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Marvel’s Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D actor Vachik Mangassarian has died of Covid complications at the age of 78, Daily Mail reports.

He was best known for starring as Qasim Zaghlul in the Marvel Cinematic Universe.

He also had roles in Curb Your Enthusiasm and NCIS: Los Angeles.

The star’s agents said he died of Covid complications in Burbank, California.

Mangassarian was of Armenian descent and was born in Iran in 1943. However, he moved to the US in the 1966 at the age of 23.

He started out as a waiter in Los Angeles but always hoped to become an actor and had roles when he was a young man in Iranian films and in theatre.

The star landed his first Hollywood role aged 35 when he played in 1978 film The South’s Shark.

He appeared in a string of TV shows before getting a role as a father in 2008 Persian-language American film The Stoning of Soraya M starring American film legend Jim Caviezel.

It was for his portrayal of a world-famous architect, Qasim Zaghlul, in Marvel’s Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D that Mangassarian will best be remembered for.

After his spell in Marvel in 2013 he took up a guest starring role in Curb Your Enthusiasm four years later and played his final role in 2019 for NCIS: Los Angeles.

Mangassarian was a passionate advocate for the Armenian community and had a radio and a TV show focused on art, film and politics called The Armenian National Network, which he hosted for 10 years.