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The Agency’s Jodie Turner-Smith on learning Arabic and 'honouring' Sudanese culture through her role as Samia

Turner-Smith chats to Pass the Mic about what went into crafting her character's cultural identity for The Agency.

Jodie Turner Smith as Samia Zahir in The Agency in a crowd full of people who are holding colourful umbrellas, looking confused as she stands, wearing a matching blue dress and headscarf.

Luke Varley/Paramount+

Published: Sunday, 21 June 2026 at 10:00 am

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Having played the role of Samia now since the very first episode of Paramount+ spy thriller The Agency, Jodie Turner-Smith now reprises her role for the second season – this time with a marked difference for her character.

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While season 1's final episode saw CIA agent Martian (Michael Fassbender) completely compromised and forced to work as a double agent for the UK’s Secret Intelligence Service, things are similarly not in a great place for Samia in this second season.

As we see in the season 2 episodes, Samia is taken as a political prisoner in Sudan, with much of the season seeing her in distress, as we wait to find out whether or not her lover can rescue her. But in regards to honouring Samia's Sudanese heritage, actress Turner-Smith has continued to underline that it's of the utmost importance when it comes to crafting this character.

When chatting exclusively with Radio Times for Pass the Mic, Turner-Smith – who herself is of Jamaican descent – said of building out her character's cultural identity: “Something that I really love about the show is that everybody really cares about making sure that we're bringing as much authenticity to it as possible."

Jodie Turner-Smith as Samia in The Agency, wearing grey rags and sat on the floor in a prison cell, looking up at light coming in from the window.

Jodie Turner-Smith as Samia in The Agency. Paramount+

She went on: "We had a Sudanese cultural consultant, and I did also study and begin learning Arabic for this as well. Because anytime that I have a character that speaks a different language, I always think it's very important not just to learn my lines in that language, but to try to dive into the language. Because with language, with culture, comes a certain level of nuance, of ways of being.

"So, I tried to do everything that I could to explore what it would mean to be a woman like Samia – to come from a background like hers, to have been raised the way that she was, and also to be considering the things that she is in her head. While she is a complicated woman, who isn't?"

Turner-Smith added: "That was one of my favourite things about playing this role, was kind of bringing that complexity that says that nobody is just one thing. And so I thought that was something that would really help to bring colours to this.

"Something that I also say in press and something that I hold in my heart – and I always say to the producers and the writers whenever I'm doing any role – is that I always seek to honour whichever culture I get the privilege to be able to embody. So I talk to people – friends, colleagues, seek out scholars, to kind of develop what is going to be the personal ideology of this character.”

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Turner-Smith is of course known for a variety of roles over the years, having played the title role in 5's Anne Boleyn opposite Mark Stanley (The Witness), as well as starring in TV shows like Sex Education, Bad Monkey and Nightflyers.

On the release of the first season of The Agency, Turner-Smith had previously expressed why Black actors should be able to portray those from the African diaspora.

In an interview with The Hollywood Reporter for the show's first season, she had said: "I firmly believe that we in the diaspora should be able to play all of us, who we are descendants of, natives of, relatives of on the African continent. We should all be able to play each other. It’s honoring each other.

"We are all having a shared experience across the globe and there are nuances to each of our cultures that we then get as performers and artists to bring into our performances to honour, to research, to dedicate ourselves, to bring to light, and I get to do that, and that makes me very happy."

The synopsis for The Agency season 2 reads: "The Agency follows Martian (Fassbender), a CIA agent living undercover in his own life. Samia (Turner-Smith), his lover, is a political prisoner in Sudan, and he will do anything to try to save her, even past the point of treachery. The only way out is deeper in. A knife-edge Martian must walk if he is to save love, life, and his mission."

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The Agency season 2 launches on Paramount+ from 21 June.

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Authors

Black and white cut-out portrait headshot of James Hibbs, smiling against a lime green background.

James HibbsDrama Writer

James Hibbs is a Drama Writer for Radio Times, covering programmes across both streaming platforms and linear channels. He previously worked in PR, first for a B2B agency and subsequently for international TV production company Fremantle. He possesses a BA in English and Theatre Studies and an NCTJ Level 5 Diploma in Journalism.

Black and white cut-out portrait headshot of Morgan Cormack, smiling against a lime green background

Morgan CormackDrama Writer

Morgan Cormack is a Drama Writer for Radio Times, covering everything drama-related on TV and streaming. She previously worked at Stylist as an Entertainment Writer. Alongside her past work in content marketing and as a freelancer, she possesses a BA in English Literature.

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