The Sheik

Khosrow Vaziri was a wrestler in Iran with hopes of the Olympics; then he went to America. In the eighties he entered the ring as the Iron Sheik: he played the foreign villain and became famous while the crowd booed him. The match he lost to Hulk Hogan is counted among the turning points of professional wrestling. Igal Hecht's documentary separates the character in the ring from the actual man. Vaziri's struggle with addiction, a heavy loss in his family, and the recovery of the later years make up the second half of the film. Hulk Hogan, Dwayne Johnson and Jim Ross speak in it. The question the film asks is this: what does playing the villain finally do to a person.