For Sam Asghari, life is golden.
He plays the “baddest man” in the new film The Gentleman Thief, starring John Travolta, and is obsessed with girlfriend Brooke Irvin.
But he also knows that to many people he will forever be known as “Mr. Britney Spears.”
Asked if he thought there would ever come a day when the troubled superstar, who was in a relationship for six years and married for nearly two years until 2024, would stop hearing about him, he told Page Six:
“But am I prepared to answer these questions? And am I prepared enough to not let them affect me? Of course.”
In contrast to Asghari’s calm new life, just this year, Spears, 44, was arrested for drunk driving and checked into rehab.
Just days ago, the singer raised safety concerns after standing up and dancing through the sunroof of a Mercedes G Wagon as it traveled down the 101 Freeway in Los Angeles. She later dismissed the backlash on Instagram, writing, “Nothing is what it seems.”
So, what does Mr. Asghari think about the recent actions of his ex-wife, who has had a difficult time in public life?
The Iranian-born actor paused before answering.
“I’ve been really focused on what’s going on in my country,” he said. “All my focus is on that and the projects I’ve been doing. I don’t really like watching entertainment news and I don’t like to believe what I see anyway.
Mr. Asghari recently said that Ms. Spears, like other women in Iran, is oppressed.
The 32-year-old first met Spears in October 2016 on the set of her “Slumber Party” music video. He played her lover and they hit it off right away.
Asghari stood by Spears’ fight to be freed from a strict 13-year conservatorship, and they tied the knot in June 2022 in a star-studded wedding with guests including Madonna and Drew Barrymore. During that time, multiple sources told Page Six that Asghari has been a steadfast support force for her.
Asghari remains clear that he wants what’s best for Spears, who ended their marriage without any spousal support, Page Six previously reported.
“The past is the past and we can celebrate it and always reflect on it,” he said. “You can’t change the past. What happened happened. And like I said, I’ll never complain about the one thing that changed my life for better or worse.”
Several years have passed since the divorce was finalized in December 2024, and Asghari has moved on. He has been dating Irvine, 32, for almost two years and the two live together in Los Angeles with their dog Porcha.
“She’s amazing,” he said of the real estate agent. “She’s been very supportive and we’re trying to enjoy the summer and go on vacation, and we’re trying to figure out a schedule for where we’re going.”
Could the two be expanding their family soon?
“I’m focused on my career right now, but what I learned is that if you’re going to build a future in Hollywood, you have to put yourself at risk, not your family or the people next to you…” Asghari said. “But yeah, at some point, who doesn’t want to have a family? I mean, everyone wants to have a family.”
Asghari, a former fitness trainer, has worked hard to build a career in Hollywood. Last year, he appeared on NBC’s hit show “The Traitors.” And now he’s starring in The Gentleman Thief, which opens July 31, playing Victor, a member of a team scouted by veteran con man Mason Goddard (Travolta) to steal a $100 million painting from a yacht.
“I’m macho and surgical muscle,” Asghari said with a laugh. “Everyone on the team has an area of expertise, and I’m the guy with the big guns and the big mission.
“I’m really the worst person in this movie.”
Asghari was brought on to the project through his old friend Randall Emmett, who also produced the film, which also stars Rebecca De Mornay, Lukas Haas and DJ Khaled.
It’s a remarkable full-circle moment for Asghari, who watched Travolta movies to learn English as a child growing up in Tehran. (His favorite is “The Take of Pelham 123,” released in 2009, a few years after he immigrated to the United States at age 12.)
“I never imagined that I would one day share the screen with him,” he said of Travolta. “He came from Iran as a 12-year-old boy and has already won the lottery, because the chances of coming to America from such a country are slim to none.”
Now, he marvels, “I’m working with legends like Mel Gibson, John Travolta, John Cena, Gene Smart, Don Cheadle, Morgan Freeman, and people I never imagined.”
“I come from a country that has been through so much politically…and there are so many innocent people in Iran with so much potential. And I always say, if I had been in Iran, I would never have accomplished anything more.”
“I’ve been working all my life,” said the younger Asghari, who joined his father, a tow truck driver, in Los Angeles. “When I came to America, I was sweeping the floors at my cousin’s tow truck shop, and then I worked as a mechanic.”
“The reason I’m in the entertainment world now is because my journey has led me this way. Whether I’ve been an athlete, in the entertainment world, or in business, I’ve always been the same person. Whether I’m working with John Travolta or sweeping my cousin’s floors, I’m still the same.”
Despite having been with Spears as long as he has, he said, “I’m always amazed when I meet people who have been in this industry the longest, especially icons. The more successful people are, the more famous they are, the more iconic they are, the most charismatic people are usually the hardest working and most humble people.”
With Travolta, “we talked about cigars, Iran, cars, airplanes.”
It’s no secret that Travolta has been a religious believer for decades, but what about Scientology? Did Travolta try to recruit him?
“Absolutely not!” he said. “I don’t even know what that is. So, no. No, never. He was an absolute professional, just a great person, a great father, a great family man.
Next, Asghari produced a short film called “The Good American,” set in Iran and the United States, in which he plays an Iranian refugee and rideshare driver living in Los Angeles. It will be hitting the festival circuit starting this fall.
“As artists, I feel like our responsibility is not to be politically involved, but to be emotionally involved and support projects that really mean something to us,” he said. “This was a Hollywood production that showed what’s really going on in Iran and how immigrants react when they come to this country.”
The conflict that has torn his country apart in recent months “didn’t feel good at all,” he continues, “I mean, who likes to see their country being held hostage by their own government, doing such terrible things, and being dragged into a war where they can’t even protect themselves? It doesn’t feel good at all, but it gives me the motivation to continue representing my people and being able to do things for my people.”
He thinks of himself as a rose growing through concrete, he said.
“Concrete is the country where I was born, and roses are me growing up in unknown circumstances.”
