middle eastern actors/actresses
actors/actresses from turkey, israel, iraq, qatar, yemen, saudi arabia, united arab emirates, iran, lebanon, jordan, oman, bahrain, and kuwait
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Hiam Abbass also Hiyam Abbas, is a Palestinian actress and film director. Abbass was born in Nazareth, Israel, to a Muslim Arab family. She was raised in the village of Deir Hanna. Since the late 1980s, she has lived in Paris and holds French citizenship. During the filming of the Steven Spielberg film Munich (2005), Abbass lived in a hotel with the Palestinian Arab and Israeli actors for three months. During that time, they had many discussions that "helped both sides grow closer." In an interview in 2006, Abbass said, "I still remember how difficult it was for the Arab actors to manhandle the Israeli actors in the first scene where the Israeli national team is taken hostage."- Actress
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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
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Yasmine Al Massri is an international actress, contemporary artist and dancer. Born in Lebanon, from a Palestinian father and an Egyptian mother. At age 20, she moved to Paris to study, and graduated from the prestigious L'Ecole des Beaux Arts de Paris in Multimedia and live performances.
Her artistic interdisciplinary career began in dancing, when in 2000 she joined the Thouraya Baghdadi's Dance company in Paris. Inspired by great choreographers, she explored classical and innovative ways of performing Arab repertoire and opened herself to world folklore, Flamenco, Salsa and African dance. Shortly afterwards she created her own personal style of performance and directed herself in numerous performance videos that have been seen in performance arts festivals around the world.
Al Massri's first big break as an actress was in the award-winning Lebanese film "Caramel" written and directed by Nadine Labaki. At the 2007 Cannes Film Festival it generated tremendous critical acclaim and went on to be the most successful Arab film to date. It also got Al Massri a best actress award with the film's ensemble of actresses at the Abu Dhabi International Film Festival, and later a nomination at the Asia Pacific Screen Award 2007.
In 2008, director Najwa al Najjar cast Yasmine in the lead role of her award winning film "Pomegranates and Myrrh" alongside Hiam Abbass. The film opened at the Sundance Film Festival in 2009 and Yasmine went on to win the Youssef Chahine Best Actress award for her performance at the Rabat International Film Festival.
In 2010 Yasmine starred in Julian Schnabel's internationally acclaimed film," Miral", alongside Vanessa Redgrave, Hiam Abbas, Frieda Pinto and Willem Dafoe. Her latest movie "The Last Friday", won the best film award at the Dubai International Film Festival 2011.
More recently, Yasmine was seen as a series regular opposite John Malkovich in the NBC series Crossbones and also as a series regular in the ABC series Quantico.
In 2015, Variety included her on their list of breakout performances, which also included the likes of Rami Malek, Aziz Ansari, Titus Burgess, Taraji P. Henson, Ben Mendelsohn and more.Lebanon- Actor
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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.- Actor
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Haaz Sleiman was born and raised in Lebanon. He moved to the United States when he was twenty-one years old, and he developed a love for acting in film, television and theater. His breakout role was "Tarek" in the award-winning film The Visitor. He was nominated for an Independent Spirit Award for his performance. He has since appeared in Nurse Jackie, Nikita, 24, and Covert Affairs. He recently appeared on the NY stage in the critically acclaimed play Food and Fadwa.- Actor
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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.- Lisa Najeeb Halaby was born in 1951 to Najeeb and Doris Halaby in California. Growing up she spent a lot of time with her paternal grandmother. Her family moved to Washington in the early 1960s because her father had been created the director of the FAA under President Kennedy. Later Najeeb became the second director of PAN-AM and the family spent a lot of time traveling places because it was free. During this time Lisa went to a school that she did not like because it did not let her be who she wanted to be. She then transferred to another school that was more suited to her style and then went on to Princeton. Halfway through she took some time off to travel in the United States, but went back to get her masters in Urban Planning.
After she graduated in the mid 1970s she went to Australia where she worked for a company based partly in the middle East. She was then transferred to the middle east and fell in love with it because of her middle-eastern descent. Because her father was the president of PAN-AM he knew famous people and during a tour of the middle east had Lisa meet King Hussein of Jordan. Nothing happened at first, but several months later he invited her to his castle for lunch and to meet the children of his last wife that had died in a helicopter accident. They soon fell in love and got married. Lisa became a muslim and Hussein gave her the title of Queen Noor meaning light in Arabic. Noor and Hussein eventually added to his 8 children with four of their own. Their marriage was not perfect, they had many trials and hardships dealing with everything going on in the middle east at the time, but they were happy and they loved each other. Then in the mid to late 1990s Hussein found out that he had cancer. They tried to cure him, but in February of 1999 he died. Noor was heartbroken, but things were to get worse. There was a power struggle between her and her step-son Abdullah because as his father's eldest male heir, he thought he should be King, but Noor wanted her eldest son Hamzah to be king. Eventually Abdullah became King. Noor now spends her time between Jordan, London and New York spending time with her children and her siblings as well as many charitable organizations that she has in Jordan. - Actor
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Grew up in Riverside, California; graduated North High School, 1988. Attended Academy of Dramatic Art in Pasadena, California. Has been a regular performer at The Comedy Store in Los Angeles since 2000. Headlines a specialty show at the Comedy Store called "Arabian Knights" that was the brainchild of owner Mitzi Shore and features comics of Middle Eastern descent.- Actress
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Alia Shawkat was born in Riverside, California, to Dina Burke and actor Tony Shawkat. Her maternal grandfather, Paul Burke, was also an actor. Her father is from Baghdad, Iraq, and her mother has Irish, Italian, and Norwegian ancestry. Success arrived early for Alia. Her career began at the young age of 11 when she landed a role on the ABC Family series State of Grace (2001). She later starred as "Maeby Funke" on Fox's Emmy-award winning Arrested Development (2003) where she portrayed a rebellious and mischievous member of a dysfunctional Orange County family trying to adjust to their loss of wealth.
Alia was introduced to show business by appearing in a Calvin Klein catalog, which immediately attracted the attention of commercial and theatrical agents in Hollywood. She soon landed a role opposite George Clooney in Three Kings (1999). This was followed by a supporting lead in the Ron Perlman' movie The Trial of Old Drum (2000).
But it was State of Grace (2001) that catapulted her into the forefront of young actresses. She has also had guest-starring roles on JAG (1995), Without a Trace (2002), Boomtown (2002) and Presidio Med (2002) and she recently starred opposite Martin Lawrence in Rebound (2005).
At 16 years old, when she was not filming, Alia attended a private school near her home in Rancho Mirage where she was able to continue her studies in English, Physics, Math, Geography and Drama. Her ambition is eventually to attend Yale University studying International Relations.
In her free time, Alia enjoys horseback riding, ice-skating and dancing. She is an accomplished pianist and speaks several languages. She splits her time between her home and Rancho Mirage and Los Angeles where she resides with her parents and her two brothers.- 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.Iran - Born in Kuwait, Catherine Thangam is an actress, dancer and model. Since 2013, Catherine has worked on numerous print ads and commercials including Western Union, BASF, Swarovski, Polyvore, and Andriod/Google. She had a cameo role in the 2014 online short "100:The Tribute," a film paying homage to the past 100 years of Hindi cinema, and was also a principle lead in "Raj", a short film out of NYU's Tisch School of the Arts that shed light to the complexities of extra-marital affairs within a traditional Indian family. Catherine has also worked as a dancer in the 2012 crossover feature "English Vinglish" from Hope Productions and Eros International.
Catherine lives in New York City. When she is not filming or auditioning, she fulfills her love for fine dining culture by venturing out in search of new food finds and innovative hot spots around the city.Kuwait - Actress
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Golsa Sarabi is an international star and an action actor. She was born in Tehran, Iran and now lives in Los Angeles. Golsa has a diverse experience in performing arts, which includes film, stage, producing and script writing. She has been one of the executive producers on the movie called "Dreams I never had" and got nominated as the Best Actress at the Burbank International Film Festival for her lead role opposite Malcolm McDowell and Robin Givens! She's done four short movies as being the producer and has finished a short movie at the Sundance Film Festival with being the First Title Above Billing, which got to the top three nominations. She also played as one of the leads in a TV Pilot called "By Design"! Golsa was the first winner of the "Young Acting Award" at the "Lee Strasberg institute" in Los Angeles, where she completed a two year intensive method acting program. She was the first Persian woman after 35 years of the revolution who was Ms. Iran at the "Queen of the Universe Pageant" and won the "Queen of the Universe" Award, motivated by the desire to empower women. As an honor student, who has a strong background in mathematics Olympiads, and was the winner of gold and silver medals in swimming and basketball competitions, she has earned multiple fitness training certifications, and is launching her own line of workout clothes in 2022, which will be marketed worldwide.Iran- Actress
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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.Iran- Actress
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Born on January 12th 1984 in Tehran. Her father is a former national team football player, Hamid Alidoosti. She started her career as an actress visiting Amin Tarokh's acting school in 2000. Soon she was chosen for her first role in I'm Taraneh, 15 (2002) (I'm Taraneh, 15), which has so far remained her main success. Her first steps in acting brought her the silver Leopard on the 55th Locarno film festival, and the Cristal Simorgh on Iranian's biggest film festival, Fajr. Being extremely selective her next appearance was 3 years later, Beautiful City (2004) (Beautiful city) by Asghar Farhadi. Fireworks Wednesday (2006) (Fireworks Wednesday) and About Elly (2009) (About Elly) are her next movies with Asghar Farhadi. She has also played in Canaan (2008) by 'Mani Haghighi' which is going to be released in October 2008. Doubt (2009) (by Varuzh Karim-Masihi) is her latest movie which is being shot now in Tehran. She has also appeared in two theater plays, both written and directed by Mohammad Rahmanian.Iran- Sofia Pernas was born in Fes, Morocco, and saw a lot of the world before finally settling in Los Angeles. Initially aiming for a career in journalism, Pernas' life took an unexpected turn when she was approached by a modeling scout and later an acting agent who put her career into motion. Her unique look is attributed to a Moroccan mother and Galician father.Morocco
- Sara Loren was born on 11 December 1985 in Kuwait. She is an actress, known for Makan Aka Home a Heaven (2006), Kajraare (2010) and Sultanat (2014).Kuwait
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Rula Jebreal is an Italo-Palestinian journalist, novelist and screenwriter with both Israeli and Italian citizenship. Her mother died when she was five, and her father put her and her sister in the Dar El-Tifel orphanage, where she was educated. She won a scholarship from the Italian government to study medicine at the University of Bologna and graduated with a degree in physiotherapy. While working as a physiotherapist, Jebreal went back to school at the University of Bologna, earning her masters in Journalism and Political Science.
She became the first foreign anchorwoman in the history of Italian television, winning a Media Watch award for her coverage of the Iraq war, and by age 33 earned the highest European journalism award, the International Ischia Award, for Best Journalist of the Year. Jebreal worked as a journalist in Italy for 12 years, earning a reputation for being one of the toughest interviewers because of her interviews with such prominent figures as Prime Minister Massimo D'Alema, Silvio Berlusconi, Bill Gates, President Mahmoud Abbas, Bernard Kushner, Al Berdei and Ingrid Betancourt. In 2006 she became the co-presenter of AnnoZero (2006), the most important and controversial show in Italy, together with Michele Santoro. In 2008 Jebreal created her own television show in Cairo at Al-Qahira Wal-Nas, Egypt's main television station, where she filmed 30 episodes covering politics, economy and the collapse of society in Egypt under Hosni Mubarak's regime.
Jebreal's first novel, "Miral", published in 2003, was translated into 15 languages, sold millions of copies worldwide and was eventually made into a film--Miral (2010)--that was directed by Julian Schnabel, from Jebreal's screenplay. The film premiered at the Venice Film Festival on September 2, 2010, to a 15-minute standing ovation, and won the UNICEF Protection of Children award. "Miral" had its U.S. premiere at the United Nations General Assembly Hall, the first film ever to premiere there.
Jebreal's second novel, "The Bride of Aswan", was published in 2007 and was translated into five languages, winning the International Fince Europa Award. Her third book, "Rejected", is a non-fiction study about the history of immigration in Europe. It was published in Italy and France, and is used in universities in Italy.
Jebreal wrote and produced the documentary "Permesso di Sogiorno", about the death penalty in China, the United States and Iran during the UN debate over the death penalty moratorium in 2008. The critically acclaimed documentary aired on Italian television in 2008.Palestine- Actress
Born in Bahrain, Naila grew up between Egypt and Belgium before moving to London to pursue acting. She is of mixed Egyptian and Albanian heritage. Her filmography includes: 'Summer in Provence' (2012), ' The Bounty Killer' (2018), and 'Blind Spot' (2022). Naila has also produced music videos for her partner through her production company Ninaa limited .Bahrain- Marjan Neshat was born on 10 October 1975 in Tehran, Iran. She is an actress, known for RoboCop (2014), Alfie (2004) and The Book of Henry (2017).Iran
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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
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Ali Saam was born in Tehran, Iran. Growing up, he was a huge fan of characters such as Batman and Zorro and Western films and TV shows in general. He moved to the United States in the late 1970s to continue his education abroad. He earned his Bachelor of Science in Computer Information Systems (CIS), and after living in different cities he decided to settle in Los Angeles to follow his passion, acting, and work on turning his dreams into reality. He started his training at Stella Adler Conservatory of Theatre and continued on at the Actors Circle Theater where he studied under the direction of famed instructor, Arthur Mendoza, for several years. His lead role as Tony in "The Big Picture" directed by Penny Johnson was his debut in theater, and his supporting role as Joseph Dimarco, an Italian mobster, in Redemption (2002) was his film acting debut. Ali has performed in numerous plays from Shakespeare to contemporary American such as the critically acclaimed and successful, Aaron Kozak's "The Birthday Boys," which went into production in 2011 in Los Angeles and later in Dallas and received nominations for Best Ensemble and won the 2010 Hollywood Fringe First Award (world premiere) and the LA Fringe Award (LA Theatre Review Critic's Choice). He also played diverse characters for the big screen; Jasmine, a sentimental transvestite, in Jew Tales (2005), a thoughtful father of a teenage girl in A Conversation to Remember (2010), Jack, a mysterious homeless man, in award winning film, $lowdown (2011) -- which he was also involved with writing and producing -- whereby his moving performance received nomination for Best Actor from the 4th Annual Noor Iranian Film Festival in Los Angeles. He recently appeared in Ben Affleck's Best Picture Academy Award winner film Argo (2012) about the CIA's risky plan to free six Americans who had found shelter at the home of the Canadian ambassador after the 1979 hostage taking of the U.S. Embassy in Tehran, as Ali Khalkhali, the security head of the Revolutionary Guard in charge of finding the missing American diplomats.- Actor
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Amir is a southern California native. He is a graduate of NYU's MFA Acting Program, class of 2021. Amir has gone on to star in multiple television shows and films over the past decade. He just finished the Broadway run of The Kite Runner, playing the role of Assef. He can be next seen in the West Coast Premiere of the Obie Award winning play, English, at Berkeley Rep.- Actor
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Armin was born in Tehran, Iran. He left Iran at the age of 13 for Istanbul. After a year, he went to Vienna, Austria, to seek political asylum. After four years, he moved to San Francisco and studied at ACT conservatory then moved to New York to pursue acting his first break came after auditioning for George Hickenlooper the director of the factory girl
He has an extensive stage His film credits include, Terry George's "Reservation Road," "The Wrestler" starring Mickey Rourke, and "Factory Girl" starring Guy Pearce.Iran- Writer
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Asghar Farhadi is an Iranian film director, screenwriter, and producer. He is considered one of the most prominent filmmakers of Iranian cinema as well as world cinema in the 21st century. His films have gained recognition for their focus on the human condition, and portrayals of intimate and challenging stories of internal family conflicts. In 2012, he was included on the annual Time 100 list of the most influential people in the world. That same year, he also received the Legion of Honour from France.
Farhadi was born in Isfahan, Iran. At the age of 15, in 1987, he joined the Isfahan branch office of the Iranian Youth Cinema Society, which had been established for 4 years earlier and he made several short films. He is also a graduate of theatre, with a BA in dramatic arts and MA in stage direction from University of Tehran and Tarbiat Modares University, respectively.
While completing his studies, he wrote a number of radio plays for Iran's national broadcasting service and directed several television programs. In 2001 Farhadi co-wrote the screenplay for the political satire Ertefa-e past (Low Heights, 2002), with famed war film director, Ebrahim Hatamikia.
Farhadi's first feature film, Dancing in the Dust (2003), tells the story of a young man who is forced to divorce his wife and go hunting snakes in the desert in order to repay his debts to his in-laws. His next film, The Beautiful City (2004), is about a young man who is sentenced to death for a crime he did not commit.
Farhadi's breakthrough came with his third film, About Elly (2009), which won the Golden Bear at the Berlin Film Festival. The film tells the story of a group of friends who go on a weekend trip to the Caspian Sea, and the secrets that are revealed over the course of the weekend.
Farhadi's next film, A Separation (2011), won the Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film. The film tells the story of a middle-class Iranian couple who are going through a divorce, and the moral dilemmas they face as they try to decide what is best for their young daughter.
Farhadi's subsequent films, The Past (2013) and The Salesman (2016), were also critically acclaimed. The Salesman won a second Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film.
Farhadi's latest film, A Hero (2021), was selected to compete for the Palme d'Or at the 2021 Cannes Film Festival. The film tells the story of a man who is released from prison and tries to win back his wife's trust.
Farhadi's films are known for their their complex and suspenseful plots, their realistic characters, and their exploration of moral dilemmas. His films often deal with themes of family, relationships, and social class.
Farhadi is a master of creating suspense, and his films are often compared to those of Alfred Hitchcock. He is also a skilled director of actors, and his films have featured some of the most celebrated Iranian actors, including Shahab Hosseini, Leila Hatami, and Taraneh Alidoosti.
In 2022, Farhadi was accused of plagiarism by a former student, who claimed that he had stolen the idea for his film A Hero from a documentary she had made. Farhadi denied the allegations, and a court in Iran eventually ruled in his favor. However, the allegations have tarnished Farhadi's reputation and raised questions about his creative process.
Asghar Farhadi is one of the most important filmmakers of our time. His films are both entertaining and thought-provoking, and they offer a unique insight into Iranian society and culture. He is a true auteur, and his work is sure to be studied and admired for many years to come.- Actor
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Bahram Radan is an award-winning Iranian actor,
He was born on 28 April 1979 in Tehran, Iran. After High School, he started studying Business Management in university.While attending the university, Radan signed up for acting classes. He was later given an opportunity for his first role in the film, The Passion of Love, which was the start of his acting career(1999). Radan has become so popular, play in 40 features. Iranian authorities have banned his likeness on billboards for a few years. Radan also attended in Toronto Film School where he took a class of acting in films(2012). He won all the important awards in national film festivals.Iran- Born in Iran, and raised up in Chicago and Salt Lake City, Bijan began stage and commercials at 14, then moved onto classical theater, television and Independent film. He's worked with the Chautauqua Conservetory Theater, San Francisco Shakespeare Festival and The Sundance Institute. Bijan holds a BFA from the University of Utah's Actor Training Program.
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Bobby Naderi was born in Tehran, Iran during the Iran/Iraq war. His youth consisted of a nomadic upbringing due to the political unrest in the region. Brushing shoulders with all walks of life as a child, Bobby developed a natural gravitational pull toward the world of cinema.
Bobby starred in the BAFTA and BIFA winner UNDER THE SHADOW written and directed by Babak Anvari, he recently wrapped Adam Saunders's Feature Film, DOTTY & SOUL, and can currently be seen in Netflix's drama series BLACK SUMMER created by John Hyams. He is well known for starring in the Sundance hit THE TAQWACORES and also starred opposite Will Smith and Joel Edgerton in David Ayer's Netflix feature BRIGHT. On the TV side, he recurred on the AMC hit, FEAR THE WALKING DEAD, as well as on DEPUTY, and Fox's reboot of PRISON BREAK.
In 2023, Bobby wrapped a lead role on David Ayer's Miramax/MGM feature THE BEEKEEPER, opposite Jason Statham and Jeremy Irons.- Actor
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Dominic Rains was born in Tehran, Iran. He is an actor and producer, known for A Girl Walks Home Alone at Night (2014), Burn Country (2016) and The Taqwacores (2010).Iran- Actress
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Mary began her acting career as a child star in Iran. One of her earliest successes was Octopus, a long running television show where Mary performed in political and satirical skits that helped change and liberalize the society. Going on to star in countless television shows, feature films and plays, Mary became one of the most popular stars in Iran. She was the first actress in the Iranian Motion Picture history to win the Moscow International Film Festival Best Actress Award for her performance in Dead End, written and directed by Parviz Sayyad.
The Iranian revolution forced Mary to flee the country and find her new home in the United States. Here in America Mary starred in two critically acclaimed films, The Mission and Checkpoint. She also played featured roles in productions such as the NBC miniseries On Wings of Eagles and produced the MGM release, Mind Games. While working with her partner, Bob Yari, on the Academy Award winning film Crash, Mary expanded her involvement in socially significant projects. She continued her work with Mr. Sayyad in the famous play (KHAR) The Ass to have more than 400 productions of the play in different cities Globally thru the years.
Among many awards she recently received the prestigious ARPA International Film Festival Foundation Award for her Humanitarian efforts using the theater to mirror the true voices and the stories of the women of the Middle East. Theater has always been Mary's greatest passion. In 2005, she wrote, directed and produced the politically charged Critic's Choice play Beneath The Veil which was presented in many prestigious venues such as Lincoln and Kennedy Center and Geffen playhouse.
Mary has also created many projects for children, including A Fairy Tale In The Forest and Jewel of The Night, which gives the children of Iranian expatriates a bio lingual fairy tale show and an opportunity to learn about their parents' culture and homeland.
Throughout her adult life, Mary has remained fiercely committed to improving the lives of women and children, especially in the Middle East. Through her work as an advocate for clearing land mines and reducing their use, and appearing as a spokesperson before the U.S. Congress and in all media, Mary remains vigilant and vocal in the pursuit of all freedoms.
Check out the acclaimed book "The Green Card Stories", that featured Mary Apick. The book which won the "Best of Photojournalism Award 2012" which was presented by Mary to President Obama at the White house. This year she guest starred with Clair Danes in reoccurring role in the award winning Show Time television series "Homeland."- Actor
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Navid Navid is an award winning Iranian-German actor and director. He was born in Teheran, Iran in 1980, but left his home country at the age of five with his family as refugees and resettled in Germany in 1985.
Due to his fathers profession as an event manager, Navid was introduced to the stage and the world of entertainment from the age of six as a singer and dancer. During his younger years Navid was successful in the Iranian music industry with his pop band 'Navid & Omid'. The band released two studio albums ('Faryad' & 'Kolli Sefaresh') as well as several music videos during that time.
In 2001 he graduated as an actor at the School for Performing Arts in Cologne, and started working as an actor in film, TV and theatre.
Amongst several theater engagements at different theaters in Germany he played the role of Lady Macbeth in William Shakespeares 'Macbeth', and portrayed Romeo in 'Romeo and Juliet' at the 'Altonaer Theater' in Hamburg, Germany.
In 2003, his first leading role in Elmar Fischer's "Fremder Freund", gained Navid a nomination at the Munich Filmfestival in the category "Best Actor in a Leading Role". In the same year the film won the acclaimed "First Steps Award", the "Digital Visions Award" as well as the Audience Award at the "Filmz Mainz" film festival.
His other leading roles include Mohsen in the German cultural comedy "Salami Aleikum", which became a hit in Germany and Austria. He also had a leading role in the comedy "45 Minutes to Ramallah" and the drama "For a Moment Freedom", which won 30 awards at international film festivals and was the Austrian entry for the Academy Awards in 2009.
In 2017 Navid played alongside Adrien Brody and Salma Hayek in the Hollywood production "Septembers of Shiraz", which is available on Netfilx.
As a director, he has won multiple international awards at film-festivals for his music videos "November's Fall" and "Habs", which he made for the Iranian legendary singer Ebi. The music video "Behesht", which he directed for the Iranian legendary singer Googoosh, gathered international attention for being the first Iranian music video portraying a lesbian love story.
Navid also works as a voice actor who has dubbed the lead role of Al from the CBS sitcom "United States of Al" for the German speaking audience. In 2020 he narrated Dalia Sofer's novel Man of My Time for Audible.
Besides working as an actor and director, Navid also works as a guest teacher and gives workshops on how to direct actors and produce music videos at the film-school SAE in Berlin.Iran- Actress
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Nina Nayebi is known for Criminal Minds: Suspect Behavior (2011), 60 Seconds of Distance (2006) and The X-Files (1993).- Actor
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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).Iran- Actor
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Omid Zader is an American film and television actor of Persian descent. He was born in Tehran, Iran to an Iranian father and mother. At the age of 10, his parents decided to immigrate to Holland in 1995 in order to provide a better future for him and a fresh new beginning for themselves. Omid and his family lived in Holland for 4 years until an opportunity presented itself for him and his family to immigrate to the United Sates. His parents decided to live in Los Angeles, since there is a huge Persian population there, in order for them to feel a bit closer to their home country.
He received his bachelor's degree in Sociology from California State University, Northridge and graduated in 2009. It was in those early college days that he started to garner an interest in stunt work in film and television. He trained for many years in several different facilities with a variety of mentors 4 to 5 times a weeks for years, since it is such a physically demanding career. He also started practicing a variety of different types of Martial Arts throughout the years, Muay Thai and Escrima being his top favorite disciplines. Through stunt work however, Omid started to fall in love with acting. He then pursued his new career goal by going through a variety of acting classes and seminars in order to get him more prepared for the years to come. Some of Omid's work can be seen on movies such as 3 Days to Kill, acting opposite Kevin Costner, to Guest-Starring roles on T.V. shows such as Major Crimes, Grimm and The Thundermans. He also has over 100 film and T.V. show credits as a stunt actor as well.
Today, Omid is the Co-Founder of Turbo Panda Productions, LLC, a Los Angeles based production company, and its affiliated post production company, Rocket Panda Post, based out of Burbank, CA. Omid and Turbo Panda Productions have multiple producing credits on various films, television shows, music videos and pilots and most notably, an episode of Sesame Street's live segments. When he is not working on sets or in the office, he enjoys many outdoors activities such as mountain biking, camping and hiking. He has also been an avid Eminem fan ever since his teenage years and would love to one day collaborate with him on any capacity.Iran- Actress
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Rosie Malek-Yonan is an Assyrian born in Tehran who lives in the U.S. She is an actress, award winning writer, director, producer, published author, documentary filmmaker, a classically trained pianist, composer, and an Assyrian advocate. She is a descendant of one of the oldest and most prominent Assyrian Christian families from the Middle-East, the Malek Family of Jilu, tracing her Assyrian roots back eleven centuries.
Rosie's father, George Malek-Yonan (1924-2014), an Assyrian, was Iran's Champion of Champions with numerous gold medals in track and field and the pentathlon. He became an international attorney and is credited with securing a seat for the Assyrian Christians as a recognized minority in the Iranian Parliament (Majlis). This was a huge milestone for a nation without a country since the fall of the Assyrian Empire. Rosie's mother, Lida Malek-Yonan (1928-2002) also an Assyrian, was a well-known humanitarian and activist who tirelessly worked a lifetime demanding rights for minority Assyrian Christian women in Iran and secured their recognition by establishing the Assyrian Women's Organization, the only Assyrian organization officially recognized as a charter member of the Iranian Women's Association presided over by Queen Farah Pahlavi.
Rosie's grandparents who were survivors of the Assyrian Genocide of 1914-1918, left Geogtapah during the Great Exodus from Urmia in 1918. After World War One, Dr. Jesse Malek-Yonan, her great uncle, represented the Assyrians of Urmia, Iran, at the Paris Peace Talks in 1919. Before WWII, the Malek-Yonan family returned to Tehran where her parents met and were married.
Her sister, Monica, works very closely with her on most of her projects. The Malek-Yonan sister are award-winning writers whose screenplays have earned more than a hundred awards and nominations at film festivals and screenplay competitions nationally and internationally. The sisters trained in the U.S. in figure skating and were to represent Iran in the 1980 Winter Olympics but decided not to compete after the Iranian Revolution made it virtually impossible. The new Islamic Government required them to denounce Christianity and become Muslim, wear head covering, long skirts, and perform without music.
Rosie began studying classical piano at the age of four and attended the Tehran Conservatory of Music. She won first place in many national piano competitions and was invited by Queen Farah Pahlavi to play at a Command Performance for the Royal Family.
She received her degree in English from the University of Cambridge and continued studying classical piano with Saul Joseph at the San Francisco Conservatory of Music and acting with Ray Reinhardt at the American Conservatory Theatre. She graduated from San Francisco State University with two degrees in Music. She won an invitation to study drama at the American Academy of Dramatic Arts and studied acting at the historic Pasadena Playhouse where she performed on the main stage in "The Time of Your Life". Rosie has directed and written numerous plays that have been produced and performed on stage to rave reviews.
She made her television debut on Dynasty (1981) in 1982 followed by a national commercial for AT&T where she spoke in Assyrian (related to Aramaic), a language that, years later, director Mel Gibson would use in The Passion of the Christ (2004). Since the early 1980s, she has worked on notable television shows, in films and onstage, opposite many of Hollywood's leading actors. She played Nuru Il-Ebrahim, opposite Reese Witherspoon, in New Line Cinema's Rendition (2007), directed by Academy Award-winning director Gavin Hood.
Rosie Malek-Yonan is an outspoken advocate of issues concerning her Assyrian nation, in particular bringing attention to the 1914-1918 Assyrian Genocide as well as the plight of modern-day Assyrians in the Middle-East since the 2003 invasion of Iraq by the United States and its Coalition Forces. She is frequently interviewed on television and radio programs worldwide including Australia's ABC National Radio and publications such as the New York Times, giving her assessment of the current situation of the Assyrians in the Middle-East as well as discussing the topic of the Assyrian Genocide. As a public speaker, she has been invited to lecture on the topic of the Assyrian Genocide. She has lectured at University of California (Berkeley and Merced campuses) and at Woodbury University, among other schools. In 2008, she addressed the topic of genocide, world peace and the 1914-1918 Assyrian Genocide in statements invited to be presented at the House of Lords on 12 March and on 24 April at the UK House of Commons.
She is the author of "Rosie Malek-Yonan's The Crimson Field", an historical and literary epic novel, based on real events and true family chronicles set to the backdrop of the 1914-1918 Assyrian Genocide, in which 750,000 Assyrians were massacred by the Ottoman Turks, Kurds, and Persians in Ottoman Turkey and in the Assyrian inhabited region of Urmia in northwestern Iran.
In 2006, Washington D.C.-based Zinda Magazine, selected "Rosie Malek-Yonan's The Crimson Field" as The Assyrian Event of the Year 2005 and MAKE, a Chicago Literary Magazine featured it in their 4th edition. "Rosie Malek-Yonan's The Crimson Field" was added to the State University of New York (SUNY) course curriculum. This is the first time that the Assyrian Genocide was recognized and studied at an institution of higher learning.
When Rosie Malek-Yonan's The Crimson Field was brought to the attention of Congress, on June 30, 2006, Rosie was invited to testify on Capitol Hill before a Congressional Committee of the 109th Congress on religious freedom regarding the genocide, massacres and persecution of Assyrians in Iraq by Kurds and Islamists. During her 33-minute testimony, she compared the events of 1914-1918, as depicted in The Crimson Field, to the current plight of the indigenous Assyrian Christians in Iraq. Her passionate testimony and plea to the United States government, ultimately prompted Congressman Christopher Smith (R-NJ) to travel to war-torn Iraq to witness matters for himself. While in Iraq, after meeting with local Assyrians, he turned in Malek-Yonan's report to U.S. Officials in Iraq. One year later, a Congressional Appropriations Subcommittee unanimously voted on and sent $10 million to aid the Assyrians in Iraq.
Monica Malek-Yonan's documentary film, My Assyrian Nation on the Edge, was based on Rosie's Congressional Testimony. It was released September 2006. On 7 August 2008, the documentary film premiered at the Australian Parliament of New South Wales in Sydney.
Various media sources including The Annual Report of the United States Commission on International Religious Freedom, and the U.K. Iraqi Study have quoted and used Rosie Malek-Yonan's Congressional Testimony and her various published articles, speeches and interviews regarding the state of affairs in Iraq concerning its Assyrian indigenous people as well as the Assyrian refugees in Syria, Jordan, and Lebanon. Her Congressional Testimony and her book, The Crimson Field, have been referenced in numerous academic papers and books.
Rosie Malek-Yonan is a contributing writer to "Seyfo: Genocide, Denial and the Right of Recognition" (ISBN 91-972351-2-1), a book which is a compilation of articles and speeches presented at conferences held in the European Parliament and published in the Netherlands.
At the 73rd Annual Assyrian Convention in Chicago, the Board of Advisers of the Assyrian American National Federation, Inc. named and awarded Rosie Malek-Yonan 2006 Woman of the Year.
For her numerous contributions as an actress, artist, director, author, and activist, IAPAC awarded Rosie Malek-Yonan the 2008 Excellence in Arts and Entertainment Award.
At the Assyrian Universal Alliance 26th World Conference in Sydney, Australia, Rosie Malek-Yonan was awarded and named the 2009 Assyrian Woman of the Year in recognition of her substantial contribution to advance the Assyrian national cause by promoting international recognition of the Assyrian Genocide, her extensive efforts in conveying the needs of the Assyrians to the United States government, and achievements in providing individual service to the Assyrian community worldwide.
For International Woman's Day, the Netherland based Assyrie Magazinë gave her the recognition of Assyrian Power-Woman.
Robert Kennedy Center Human Rights - Women's History Month Spotlight, Kerry Kennedy wrote: "Rosie Malek-Yonan fearlessly shines light on the challenges of Assyrians in Iraq...Rosie strives for peaceful conflict resolution in the face of violence."
She has spoken at the Simon Wiesenthal Center Museum of Tolerance to address the escalating crisis and the deadly attacks on the Assyrians in Iraq.
Rosie was an ambassador for the Swedish-based humanitarian organization, Assyrians Without Borders. She is a founding member of the Assyrian Cultural and Arts Society. For several years beginning in 2005 scholarships were given to students at Woodbury University's Design School through an annual Assyrian Design Competition.Iran- Assyrian- Sayeed Shahidi was born on 14 February 2003 in Minneapolis, Minnesota, USA. He is an actor, known for Alex Cross (2012), Unthinkable (2010) and Intelligence (2014).Iran
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Taies Farzan was born in Tehran, Iran. Her family moved to Turkey and thereafter to Germany. She speaks Persian, Turkish, German, English, Kurdish. She was on stage at the age of 14 in Cologne Germany and appeared in lead positions in more than 15 stage pieces until she met Daryush Shokof in a casting for a film which got her interest bent more towards the movies rather than Theater. She has been a long associate of Shokof with whom she produced 2 movies and acted in 2 films of Shokof as the lead (Tenussian Vacuvasco, and Breathful). She has two sisters Doris and Candice. Her mother is Farkhondeh and they all live in Germany. Her father was a famous Iranian actor, Dubbing master, who also Directed films before they left Iran after the revolution. Her mother was a well known Radio personality as well as a popular Voice Dub personality in the Iranian cinema before the revolution.Turkey- Actress
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Yasmine Aker is an actress, singer and songwriter based out of Los Angeles, California. She was born in Dubai, United Arab Emirates to Iranian parents and later moved to Canada. She began performing at an early age, starring in school plays and community events. She sang soprano with the Voices of Bahá Choir for a performance at Carnegie Hall, New York, during the Conference of the Arts 2002. She has a passion for public service and was awarded the TD Canada Trust Scholarship for Community Leadership. Yasmine studied psychology at York University and the University of Western Ontario in London. After competing in the Miss World franchise as the titleholder, Miss London 2006, and Miss World Canada Photogenic 2006, she turned her sights back to her childhood dream of pursuing a career in film and television. She has starred in various motion pictures and television shows in Canada and the United States. Yasmine embarked on a solo singing career in 2009 with the Grammy nominated Canadian production team KUYA, who have worked with international stars such as Alessia Cara, Nelly Furtado, Akon, and Genuwine. She has since released three albums, her latest album titled "Unvarnished". Her musical sound combines elements from her Middle Eastern roots, pop, neo-soul and electronica. Yasmine moved to Los Angeles in 2011 to continue her work in film and television.United Arab Emirates- Actress
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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.Iran- Actress
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Shannon Elizabeth was born in Houston, Texas, the daughter of a Syrian/Lebanese father. When Shannon was in 3rd grade, her family moved to Waco, Texas, to be close to relatives. As a girl, Shannon took dance lessons, including tap, ballet, and jazz. While attending high school, however, she was very interested in tennis. She even considered going pro and making tennis her life. During high school, she was active in cheerleading, dance team, and the student council. As a senior, Shannon was in a music video shot in Waco. The local music artists were called "Hi-5", and the director of that video just happened to be Antoine Fuqua. After graduating, Shannon moved to New York City to model. She then traveled all over the world with her newfound career to places that included Japan, Italy, France, and Australia. After moving to Los Angeles years later, she signed on with Ford Models and, eventually, Elite. Shannon had always wanted to start her acting career and had just modeled in hopes that it could help lead her into acting, which it did. About a year after moving to Los Angeles, she started taking acting classes with several different coaches. She got an agent, started working, and in 1999, she landed the iconic role of "Nadia" in the movie American Pie.
Shannon enjoys wearing even more hats these days. Since cutting her directing chops on music videos, she is now directing documentaries and film projects via her production company, Ganesha Productions. She also co-hosts the podcast The Art of Conservation.
Shannon also splits her time between the US and South Africa, running programs within her nonprofit, the Shannon Elizabeth Foundation. The mission is to improve this planet for the animals, environment, and indigenous people.Syria- Shaun Hasas was born in Tehran, Iran. He is an actor, known for The Beautiful Life: TBL (2009), Lone Star (2010) and The Face Reader (2021).
- Shervin Alenabi is an actor known for Baghdad in My Shadow (2019) Shervin was born in Iran in 1995. He along with his family immigrated to the UK in 2007. He made his feature film debut at the age of 22 as Nasseer in the political thriller, set in London, Baghdad in My Shadow (2019), for which he learned to speak Arabic for the role. He is also fluent in Persian and Kurdish. He resides in London.
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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).Iranian- Actor
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Mousa Kraish was raised in the Bay Ridge section of Brooklyn in New York City. His family owned a small grocery in the heart of Flatbush, Brooklyn where he worked while attending Brooklyn College. He gained a B.F.A in creative writing and a B.A. in film. He went on to work as a photographer and cinematographer for numerous media companies and went on to start to build a career as a Music Video Director.
In 2002, he attended the Atlantic Theater Company where he studied with Robert Bella through the studio conservatory for two years. Afterwards, he acted mostly in downtown spaces and black boxes, finding artistic homes with groups such as the Barrow Group and The Drilling Company. In 2005, Steven Spielberg cast him in Munich (2005), starring Eric Bana and Daniel Craig. Justin Lin cast him in his fourth feature, Finishing the Game (2007), which went on to premiere at the 2007 Sundance and San Francisco Film Festivals.
Since then, he has appeared in several independent and television films, as well as features, including such luminaries as Mike Nichols, Greg Mottola, Judd Apatow and Al Pacino. Other directors include Sidney Lumet, Steven Spielberg, and Todd Solondz. In 2005, he made his Off-Broadway debut in the Obie Award nominated play, Pentecost. Stage directors include Seth Barrish, Joe Clancy and Olga George.
Since his move to Los Angeles, he has been directing numerous projects including his current feature, How to Make a Dollarbill in Brooklyn (2009).Palestinian- Actor
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Ramy Youssef was born on 26 March 1991 in Queens, New York City, New York, USA. He is an actor and writer, known for Ramy (2019), Mr. Robot (2015) and Ramy Youssef: Feelings (2019).- Actor
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Wentworth Miller is a compelling and critically acclaimed actor whose credits span both television and feature film.
Wentworth Earl Miller III was born June 2, 1972 in Chipping Norton, Oxfordshire, England, to American parents, Joy Marie (Palm), a special education teacher, and Wentworth Earl Miller II, a lawyer educator. He has two younger sisters, Gillian and Leigh. His father, who is black, is of Afro-Jamaican and African-American (along with English and German) descent. His mother, who is caucasian, has Dutch, French, Swedish, Lebanese/Syrian, Austrian, and Rusyn ancestry.
When Miller turned a year old, his family moved to Park Slope, Brooklyn, New York. His father became an assistant district attorney over there. Wentworth retains a dual citizenship, but affirms that he has always been an American. He comes from a diverse background. Wentworth attended Midwood High School in Brooklyn, where he was a member of Sing!, an annual musical production that was started by Midwood. He later on transferred to Quaker Valley Senior High School in Sewickley, Pennsylvania. Wentworth was a straight As student in high school and was involved in the AV club and school newspaper. After graduating from high school in 1990, he attended Princeton University. He was also a cartoonist for the school paper and a member of the A Capella group, The Princeton Tigertones, where he sang baritone. It was then that he realized he was interested in performing in front of big and small audiences. Five years later, in 1995, he graduated from Princeton with a bachelor's degree in English Literature and moved to California. That same year, he was hired by a small company who made movies for television. About a year and a half later, he realized that he had unconsciously moved to Los Angeles to be an actor. He then decided to quit his job at the production company even after his employee at the production company had offered him another stable job position.
Unfortunately for Wentworth, breaking into the industry was a tough job for him. He worked as a temp at several production companies before ending up working as a temp for his former employee's production office. It wasn't too long before Wentworth started landing guest roles on show such as Buffy the Vampire Slayer (1997), ER (1994), and Popular (1999). He also starred in the Hallmark series, Dinotopia (2002), playing the character, David Scott. These guest spots later on led to a role in the feature film, The Human Stain (2003), which happened to be his breakthrough role, alongside Nicole Kidman and Sir Anthony Hopkins, where he played the younger version of Anthony Hopkins' character, Coleman Silk. Although the film didn't fare well in movie theaters, it was well received by viewers and critics, further catapulting Wentworth to bigger stardom.
After The Human Stain (2003), he appeared in the movie _Underworld_, as Dr Adam Lockwood, opposite Kate Beckinsale and Scott Speedman, playing the voice of EDI. He also guest-starred in the series finale of CBS' Joan of Arcadia (2003), as Ryan Hunter, a charming-yet-sinister man who revealed to Joan that he also spoke to God. It was reported that his character would be Joan's greatest challenge, but in May, CBS decided to cancel the show, leaving fans to wonder what might have been. In 2005, Wentworth appeared in the pilot of Ghost Whisperer (2005) before eventually starring on FOX network's Prison Break (2005). Wentworth played the role of Michael Scofield, a character helping his brother, Lincoln Burrows, escape death row after being found guilty of a crime he did not commit. He stars alongside actors, Dominic Purcell, Amaury Nolasco and Robert Knepper. Prison Break (2005) became an instant hit and Wentworth secured a spot among viewers as one of the hottest up-and-coming actors around. His performance in the show earned him a Golden Globe nomination, a Saturn award nomination, as well as three Teen Choice Award nominations. The Brooklyn native also appeared in two of Mariah Carey's music videos, "It's Like That" and "We Belong Together" as Mariah's love interest.
Brett Ratner, who was signed on to direct both the music videos, directed the pilot episode of Prison Break (2005) and already knew who Wentworth was. Brett then brought up the idea to the songstress about using Wentworth in the videos. After showing Mariah pictures of Wentworth, she agreed to use him and Wentworth managed to work on both the videos and Prison Break with the help of crew members who constructed a special set on the set of the videos. Wentworth even admits that the two days he spent working with Mariah, was in fact, one of his career highs - even topping anything he's ever done prior to Prison Break (2005) because it gave him so much exposure. Wentworth describes himself as a very private person who likes to spend time just relaxing at home when he's not working. He enjoys swimming, reading, taking naps as well as going to different restaurants every week. He enjoys spending time at The Art Institute of Chicago because he believes that music, painting, movies and theater can all contribute to the work of an actor.
In 2013, he returned to his writing roots, linking up with acclaimed director Park Chan-wook and penning the screenplay for the film _Stoker_, which he submitted under an alias, Ted Foulke. He has also written a screenplay for a prequel called Uncle Charlie.Syrian- Bassel Khaiat is one of the most distinguished actors in the Arab world, whose outstanding talent and remarkable depiction of challenging roles, especially complex ones, won him rave reviews by critics and audiences alike across the Arab world. Bassel made his first foray into acting at the age of eight through the children's theatre. In pursuit of his passion for acting, he studied Acting at the Higher Institute of Theatrical Arts, to embark on his journey on stage after his graduation. Bassel's immense talent drove him to expand his horizons and star in TV drama. He landed his first role in a TV drama in Kan Ya Ma Kan, which was followed by a number of successful serial dramas. In 2000, he starred in Asrar al-Madina (2000) by director Hisham Sharbatji, where his spontaneous performance caught the attention of audiences and critics alike. In 2004, Bassel's performance in Ahlam kabira TV series by director Hatem Ali won him rave reviews. He then took part in a number of successful TV series, including Rabee' Qortoba (2003), Ealaa Hafat Alhawia (2007) and Abu Khalil Alqabani (2010, and Eshq Alnisaa' (2015).
After demonstrating a noteworthy talent in Syria, Bassel then set his eyes on Egyptian drama, landing in his first Egyptian TV series Neeran Sadeeqa (2013). His exceptional performance as Qazzaf drew the attention of several TV directors in Egypt, which prompted his name to star in more Egyptian TV dramas, playing psychologically complex roles that highlighted his unprecedented talent. These include: Tariqi (2015), Al Mizan (2016), 30 Youm (2018) and Al Rehla (2018). In 30 Youm, Bassel played the complex character of Sameh/Tawfeeq that made several critics dub him "the Joker" for his fantastic performance as a villain that touched the audiences. He also played another challenging complex character in Al Rehla, the thing that emphasized Bassel's intensive and deep study of the characters he plays. His most recent works include the thriller Al Nahat, where he played three different characters, and Ahd El Dam, where he brilliantly played the character of Selim Fayyad the young man who finds himself chased by a drug dealer who seeks to hire him as a hitman or he would lose his entire family forever. Bassel is also taking part in the new serial drama Alam Kamel that will be released soon on one of the VOD platforms. Furthermore, his upcoming TV drama Zel is slated to premiere on TV in Ramadan 2021. On the other hand, Bassel took part in a number of films, including: Bab El Shams by director Yousry Nasrallah that screened at Cannes Film Festival and was selected among the 10 best movies for 2004 by Time magazine. He also starred in El-shayatin: El-Awdah film (2007), which is based on Mahmoud Salem's renowned book series The 13 Devils, and the musical film Selena by director Hatem Ali.Syrian - Actress
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Gal Gadot is an Israeli actress and model. She was born in Petah Tikva, Israel, to an Ashkenazi Jewish family (from Poland, Austria, Germany, and Czechoslovakia who Hebraized their name from 'Greenstein' to sound less European). She served in the IDF for two years, and won the Miss Israel title in 2004.
Gal began modeling in the late 2000s, and made her film debut in the fourth film of the Fast and Furious franchise, Fast & Furious (2009), where she appeared as Gisele Yashar; she repriced the role of Yashar in several subsequent installments of The Fast Saga. Gadot went on to achieve global stardom for her portrayal of Wonder Woman in the DC Extended Universe, including in Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice (2016), Wonder Woman (2017) and Zack Snyder's Justice League (2021). She has since starred in the Netflix action-comedy film Red Notice (2021) and the mystery film Death on the Nile (2022).
Gal is a motorcycle enthusiast, and owns a black 2006 Ducati Monster-S2R. She has been married to Yaron Versano since September 28, 2008. They have three daughters.- Actress
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Leem Lubany is a Palestinian actress. She is known for her role as Nadia in the 2013 film Omar, and for playing Gabrielle Joubert in the television series Condor (2018-2020). Lubany was born in Nazareth, Israel to a Palestinian family. She was a senior at Harduf Waldorf School in kibbutz Harduf, when she made her professional film debut in Hany Abu-Assad's Omar. Lubany made her debut in Omar, despite having no acting training. The film was nominated for the Best Foreign Language Film at the 86th Academy Awards. In 2014, Leem Lubany appeared in A to B and played the role of Salima in the comedy Rock the Kasbah.- Actress
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Alona Tal, an Israeli-American singer and actress, was born in Herzliya, Israel. She began her career after serving in the Israeli Defense Forces. Her big break came in 2003 starring in an Israeli film. At the time she also starred in two television series in the country, and also dabbled in music, recording several songs with the Israeli rapper Subliminal. Tal moved in with her sister in New York to take a break from her career. There, she collaborated with Haitian artist Wyclef Jean in the song "Party to Damascus". She also managed to establish herself on American television, beginning with a recurring role in the series Veronica Mars: She originally auditioned for the lead role, but creator Rob Thomas wrote a new character just for her. Tal later snagged a regular role in the short-lived CBS series.- Actor
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Gabriel Loukas was born in Jerusalem, Israel. Starting to act at the age of 12 - Loukas had become a TV kids star when he was only 15, playing the main roles in many TV series and Films. Alongside his acting career, in 2014 Loukas has started to study Film Making at The Steve Tisch School of Film and Television in Tel Aviv University. Loukas directed 6 short films that participated in festivals around the world. Nowadays he's working on his first feature film and developing a TV series. Loukas is based between Berlin and Tel Aviv.- May Elghety is a prominent award winning Egyptian actress born in Cairo to parents Mohamed Elghety (Writer and TV presenter) and Mona Barouma (Writer and TV presenter). May began her acting career as a child, making appearances on television shows such as Al Shabaka Al Mashoura (The Magical Net) (2003), Awasef Al Nesaa' (Women's Storms) (2005) and 'Bent Men El Zaman Da (A Girl from this Time) (2008) and in the film Captain Hima in 2008 by director Nasr Mahrous. The child actress also hosted multiple children's programs on the national Egyptian channel Al Fadayaa Al Masrya from 2010 till 2013.
After multiple auditions the child actor was granted the lead role in a musical performed on the National Theater of Cairo titled Badr El Bedour & the Magical Well in 2013. Her singing, dancing, and acting performances captured the attention of audiences and critics.
In 2013, May was offered a lead role, Bayada, in "El Kaserat" a controversial TV series depicting the illegal act of child marriages in upper Egypt. Her performance landed her a prestigious award as Best Upcoming Actress in the Arab Drama Festival. Elghety was later cast in the sequel of El Gezira (The Island) (2014) for director Sherif Arafa which earned her further recognition. After being cast as Aisha in Mohamed Diab's groundbreaking film Eshtebak (Clash) (2016) May firmly established a name for herself in the Egyptian film industry. She then earned international mentions in magazines such as The Hollywood Reporter and Variety for her performance upon the film's debut in Cannes Film Festival in 2016.
After Aisha, May took on a new challenging role in the short film NADA (2017) where she depicted a speech & hearing impaired dancer who attempts to communicate with a visually impaired pianist to help her with her performance. May's performance in the film earned her multiple awards and international recognition in film festivals in the USA, Spain, Sweden, Morocco and others.
The actress depicted multiple roles in the following years in some of the most successful TV shows in the Ramadan season earning her nationwide recognition as well as several acting awards. Some of these roles included Fatma in Grand Hotel (2016), Habiba in La totfe' Al Shams (Don't let the sun set) (2017), Azhar in Tayea (2018), Mariam in Zodiac (2019), Rawda in Kol Esobo Yom Gomaa' (Every Week has a Friday) (2020) and Ward in Sultanet Al Moez (2020) and others.
Elghety's film Banat Thanawy (Highschool Girls) (2020) was also a nationwide sensation ranking 3rd in the box office for multiple weeks. In the following years May took leading roles in ensemble films such as Ritsa (2021) and Amar 14 (Full Moon) (2022) that were also a success in the box office. Elghety's recent films MAMA (2022) and Kamla (2022) both debuted in international film festivals gaining critical acclaim. The first in the Cairo International Film festival and the second in the Red Sea International Film Festival.
May Elghety has earned a reputation as versatile actress capable of portraying a variety of roles. May's influence has extended beyond her acting career as she is a patron of humanitarian and Enviormental causes. May was announced as the goodwill ambassador for Greenish & Very Nile in 2018, both are Egyptian based NGO's that organize Nile clean up campaigns and raise awareness on sustainability, plastic hazards as well as climate concerns.
May's upcoming project DUE DATING marks her first international project and English speaking role to be released outside of the Arab world. The project is expected to be released in late 2023. - Actress
- Producer
- Script and Continuity Department
Catherine was born in London, but she moved to California with her Iranian mother at the age of two. Her mother still acts as her personal assistant. As a girl, she acted in various TV advertisements. She went to UCLA to study biology/ pre-medicine, but she dropped out to become a model in Japan. She moved back into acting with a Mexican commercial for American Express, and then she followed that up by being Isabella Rossellini's nude body double in Death Becomes Her (1992), when she also met her future husband, Adam Beason, who was the director's Robert Zemeckis's assistant. As of 2018, the two reside near Los Angeles with their daughter Gemma Beason and son Ronan Beason.