Checking in with HISHAM TAWFIQ

Before he landed on “The Blacklist,” Hisham Tawfiq devoted his life to public service. Indeed, before he took the role of bodyguard-turned-FBI agent Dembe Zuma in the

Sunday NBC thriller, he was a U.S. Marine deployed in Iraq during Operation Desert Storm in the early ‘90s, a corrections officer at Sing Sing prison in Ossining, N.Y., and a New York City firefighter.

In fact, he was two years away from his pension with the FDNY when he booked “The Blacklist.” So for those last two years, the series was his second job while he finished his 20 years with the Department.

“I loved it, man,” the 51-year-old native of Harlem says. “I never had a dream to be a firefighter. But I think when I came home from the Marines and learned about the job, it kind of fit with everything I was doing. I love uniforms and tools and getting ready and dirty and at the same time helping people, and the fire department gave me that opportunity.”

In fact, it’s that love of public service that Tawfiq brought to the character of Dembe. He says he used to beat himself up for not going to drama school, the traditional route of most actors, until an acting teacher pointed out that his life had already given him plenty of training.

“My acting teacher told me to just recognize and acknowledge my life experiences and how that kind of separates me from a lot of artists,” Tawfiq says. “And it’s just knowing the tools and having the tools to be able to use all of those life experiences and apply them to whatever character and whatever moment I’m in. And I’ve learned to do that so it’s worked pretty fluidly for me.”

Name: Hisham Tawfiq

Birth date: May 17, 1970

Birthplace: New York City

Family ties: He and wife Spirit have a son

TV credits include: “Kings,” “Law & Order: Criminal Intent,” “Lights Out,” “30 Rock,” “Nurse Jackie,” “Golden Boy,” “Ironside,” “Conrad,” “Law & Order: Special Victims Unit,” “Harlem”

Movie credits include: “Pressure” (2002), “Notorious” (2009), “Act of Vengeance” (2010), “Watching TV With the Red Chinese” (2012), “Single Hills” (2012), “Redemption” (2013), “Gun Hill” (2014, TV), “Dope Fiend” (2017), “Skate Kitchen” (2018), “Jinn” (2018), “To Live and Die in Bed-Stuy” (2020, TV), “Maya and Her Lover” (2021)

Favorite book: “I like ‘Outliers’ by Malcolm Gladwell. Like every book I read has an important shift in my life but that was a big shift after I read ‘Outliers.’ So

I’ll say that.”

Favorite movie: “I love ‘Gladiators’ (laughs). That’s my favorite movie, ‘Gladiators,’ and if I could name a second, I would say Spike Lee’s ‘Mo’ Better Blues.’ ”

Favorite musical artist: “I listen to everything but I love reggae and I love Afrobeat, so I’ve been listening to Burna Boy a lot right now. So I would have to say Burna Boy.”