have such an elaborate story like Assassin’s Creed Mirage has and not such elaborate sets, and we were just watching a bit of it, and I was in honor of what Ubisoft has done with bringing Baghdad in the Ninth Century to life. It looks exactly like the pictures, obviously the imaginary pictures of Baghdad or the region back then in the Ninth Century. It blew me away when I first saw it. Ubisoft did a fantastic job in making this world real. It’s only when you really believe that it is real, can it be relatable. If the game designers, actors and voice artists are able bring some truth to this then the players would instantly connect. Another reason it’s so easy to connect to is because although it takes place in the Ninth Century, it can relatively speak for today very well. If you just change the coats the pashminas into brands of today and give them fast cars instead of horses, and the story, history, repeats itself. It is important to understand the history of our time in all its aspects.

What is the most important difference for you between video games, film and TV? 

Aghdashloo: From head to toe, you are at the disposal of bringing the story to the silver screen no matter what. But with voice artists, with the voice-over, what you need to do is channel it all into your voice because in order to be able to project, we need to move around. In a limited box. When I’m angry or when my character is angry or I have to call someone, I use that motion to allow me to project the most.

The reason us actors love doing voiceover is the fact that we don’t have to go through the process of hair and make-up two, three, sometimes four hours. My call time for some of the shows I did was 4:30 in the morning, but I’d arrive to the studio around 5 a.m. And it would take them three hours to do hair and makeup, and it’s wild and uncomfortable sometimes, but you need to pretend that it’s not, that it’s so comfortable in uncomfortable shoes, period shoes especially. You don’t need to pass through these passes. All you need to do is to wear flip-flops and pull your hair back – you don’t need makeup. It’s all about acting, putting the acting part into your voice.

How does it feel to project your voice in a mic and then have Ubisoft put that into your character? Remember the first time that you saw your voice in a game? 

Aghdashloo: Oh, yes, I do remember. The first thing I thought of was: “Why walk this way?” Then they said “This is not a movie, it’s a game.” Yes, it’s very strange the first time you see yourself and hear yourself. The first time you see yourself and hear yourself, it’s very weird. You get used to doing it and love it. We are all storytellers, whether we’re actors or not. People ask me all the time which I like better: voiceover, theater, film, television or movie. And I keep saying that I don’t act for the medium; I act for the sake of the acting.

What are your hopes for players to take away from the journey of your character in Mirage and what do you want them to learn? 

Aghdashloo: First and foremost, I hope for them to have fun. This is incredible, I tell you. It’s a fun, exciting game. I always wish for my daughter to be happy more than anything else. In the first place, I’d love to see players have a good time and enjoy playing such a complex and sophisticated game. It will be taken in because, no matter how it looks or sounds, the message is going into subliminal thinking and making them think. A real work of art does not exist to instruct me; it exists to make me ask questions. Why not? Why? Why is there no justice for everyone?

It’s like you think, “There is still a place where this happens.” How can we make people realize we’re all human beings? People of the world, regardless of the color of our skin, our accent; we’re all human beings, people of the world, and why can’t there be justice for all of us? Why are people so greedy? This is the question I’d love to see them ask. But I know for sure that no matter what, regardless of what I like, they are going to do this, they are going to take this in, and they’re going to ask these questions. It’s going to make them think. And when a piece of art makes me think, the piece of art has made it home.

Assassin’s Creed Mirage is coming to PlayStation, Xbox, Amazon Luna as well as PCs on October 5th. It will be available on iOS sometime next year. 

Visit to learn more about the game. Game InformerExclusive hub of coverage for Assassin’s Creed Mirage. Includes previews and features.