Brett Azar Talks Playing The Iron Sheik On NBC's Young Rock

Before NBC canceled "Young Rock," it took audiences on a journey through Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson's life from childhood to WWE superstardom. Embedded in the wrestling industry from a young age, Dewey (played by Adrian Groulx) was surrounded by professional wrestling icons that left an impact on his life, including the Iron Sheik. And after the WWE Hall of Famer passed away recently, actor Brett Azar shared some stories about what it was like to play such a larger-than-life individual.

On Busted Open Radio, Azar recalled his first conversation with the former WWE champion. The legend initially thought that the actor wanted him to come out to Australia to be a part of the show and asked how much it would pay. With the help of his wife Carol and daughter Nicole, the Iranian strongman eventually understood and was very open to the process.

"He was really fun," said Azar. "So quiet and loving and the opposite of what you think of when you think of Sheiky. He was so introverted and relaxed. It was cool to get that angle of him... I've never had more fun playing a character because the Sheik was so eccentric. As an actor, you can't f*** it up. You can't overact. If you mess up your words, Sheiky was saying everything backwards anyway. It was the best character to play. For me, that was the greatest part. I could go in there, mumble a bunch of s***, and it was on cue."

The sitcom star also said that the most nerve-wracking part of the whole thing was the pressure to get the portrayal right since Iron Sheik would be watching. By the time the third episode aired, Azar said that he got a call from the family saying that they loved it and he got it right.