Hollywood Deadline Exclusive: EXCLUSIVE: After a heated competition, Homeland actress Nazanin Boniadi has scored the offer to play the female lead opposite Jack Huston in the Timur Bekmambetov-directed remake of Ben-Hur for MGM and Paramount Pictures. Boniadi plays CIA operative Fara Sherazi on the Emmy-winning Showtime drama starring Claire Danes. She will play Esther in Ben-Hur, the role that Gal Gadot was in discussions before conflicts knocked her out.