Though his character on Gossip Girl, Cyrus Rose, is "ostentatiously Jewish" and has worn a yarmulke in two out of five episodes, Wallace Shawn tells Tablet, the Arab people have taken something of a shine to him. "I was fascinated in London this spring to meet many people from Arabic-speaking countries who told me that the show and my character were very popular in their homelands. So I feel I’m contributing to international understanding." Frankly, we're not surprised. If Cyrus can broker an accord between the high-strung Waldorf women, why shouldn't he be able to bring peace to the Middle East? [Tablet]

Related: Wallace Shawn on Essays, Being Funny, and What He’d Say to Obama [Vulture]