15 successful iranian in hollywood
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Adrian Pasdar was born in Pittsfield, Massachusetts, to Rosemarie Pasdar (née Sbresny), who owns a travel agency, and Homayoon Pasdar, a prominent heart surgeon. His father is Iranian and his mother, who was born in Germany, is of German, and some Polish, descent. At the age of 2, his father moved the family to Powelton, Pennsylvania, a suburb of Philadelphia. In high school, he excelled at football, eventually leading to a football scholarship at the University of Florida in 1983. Football may have been a promising future, had it not been for a terrible accident during his freshman year that left his face scarred and his legs badly injured. A very driven Adrian finished his freshman year in a wheelchair, doing intensive physical therapy and turning his attention to campus stage productions and rediscovered a childhood interest in writing and acting. No longer able to play football, he dropped out of school and returned home, taking a job with a theater group "People's Light and Theatre Company". Here, he worked on sound, lighting and set construction. While constructing a set, he cut off the end of his left thumb. Adrian, having the ability to turn tragedy into triumph, used his medical compensation to pay for attendance at the famous Lee Strasberg Theater Institute. At the age of 19, he auditioned for a role in Top Gun (1986). Director Tony Scott was so impressed that he wrote the part of "Chipper" just for him. This led to bigger roles in Solarbabies (1986), Streets of Gold (1986), and Kathryn Bigelow's 1987 cult vampire movie Near Dark (1987), with Adrian in the lead role of "Caleb Colton". He also appeared in Vital Signs (1990). Adrian has always been an actor ahead of his time, opting for roles in independent and cable movies long before they were considered fashionable for feature actors to do. In 1992, feeling completely out-of-touch with reality, Adrian left Hollywood to return to New York. He worked as a cashier for room and board, while taking the occasional small part, such as "Frankie" in Brian De Palma's Carlito's Way (1993). Another major break came in 1995, when Adrian was cast as the title character on the short-lived Fox series Profit (1996). He continues to act in supporting roles and has now added directing to his already impressive body of work. He wrote and directed the short film Beyond Belief (1999) and also directed a feature film entitled Cement (2000).- 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 Sward as best supporting actress in a feature film, the New York and Los Angeles film critics award and others.- Composer
- Music Department
- Actor
Ramin Djawadi is an Iranian-German film score composer known for composing the hit HBO series Game of Thrones and the Marvel films Blade: Trinity, Iron Man and Eternals. He also composed Clash of the Titans, A Wrinkle in Time, Pacific Rim, Westworld, Gears of War 4 and 5, Medal of Honor, Open Season 1 and 2, Jack Ryan and Warcraft. He won two Emmy Awards for Game of Thrones.- Visual Effects
- Art Director
- Art Department
Habib Zargarpour graduated from Art Center College of Design in Pasadena, CA with a Bachelor of Science in Industrial Design with Distinction after receiving a Bachelor of Applied Science in Mechanical Engineering from the University of British Columbia. He started his film career on 3D IMAX films in Los Angeles, then moving to the Bay Area to work at Industrial Light & Magic (ILM) as a VFX artist starting with The Mask. He developed the Nexus effect for Star Trek: Generations as well as the planetary explosion and first use of the CG Enterprise, working with VFX Supervisor John Knoll. He worked with VFX Supervisor Ken Ralston on the board game effects for Jumanji. Zargarpour also developed the first particle tornado for Twister working with Senior VFX Supervisor Dennis Muren on the test shot, and later with Stefen Fangmeier on the film VFX. Nominated for two Academy Awards and winner of two BAFTAs in Visual Effects for his work on Twister and The Perfect Storm while at ILM, some of his other film projects include Star Trek: First Contact, Star Wars Episode I, The Bourne Identity, Spawn, and Signs.
Zargarpour served as a Senior Art Director at Electronic Arts (EA) from 2002 - 2009 where he worked on Need for Speed Underground, 007 Bond Everything or Nothing, and Need for Speed Most Wanted for which he received a Visual Effects Society (VES) Award in 2006. He collaborated with Crytek on RYSE: Son of Rome, a launch title for the XBox One. In 2014 he became Director of Visuals for Global Publishing on Quantum Break, Crackdown 3, Scalebound, and ReCore.
Zargarpour has been passionate about using real time techniques in film making and combining his experience in film and games on Transmedia projects in order to cross-pollinate both industries with best practices of each. He is an active member of AMPAS, BAFTA, and a founding member of the Visual Effects Society and the 5D-Conference.- 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 Amour (2012), Se7en (1995) and Delicatessen (1991). He is married to Marianne Khondji. They have three children.- Writer
- Producer
- Additional Crew
Farhad Safinia was born in 1975 in Tehran, Iran. He is a writer and producer, known for Apocalypto (2006), The Professor and the Madman (2019) and Boss (2011). He has been married to Laura Regan since 2007.- 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.- Actor
- Writer
- Producer
An actor and stand up comedian, born in London to Iranian parents of the Baha'i faith. He studied English and Theatre Studies. He recently starred in the Netflix Global drama The Letter for the King (2020) as Sir Fantumar and the HBO/BBC series His Dark Materials (2019). A Perrier Award nominee in 2002 and Edinburgh Comedy Award Panel Prize winner in 2016, Omid has starred in films such as the smash hits Mamma Mia! Here We Go Again (2018), the Oscar nominated Shaun the Sheep Movie (2015), Oscar winning Gladiator (2000), Sex and The City 2, The Mummy and The Infidel. Other films include Mr Nice, Grown Your Own, Over the Hedge, Casanova, Modigliani, Sky Captain and the World of Tomorrow, The Calcium Kid, Anita & Me, Mean Machine and Spy Game. Other notable TV credits include two series of his own BBC One show, The Omid Djalili Show (2007), and a co-starring role in Whoopi Goldberg's NBC sitcom Whoopi. Omid was also part of the 2018 line-up for ITV's We Are Most Amused and Amazed, a televised celebration for The Prince of Wales' 70th birthday. Omid executive produced the acclaimed 2015 documentary We Are Many (2014) about the global anti-war demonstrations that took place in 800 cities on 15th February 2003.- Writer
- Producer
- Director
Hossein Amini was born in Iran, and when he was 11 years old, he and his family moved to England. Amini's first screenplay was for the 1994 TV movie The Dying of the Light, which was directed by Peter Kosminsky. The TV movie covered the murder of Sean Devereux, an aid worker who was murdered in Somalia in 1993 for criticizing arms sales. It was nominated "Best Single Drama" at the British Academy Television Awards. Amini also wrote an adapted screenplay of the 1895 novel Jude the Obscure by Thomas Hardy. Producer Andrew Eaton commissioned the screenplay in 1995, and it was filmed by Michael Winterbottom as Jude, released in 1996. Amini also wrote a screenplay for another TV movie, Deep Secrets, which aired in 1996. Amini wrote the adapted screenplay for The Wings of the Dove, which was based on the 1902 eponymous novel by Henry James. The film, directed by Iain Softley, was released in 1997 and received critical claim. Amini was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Writing - Adapted Screenplay. In September 2013, Amini delivered a screenwriting lecture as part of the BAFTA and BFI Screenwriters' Lecture Series.- Writer
- Director
- Producer
Asghar Farhadi was born in 1972 in Iran. He became interested in cinema in his teenage years and started his filmmaking education by joining the Youth Cinema Society of Esfahan in 1986 where he made 8mm and 16mm short films. He received his Bachelors in Theater from University of Tehran's School of Dramatic Arts in 1998 and his Masters in Stage Direction from Tarbiat Modarres University a few years later. During these formative years, Farhadi made six shorts and two TV series for Iran's National Broadcasting Corporation (IRIB) of which Story of a City (2000) is most noteworthy. In 2001, he debuted in professional cinema by co-writing the script for Low Heights (2002), a post-9/11 political chronicle of Southwest Iran, with famed war film director, Ebrahim Hatamikia. The film was met with both critical and public success. The following year, Farhadi made his directorial debut, Dancing in the Dust (2003), about a man forced to divorce his wife and go hunting snakes in the desert in order to repay his debts to his in-laws. The film earned recognition at Fajr and Moscow International Film Festivals and a year later, Beautiful City (2004), a grave work about a young man condemned to death at the age of sixteen, received awards from Fajr and Warsaw International Film Festivals. His third film, Fireworks Wednesday (2006), won the Gold Hugo at the 2006 Chicago International Film Festival. His fourth film, About Elly (2009), was called "a masterpiece" by film critic David Bordwell and won the Silver Bear for Best Director at 59th Berlin International Film Festival as well as Best Picture at Tribeca Film Festival. It was also Iran's official submission for the Foreign Language Film competition of Academy Awards in 2009. His more recent film, A Separation (2011), became a sensation. It got critical acclaim inside and outside of Iran; Roger Ebert called it "the best picture of the year," and it was awarded the Crystal Simorgh from Fajr Film Festival, Golden Bear and Prize of the Ecumenical Jury from Berlin International Film Festival, and also won Best Foreign Language Film from The Boston Society of Film Critics, Chicago and Los Angeles Film Critics Association, New York Film Critics Circle, National Board of Review, Golden Globes, César Award, Independent Spirit Award, and ultimately the Academy Award in the "Best Foreign Language Film of the Year," making him the first Iranian filmmaker ever to win an Oscar. His Oscar acceptance speech at the 84th Academy Awards, a message of peace in tens political times in his country, made him an instant hero among st Iranians. His film also received nomination for the British Academy of Film and Television Arts (BAFTA) Award in the "Best. Film Not in the English Language" category and for an Academy Award in the "Best Writing, Screenplay Written Directly for the Screen" category. A few days after receiving an Oscar, Farhadi signed with the United Talent Agency (UTA). While A Separation (2011) was being screened in different festivals and countries, Asghar Farhadi and his family moved to Paris so he could start work on the screenplay of The Past (2013), a story that takes place outside of Iran. The main character, Ahmad, returns to Paris after a four-year absence to finalize the legal aspects of his divorce from Marie. Ahmad's presence in Marie's life after all this time creates a complicated situation for them, and forces them to dig into their common past. The Past (2013) was released in 2013 in France during the Cannes Film Festival and again it had around one million admissions. It won the Best Actress Award at Cannes Festival and was nominated for the Golden Globes and the César. Farhadi returned to Iran in 2015 to shoot The Salesman (2016). The film was completed in 2016 and selected in competition at the Cannes Film Festival, where Farhadi won Best Screenplay while Shahab Hosseini, the lead actor, took home Best Actor. The Salesman (2016) was released in France that fall as well as in Iran where it became Farhadi's biggest success. In February 2017, he won his second Oscar for Best Film in a Foreign Language, making him one of the few directors worldwide who have won the category twice. A few months after, Farhadi kicked off his following project for which he reunites on screen Penélope Cruz and Javier Bardem. All shot in Spain and in Spanish, Everybody Knows (2018) also stars the Argentinean actor Ricardo Darín. The film is selected as the 71st Cannes Film Festival's opening film while also being in competition. Then at the 74th Cannes Film Festival, for his fourth appearance on the Official Competition, he presented A Hero (2021), which won the Grand Prix.- Producer
- Director
- Writer
Ramin Bahrani was born on 20 March 1975 in North Carolina, USA. He is a producer and director, known for 99 Homes (2014), The White Tiger (2021) and Fahrenheit 451 (2018).- Actress
- Producer
Vida Ghahremani was born on 27 May 1937 in Tehran, Iran. She was an actress and producer, known for The Bold and the Beautiful (1987), Eshq va entegham (1965) and Storm in Our Town (1958). She died on 2 June 2018.- Actress
- Producer
- Director
Sarah Shahi was born Aahoo Jahansouzshahi in Euless, Texas, to an Iranian father and Spanish-Iranian mother. She is a former NFL cheerleader and a descendant of a 19th-century Persian Shah. She attended Trinity High School and Southern Methodist University, studied opera and majored in English. As a teenager, she won several beauty contests and took first place in the Miss Fort Worth USA pageant in 1997. She joined the Dallas Cowboys cheerleaders and was part of the 1999-2000 squad. She also appeared on the cover of their 2000 calendar.
While working as an extra on the set of Dr. T & the Women (2000), she met director Robert Altman, who encouraged her to move to Hollywood to pursue a career as an actress. Shahi was the first ghost in Supernatural (2005), the CW paranormal drama series. She had recurring roles in several TV series, such as Alias (2001), in which she played "Jenny"; and Dawson's Creek (1998), where she was "Sadia Shaw". She became a fan favorite in her role as the Mexican-American DJ "Carmen de la Pica Morales" in the Showtime series, The L Word (2004), which she joined in its second season. Sarah did not renew her contract with the show for a fourth season and, consequently, her character was written out.
However, she is best-known for her main role as "Sameen Shaw" on the CBS show Person of Interest (2011) playing a CIA agent turned-vigilante with a heart of gold.
She also appeared on HBO's The Sopranos (1999), in the episode Kennedy and Heidi (2007) as "Sonya Aragon", a stripper and a college student who spends a weekend with Tony after a death in his family. Although uncredited by most sources, Sarah also appeared in the Jackie Chan film, Rush Hour 3 (2007), as one of the girls being handcuffed along with Mia Tyler for a traffic offense by Chris Tucker early in the film. She also starred with Damian Lewis in the NBC show, Life (2007).
Sarah speaks English, Farsi, and some Spanish, and has a brown belt in karate.- Sound Department
- Producer
- Actor
Kami Asgar was born on 26 May 1965 in Iran. He is a producer and actor, known for Gran Turismo (2023), Apocalypto (2006) and Zombieland (2009).- Actor
- Producer
- Stunts
Born in Mashhad, Iran, Navid Negahban's passion for acting led him to Germany where he spent eight years before embarking on Hollywood. Dubbed as "the man of a thousand faces," he garnered critical acclaim for his role "Abu Nazir" on the Emmy® Award-winning series Homeland. His quiet and composed depiction of the al-Qaeda leader won Negahban worldwide recognition, but it was his portrayal of the Sultan, in Disney's remake of Aladdin, which made him a household name.
Negahban's film credits include Twelve Strong, American Assassin, Damascus Cover, Baba Joon, and American Sniper. His extensive and diverse television portfolio consists of the portrayal of "Amahl Farouk/The Shadow King" on FX's Legion, making him the first Farsi speaking character in the Marvel Universe. He has also guest starred in classics such as Curb Your Enthusiasm, Law & Order: SVU, Veep, CSI:NY, The Closer, The West Wing, and more.
Negahban received a historic BAFTA nomination for his performance as "Hajj Agha" in the video game 1979 Revolution: Black Friday, marking the first time a Middle Eastern and Muslim actor has been nominated in this category.
In 2019 he started Romany Road Artist Foundation, a safe haven celebrating artistry, built by artists for artists.