Michael Steger On '90210,' 'True Blood'

As Navid Shirazi on 90210, Michael Steger is causing trouble in Beverly Hills with his millions of dollars and has a penchant for dishing dirt in the school newspaper. It's a role that comes naturally for Steger, who was born and raised in Los Angeles. His exotic looks come from his Ecuadorian, Austrian and Norwegian ancestors. Steger majored in theatre at Cal Poly Pamona college and began his acting career in commercials. He has appeared in a number of Disney Channel original productions including Hannah Montana and Corey In The House and the film, The Cheetah Girls: One World. Steger has also guest starred as a victimized male prostitute in the third season of True Blood.

In real life Steger is not someone you want to mess with — martial arts has been one of his hobbies since childhood and he is a black belt in Tae Kwon Do. And though Steger greatly differs from his 90210 character in age and culture, it doesn't stop him from identifying with Navid. “I really connected with the character,” he told Uinterview exclusively. “We both have very similar backgrounds in the sense that both of our families are from overseas, but we ourselves are very Americanized.”