I worked on the line, I've been an executive chef, I've worked for the Mets, I've worked for various steakhouses, vegetarian restaurants, a lot of Middle Eastern stuff. I've worked my fair share of a lot of different things. I've worked at festivals and street fairs, you know? I've been through it all.
'Reinventing the Bazaar,' by John McMillan, is a great and fun introduction to the wild variety and importance of markets throughout history and around the world. I finally understood how a Middle Eastern souk actually works economically and how to compare that to modern-day telecom-spectrum auctions. I love that book.
I was a big fan of Middle Eastern elements of music and experimental electronic and tribal sounds.
So my character on 'Tyrant' is a chap called Barry Al Fayeed, and he is the second son of a fictional Middle Eastern dictator. But, he has grown up since he was young in America. He's trained as a doctor. He's married a beautiful American girl, had two kids, so he's very much an American.
Belarus is not the Middle East. The policies of Belarussian and Middle Eastern leaders are cardinally different from one another.
Middle Eastern Muslim countries are not only important for Afghanistan due to common culture and faith, but also because of economic benefits.
The latest horror to hit the U.S. looks to have been caused by people of Middle Eastern origin, bearing Muslim names. Again, shame. This fuels more hatred for a religion and a people who have nothing to do with these events.
My favorite thing is just walking around London in no direction. I love people watching. And you can turn down a street and feel suddenly as if you are in Venice, or you'll be in a Spanish area or somewhere very English or Middle Eastern.