Advanced search
- TITLES
- NAMES
- COLLABORATIONS
Search filters
Enter full date
to
or just enter yyyy, or yyyy-mm below
to
Only includes names with the selected topics
to
or just enter yyyy, or yyyy-mm below
to
1-50 of 911
- Actress
- Producer
- Soundtrack
Shohreh Aghdashloo was born Shohreh Vaziri-Tabar on May 11, 1952 in Tehran, Iran. In the 1970s at age 20, she achieved nationwide stardom in her homeland of Iran, starring in some prominent pictures such as The Report (1977) directed by the renowned Abbas Kiarostami, which won critics awards at the Moscow Film Festival. In 1978, she won wider acclaim and established herself as one of Iran's leading ladies with Desiderium (1978) directed by the late Ali Hatami. During the 1978 Islamic revolution, Aghdashloo left Iran for England, to complete her education. Her interest in politics and her concern for social injustice in the world would lead her to receive a Bachelor's degree in International Relations.
She continued to pursue her acting career, which eventually brought her to Los Angeles, California in 1987. She went on to marry actor/playwright Houshang Touzie, performing in a number of his plays, successfully taking them to national and international stages. However, this was not easy getting work in Hollywood as a Middle Eastern actress with an accent; she had roles in some decent, though not great, films, including Twenty Bucks (1993), Surviving Paradise (2000) and Maryam (2002). She received good reviews for her 12 episodes on the fourth season of the Fox television series 24 (2001) as Dina Araz, a terrorist undercover as a well-to-do housewife and mother in Los Angeles. She had to wait quite some time to receive her break in Hollywood.
And finally, years after having read the acclaimed novel "House of Sand and Fog", DreamWorks were in the process of bringing the story to the silver screen. After having cast Ben Kingsley (as Massoud Amir Behrani) and Jennifer Connelly in the lead roles, they were looking for a relatively unknown Iranian actress to play Kingsley's wife, Nadi. Shohreh Aghdashloo was duly cast. She stole the limelight and earned herself an Academy Award nomination as best supporting actress amongst many other prestigious awards, including the Independent Spirit Award as best supporting actress in a feature film, the New York and Los Angeles film critics award and others.- Actress
- Producer
- Writer
Nazanin Boniadi's film and television credits are a testament to her versatility, spanning a breadth of genres including drama, comedy, sci-fi, fantasy and action. She recently starred as Bronwyn in the first season of Amazon's global hit series adaptation The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power (2022), she also starred alongside J.K. Simmons in the critically acclaimed Starz series Counterpart (2017), created and produced by Justin Marks. She was the female lead of the Thunder Road / Bleecker Street feature Hotel Mumbai (2018) from director Anthony Maras, in which she starred opposite Dev Patel and was nominated for an Australian Academy of Cinema and Television Award (AACTA), as well as had a supporting role in the Jay Roach and Charles Randolph's Roger Ailes film BOMBSHELL for Lionsgate and BRON opposite Charlize Theron, Nicole Kidman, and Margot Robbie. She also portrayed Ester in the 2016 major motion picture Ben-Hur (2016), and had a supporting role in Jon Favreau's Iron Man (2008).
Among her many television credits, Boniadi earned an outstanding drama ensemble SAG nomination for her work on Showtime's hit series Homeland (2011) in which she played CIA analyst Fara Sherazi. She portrayed Nora, a relatively longstanding love interest to Neil Patrick Harris's Barney Stinson, in seasons six and seven of How I Met Your Mother (2005). She also appeared as the notorious Adnan Salif in season three of Shonda Rhimes' hit political drama Scandal (2012).
Born in Tehran in the direct aftermath of the Iranian Revolution, Boniadi's parents relocated to London, England, shortly thereafter, where she was raised with an emphasis on education. While she was involved in theatre early in life, Boniadi later decided she wanted to become a physician. She moved to the United States at the age of 19 to attend the University of California, Irvine, where she received her Bachelor's Degree, with Honors (Dean's Academic Achievement and Service Award) in Biological Sciences, and won the "Chang Pin Chun" Undergraduate Research Award for her work in heart-transplant rejection and cancer research.
Switching gears to pursue her first love, Boniadi then decided to study acting, which included training in Contemporary Drama at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Arts in London under the supervision of dramaturge Lloyd Trott.
Boniadi is fluent in both English and Persian. She is also a longtime, renowned human rights activist, with a focus on her homeland Iran. Among her numerous recognitions she is the 2023 Sydney Peace Prize laureate. She has served as an ambassador for Amnesty International UK since 2020, and has been a member of the board of directors of the Abdorrahman Boroumand Center for Human Rights in Iran since 2023. She is a lifetime member of the Council on Foreign Relations.- Actress
- Producer
Pegah Ghafoori was born on 18 April 1999 in Tehran, Iran. She is an actress and producer, known for From (2022), One Must Wash Eyes (2024) and Hello Au Revoir (2021).- Director
- Writer
- Producer
Ali Abbasi was born in 1981 in Tehran, Iran. He is a director and writer, known for Holy Spider (2022), Border (2018) and Shelley (2016).- Actress
- Camera and Electrical Department
- Composer
Golshifteh started her acting career in theater at the age of 6 and has always kept a strong link with theater, but it was at the age of 14 that she acted in her first film The Pear Tree (1998), for which she won the prize for the Best Actress from the international section of the Fajr film festival, immediately making her one of the stars of Iranian cinema. Since then she has played in more than 15 films, many of which have been screened or awarded at international festivals. Amongst her latest films are Bahman Ghobadi's Half Moon (2006) (winner of the Golden Seashell at the San Sebastián film festival 2006), Dariush Mehrjui's controversial The Music Man (2007), still banned in Iran, and the late Rasool Mollagholi Poor's M like Mother (2006), which after a huge success in Iran was chosen to represent Iran for the Best Foreign Film at the Academy Awards in 2008. After playing in Body of Lies (2008) by Ridley Scott, Golshifteh became the first Iranian star to act in a major Hollywood production. Subsequently she was banned from her country. Her last film in Iran About Elly (2009) won a Silver Bear in Berlin and the Best Narrative Feature at Tribeca (2009). Golshifteh graduated from music school, she sings and plays the piano amongst other instruments. She is also fluent in French and English and lives in Paris now.- Actress
- Writer
- Producer
Nasim Pedrad (born November 18, 1981) is an American actress and comedian best known for her five seasons as a cast member on Saturday Night Live (1975) from 2009 to 2014. She has since gone on to co-star in sitcoms such as Mulaney (2014), Scream Queens (2015), People of Earth (2016), and New Girl (2011).
Pedrad was born in Tehran, Iran, to a Muslim family. Her parents are Arasteh Amani and Parviz Pedrad. Pedrad's family emigrated to the United States in 1984 when she was three years old. Her younger sister is comedy writer Nina Pedrad. Both sisters are fluent in Persian. The sisters were raised in Irvine, California, and graduated from University High School. Nasim graduated from UCLA School of Theater, Film and Television in 2003. She was a member of the UCLA Spring Sing Company.
Pedrad was a performer with the Sunday Company at The Groundlings. She frequently performed her one-woman show Me, Myself & Iran at the Los Angeles divisions of ImprovOlympic and the Upright Citizens Brigade Theater. The show was selected for the 2007 HBO Comedy Festival in Las Vegas. She received an LA Weekly Best Comedic Performance of the Year Award as the lead in the comedic spoof After School Special.
Pedrad made her first television appearance on an episode of Gilmore Girls (2000). In 2007, she made a guest appearance on The Winner (2007). She had a recurring role on ER (1994) as Nurse Suri. In 2009, she had a guest appearance on It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia (2005).
Pedrad joined the cast of Saturday Night Live in 2009 as part of the 35th (2009-2010) season. Pedrad is one of a handful of cast members born outside North America (joining Italian-born Tony Rosato, New Zealand-born Pamela Stephenson, English-born Morwenna Banks, and Chilean-born Horatio Sanz). Pedrad became a repertory player in the 2011-12 season after two years of being a featured player. Pedrad left SNL in 2014 to work on Mulaney.
In 2011, she was a recurring voice on the Fox animated series Allen Gregory (2011). She appeared with a small role in the 2011 film No Strings Attached (2011). In 2012, she had a supporting voice role in the animated feature film The Lorax (2012) and a small appearance in The Dictator (2012). In 2013, Pedrad had another supporting voice role in Despicable Me 2 (2013). In the autumn of 2014, she left Saturday Night Live to star in a new Fox sitcom, Mulaney. On October 18, 2014, Fox shut down production of the series by reducing the 16-episode order by three episodes. Filming for the thirteenth episode had just been completed prior to the order reduction, and the fourteenth episode was about to enter production.
Beginning in 2015, Pedrad has a recurring guest role as LAPD officer Aly Nelson on the Fox sitcom New Girl. She portrayed Gigi Caldwell in season one of Fox horror-comedy Scream Queens.
In 2016, she appeared in a commercial for Old Navy alongside comedian Kumail Nanjiani and other SNL cast members Cecily Strong and Jay Pharoah.
In 2017, she joined the cast of season two of the TBS comedy series People of Earth. Later that same year, she also made guest appearances on Curb Your Enthusiasm (2000) and Brooklyn Nine-Nine (2013).- Actress
- Producer
- Writer
Paniz Zade was born in Tehran, Iran. She is known for Tracker (2024), The Handmaid's Tale (2017) and Blood & Treasure (2019). She is married to Ryan Bruce.- Actress
- Producer
- Writer
Pooya Mohseni is an Iranian American actress, writer, filmmaker and Trans activist, born and raised in Tehran, Iran. She moved to New York in her teens, where she discovered her love of acting and story telling. She has guest starred on Primetime shows, like Law and Order : SVU , Falling Water and Madam Secretary and Big Dogs on Amazon Prime. She is the first middle eastern trans actor to play the role of judge on a prime time procedural. Her latest starring role in a feature is the lead role of Mari Walker's "See You Then", coming out in 2021. She is a graduate from the esteemed Maggie Flanigan Studio, and continues to build her resume of a wide range of characters, while exploring their humanity and fragility. She is fluent in Persian/Farsi and a transgender advocate, as well as a voice for immigrant and women's issues. She is also involved in writing and consulting on original LGBT stories to shed light on an otherwise under represented community.- Actress
- Producer
She is half-Scottish (father) and half-Israeli (mother). Her father, Professor David Stronach, was a notable expert on Persian antiquities. The family had to flee Persia/Iran during the Revolution. They went to Israel, then to America where Tami is still based. She was studying acting in California when she was chosen for her role as the child-like Empress. She has been a dancer throughout her life and has opted for this as her main career though she has recently returned to acting. She has been heavily involved in the Neta Dance Troop. She speaks several languages including English and Hebrew.- Pegah Ferydoni was born on 25 June 1983 in Tehran, Iran. She is an actress, known for A Murder at the End of the World (2023), Women Without Men (2009) and Stand Up (2021).
- Actress
- Producer
- Director
Zar Amir Ebrahimi was born on 9 July 1981 in Tehran, Iran. She is an actress and producer, known for Tatami (2023), Shayda (2023) and White Paradise (2022).- Writer
- Director
- Editor
Abbas Kiarostami was born in Tehran, Iran, in 1940. He graduated from university with a degree in fine arts before starting work as a graphic designer. He then joined the Center for Intellectual Development of Children and Young Adults, where he started a film section, and this started his career as a filmmaker at the age of 30. Since then he has made many movies and has become one of the most important figures in contemporary Iranian film. He is also a major figure in the arts world, and has had numerous gallery exhibitions of his photography, short films and poetry. He is an iconic figure for what he has done, and he has achieved it all by believing in the arts and the creativity of his mind.- Actor
- Casting Department
Omid Abtahi was born on 12 July 1979 in Tehran, Iran. He is an actor, known for The Hunger Games: Mockingjay - Part 2 (2015), Brothers (2009) and My Own Worst Enemy (2008).- Actor
- Producer
- Additional Crew
Dominic Rains was born in Tehran, Iran. Dominic is an actor and producer, known for A Girl Walks Home Alone at Night (2014), Burn Country (2016) and The Taqwacores (2010).- Actress
- Writer
Lara Dalileh Wolf is a Persian-Swiss actress and singer. She is fluent in English, German, and Farsi and speaks some Italian and French. She is based in Los Angeles, New York, and Zurich. She holds an MSc in Psychology from the University of Zurich and is a graduate of the Lee Strasberg Theater & Film Institute in NYC. She is an original and current member of the Primitive Grace Theatre Ensemble co-founded by David Zayas and Paul Calderon in NYC, where she has developed and work shopped her writing and continues honing her skills as an actress.
Lara is known for her role as Princess Nour on ABC's Quantico, starring opposite Priyanka Chopra. Later this summer, starting July 18th, she will be seen as Queen Berenice in the Peacock original series Those About To Die, starring Anthony Hopkins and directed by Roland Emmerich and Marco Kreuzpaintner. Lara also stars opposite Golshifteh Farahani in the upcoming film Reading Lolita In Tehran, based on the New York Times bestselling novel by Azar Nafisi and directed by Eran Riklis, as well as starring in the period film The Performance (directed by Shira Piven and starring Jeremy Piven and Robert Carlyle) where she has received high praise for playing a cabaret singer in Nazi-occupied Berlin who effortlessly transitions between singing styles and languages.
Lara thanks her multicultural upbringing between Tehran and Zurich for endowing her with a keen awareness of diversity, cultural similarities, and social injustices.- Actor
- Producer
Shaun Toub was born in Tehran, Iran. He was raised in Manchester, England. At 14 he moved to Switzerland and then to New Hampshire. After two years of college in Massachusetts, Shaun transferred to USC where he graduated.
Toub has received accolades for several of his appearances in over 100 television episodes including his newer work playing Terence in Snowpiercer for 2 seasons. He also played Majid Javadi in two seasons of Homeland. His work includes Little America on AppleTv, Scandal, Grimm, Seinfeld, The Sopranos, Castle, NCIS, Chuck, Lost, Charmed, ER, Just Shoot Me!, JAG, Married... with Children and various movies made for television.
His latest series Tehran just won an International Emmy playing Faraz Kamali, the intelligent officer. The second season will be streaming on May 6 on AppleTVPlus.
His filmography includes his memorable performance in Bad Boys, Broken Arrow, The Kite Runner, Charlie Wilson's War, Iron Man, The Last Airbender, and the Oscar-winning film Crash. Including Papa Hemingway in Cuba, the life story of Ernest Hemingway, in the role of Evan Shipman the poet.
Shaun resides in Los Angeles. Loves the outdoors, sports, and music.- Bahar Soomekh was born on March 30, 1975 in Tehran, Iran, to a Persian Jewish family. She is the daughter of Manijeh and Hamid Soomekh, who owned a women's high fashion company. She has a sister, Saba Soomekh. The family moved to Los Angeles in 1979, to escape the Iranian revolution. She attended a yeshiva, Sinai Akiba Academy, and Beverly Hills High School, where she played the violin in the school orchestra. She majored in environmental studies at the University of California at Santa Barbara. Soomekh began working at a corporate job, and took acting classes at night, before quitting her job to pursue a full-time acting career.
Bahar began acting at age 27, guest starring in television shows like Without a Trace (2002), 24 (2001), JAG (1995), among others. She got her big break portraying an Iranian-American woman named Dorri, speaking fluent English and Farsi, in the Academy Award winner for Best Picture, Crash (2004). The whole cast won the Screen Actor's Guild Award for Outstanding Cast in a Motion Picture. Bahar also appeared in the director's cut version of another Academy Award winning movie, Syriana (2005), playing Yassi. Bahar got some more attention playing Davian's translator in Mission: Impossible III (2006). She had a leading role in the horror film Saw III (2006), playing a victim, Dr. Lynn Denlon. She had also portrayed Margo on the television series Day Break (2006). Recently, Soomekh got one of the lead roles as Hollis on the television series The Oaks (2008), which will come out in the fall of 2008. - Sam Asghari is an American actor that is up-and-coming in the TV/Film industry. Sam was born in the country of Iran, he then migrated to the United States in the year of 2006 with his father. In high school Sam played American football at Westlake High School in Southern California. He was also involved with acting on stage in the school's drama program. After graduating high school, Sam continued with football and drama programs in college--after college, Sam decided to get involved in the fitness industry and help people achieve their goals. Sam lost about 100 pounds and became an inspiration for the people around him. After having a big following on social media, mostly fitness-driven people Sam began his career in both TV and film just a few years ago.
- Cinematographer
- Camera and Electrical Department
- Actor
Darius Khondji was born on 21 October 1955 in Tehran, Iran. He is a cinematographer and actor, known for Se7en (1995), The Immigrant (2013) and The Lost City of Z (2016). He is married to Marianne Khondji. They have three children.- Actor
- Producer
- Soundtrack
Born on September 19, 1978 in Tehran, Iran, Ramin Karimloo is an Iranian-Canadian singer and actor, best known for his work in musicals. When he was 2 months old, his parents were forced to flee Iran because of the Islamic Revolution. After spending two years in Italy, the family moved to Peterborough, Canada, where Karimloo grew up. At 12, he went on a school trip to see a touring production of "The Phantom of the Opera" and was so moved by Colm Wilkinson's performance as the Phantom that he decided to become an actor. He moved to Richmond Hill to attend Alexander Mackenzie High School, but dropped out at 18. He landed a job as a performer on a cruise ship, despite not having any experience in dancing, and two weeks later, after the lead singer dropped out, Karimloo took his place. On one such cruise he met Amanda Ramsden (known as Mandy), who later became his wife. In 2001, he and Mandy moved to London, where he got a job at a factory, but also found a voice teacher and an agent, landing a number of small roles in touring musicals such as "Sunset Boulevard" and "The Pirates of Penzance". In 2002 he debuted on West End as Feuilly in "Les Misérables", understudying Marius and Enjolras. In 2003 he got the role of Raoul in "The Phantom of the Opera" and went on to perform in "Les Misérables", this time as Enjolras, and in a touring production of "Miss Saigon" as Chris. In 2004, he appeared in a small role of Christine's father in the movie adaptation of The Phantom of the Opera (2004). In 2007, he became the youngest actor to ever play the Phantom in "The Phantom of the Opera" and two years later he was chosen by Andrew Lloyd Webber to be the Phantom in "Love Never Dies", a new musical continuing the character's story. In 2010, he played Enjolras in Les Misérables in Concert: The 25th Anniversary (2010), appearing on stage alongside his childhood hero Colm Wilkinson. A year later, they met again when Karimloo played the Phantom in The Phantom of the Opera at the Royal Albert Hall (2011), in which Wilkinson appeared as a special guest. In 2012 he released his first album, entitled simply "Ramin" (renamed "Human Heart" in the US). 2013 marked his Broadway debut, again in "Les Misérables", but this time in the leading role of Jean Valjean. This performance got him a Tony Award nomination for Best Actor in a Musical. He went on to appear in musicals such as "The Secret Garden" (as Archibald Craven), "Murder Ballad" (as Tom), "Anastasia" (as Gleb Vaganov) and "Evita" (as Che). Him and Mandy have two sons, Jaiden and Hadley.- Actress
- Writer
- Director
Maryam Moghadam was born on 16 February 1970 in Tehran, Iran. She is an actress and writer, known for Ballad of a White Cow (2020), My Favourite Cake (2024) and The Invincible Diplomacy of Mr Naderi (2018).- Elnaaz Norouzi is an Iranian born actress/model who lives in India and stars as one of the leads in India's first and massively popular Netflix series, SACRED GAMES, which was nominated for an International Emmy Award. She can be seen recurring in season 2 of the Apple TV+ series TEHRAN and the major motion picture KANDAHAR with Gerard Butler and Travis Fimmel. She will soon be seen playing the lead role in the Amazon international hit anthology series MADE IN HEAVEN. Her film HELLO CHARLIE was released on Amazon Prime Video and she can also be seen as one of the leads in the Sony series CHUTZPAH. Elnaaz grew up in Germany mastering Farsi, German, English, French and now she speaks fluent Hindi, Urdu and Punjabi too. Before she started acting, she had been working for more than 10 Years as a very successful international model for brands like Dior, Lacoste and Le Coq Sportive, to name a few.
- Actress
- Producer
- Writer
Niousha Noor was born on 9 March 1982 in Tehran, Iran. She is an actress and producer, known for The Persian Version (2023), Kaleidoscope (2023) and The Night (2020).- Director
- Producer
- Actor
Barbet Schroeder was born on 26 August 1941 in Tehran, Iran. He is a director and producer, known for Our Lady of the Assassins (2000), Single White Female (1992) and Barfly (1987). He has been married to Bulle Ogier since April 1991.- Actor
- Writer
- Producer
Maz Jobrani was born on 26 February 1972 in Tehran, Iran. He is an actor and writer, known for Friday After Next (2002), Jimmy Vestvood: Amerikan Hero (2016) and Dragonfly (2002). He has been married to Preetha since 2006. They have two children.