Nasir

Nasir, full name Nasir Malik Kemal Inal Ibrahim Shams ad-Dualla Wattab ibn Mahmud, was a Saracen outlaw of Sherwood Forest, and a member of Robin Hood's band. He was portrayed by Mark Ryan.

Description
Nasir stood 5', 10" tall, had black hair and a beard, wore a studded leather jerkin, and wielded two scimitars. He rarely spoke.

Biography
Nasir was a Saracen who was a professional assassin in Palestine. At some point prior to 1195, Nasir was captured by Simon de Belleme, a European crusader, who used black magic to seize control of Nasir's mind.

By 1195, Belleme was back in England, with Nasir serving as his henchman. Nasir was freed from the spell when the Baron was slain by Robin of Loxley. Nasir, having found respect for Robin during a crucial sword fight, decided to join Robin's band of outlaws in Sherwood and help fight for the rights of the common people.

Creative origins
According to the creator of Robin of Sherwood, Richard Carpenter, the character of Nasir came about somewhat accidentally. Nasir was originally scipted as a character named "Edmund (or Edmond) the Archer", and was originally meant to be killed off by Robin Hood in the pilot episode, but, seeing as the cast and crew had taken a liking to actor Mark Ryan during the filming of this episode, his nemesis was taken out of the script and it was decided that he should stay on as a regular character. There having been no Saracen in Robin Hood's band in any of the original legends or previous film adaptations, there was some worry about how the audience would receive this new character. Nasir did in the end, however, turn out to "create his own legend." Later filmed versions of Robin Hood, such as Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves and The New Adventures of Robin Hood, have all featured an "Arabic" merry man in their respective stories - obviously inspired by the Saracen character in Robin of Sherwood.

Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves
When Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves was in the initial stages of filming, Richard Carpenter reportedly considered suing the makers of the film after getting word that there was to be an Arabic character named Nasir (played by Morgan Freeman) in the film - seeing this as an obvious theft of his own work on the British TV-series. After stuntman Terry Walsh, whilst working on Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves, (he had previously also worked on Robin of Sherwood) pointed out to the makers of the Hollywood film that Nasir was not a character in the original Robin Hood legend, Morgan Freeman's character's name was changed to Azeem in order to avoid this possible lawsuit.

External link

 * Ryan's bio at Spirit of Sherwood.