The Best Iranian Actors
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- Behrouz Vossoughi is one of Iran's most legendary actors. He has over 40 years of experience in the motion picture industry, with featured appearances in more than 90 films. In addition to his work in films, television, radio and theater, Behrouz' performances have earned him recognition at several international film festivals. He was one of the first to play in American and European Co-Productions such as in Caravans (1978) in 1978 co-starring with Anthony Quinn, Jennifer O'Neill (I) and Michael Sarrazin. He was also to play in another American movie called The Invincible Six (1970) with Curd Jürgens in 1962. His major films were, of course, Iranian. In Iran, he is still truly a Mega Star and Role model for an entire generation of Iranians in Post Islamic Iran and under the Shah's Pro-American Regime. Co-starring with his future wife, singer and actress Googoosh in a number of films such as Honeymoon (1976) aka the Honeymoon.
He is certainly The Iranian actor who paved the road for the new generation of Iranians working today in Iran and aboard. - Actor
- Director
- Producer
Shahab Hosseini was born on February 3, 1974 in Tehran, Iran. He grew up in a family of six and was the oldest child. He earned his high school diploma in Biology. Once a psychology student at the University of Tehran, he dropped out with the intent of emigrating to Canada. Instead, he ended up as a radio host in Iran. This was followed by hosting "Oxygen," a TV show for the youth audience, and some small acting roles in a few TV series of which "After Rain" (Pas Az Baran) was the first. His debut in cinema was in Rokhsareh (2002), performing alongside Mitra Hajjar. His acting career took off with his performance in movies such as Tahmineh Milani's The Fifth Reaction (2003) (Vakonesh-e-Panjom) and Superstar (2009). He won the Crystal Simorgh from Tehran's 27th Fajr International Film Festival for his performance as Kourosh in "Superstar". Two years later, he received the Diploma of Honor from Fajr Film Festival and the Silver Bear Award from the prestigious Berlin International Film Festival for his memorable role as the hot-tempered Hodjat in Asghar Farhadi's internationally critically acclaimed film, A Separation (2011). He has also received several nominations and awards from Iran's House of Cinema including Best Actor in a Lead Role for his performance in Asghar Fardadi's previous film, About Elly (2009).- Actor
- Writer
Ali Nassirian is an Iranian actor. He has received various accolades, including two Crystal Simorghs, a Hafez Award, an Iran's Film Critics and Writers Association Award and a Sepas Award. Nasirian, Mohammad Ali Keshavarz, Ezatollah Entezami, Jamshid Mashayekhi and Davoud Rashidi are known as "the five most important actors in the history of Iranian cinema" because of their influence.
He first appeared in a supporting role in Dariush Mehrjui's The Cow (1969) alongside Ezatollah Entezami, another Iranian actor. Nassirian then played the title role of Mr. Naive (1970), also by Mehrjui. His other films include: The Postman (1971), The Cycle (1974), The Mandrake (1975), Kamalolmolk (1983), Mirza Norouz's Shoes (1985), Stone Lion (1986), Captain Khorshid (1987), The Scent of Joseph's Shirt (1995), and Iron Island (2005), Masxarebaz (2019) for which he received the Crystal Simorgh award for the best supporting actor. He played the lead role in The Saturday Hunter (2011), and Sun Children (2020).- Actor
- Producer
- Director
Parviz Parastui was born on June 24, 1955 in the village of Charli in the Hamedan providence of Iran to a farming family. They moved to Tehran in pursuit of a better life when he was three years old. He began acting on stage at age fifteen by joining the theatrical group of director, Bahram Beyzaie. Later, he joined Kouch Theater Group through fellow actor, Behzad Farahani. He performed at Youth Palace and the Institute for the Intellectual Development of Children and Young Adults for years. Parastui received his high school diploma in Biology at age 19, and at age 20 and 21 received awards from Youth Palace for his performance in "Kiosk" and "Submitters," respectfully. After the establishment of the Islamic Republic of Iran, he earned his degree from the Ministry of Culture and Islamic Guidance in Dramatic Arts and worked as a judicial receptionist prior to becoming a full-time actor.
His debut in cinema was in Land of Lovers (1984) (Lovers Reunion), which earned him the Diploma of Honor for Best Actor in a Supporting Role from Tehran's Fajr International Film Festival at age 28. Ever since, he has played the leading role in numerous movies of different genres from comedy to drama, including the lowlife but dependable Javad in Snowman (1995) (Snowman), which was banned in Iran for many years, the traumatophobic imposter Sadeq Meshkini in controversial film Leily Is with Me (1996) (Leily is with Me), which earned him the Diploma of Honor for Best Actor in a Lead Role from Farj Film Festival, the scientist who's brain gets put in the body of the laundry detergent company that would not hire him in the unique, popular, and critically claimed comedy, The Changed Man (1998) (The Wrong Man), Haj Kazem, the former commander of the Iran-Iraq war, in The Glass Agency (1998), which brought him his first Crystal Simorgh award in the Best Lead Actor from Fajr Film Festival. His performance in The Red Ribbon (1999) is also noteworthy. The film that made him known worldwide is the comedy The Lizard (2004) where he played the role of a fugitive thief dressed as a mullah to escape imprisonment. He received the Special Jury Award for his performance from Fajr Film Festival. In Majid Majidi's The Willow Tree (2005), he played a blind man who falls in love with someone other than his wife when he gets the chance to see again. He won his second Crystal Simorgh for Best Actor in a Lead Role for his performance in that film from Fajr Film Festival and another Crystal Simorgh for Best Actor in a Leading Role for his performance in In the Name of the Father (2006).
Parastui has worked with some of the finest directors of Iranian cinema such as Davood Mir-Bagheri, Kamal Tabrizi, Mohamad Reza Honarmand, Ebrahim Hatamikia, Fereydoun Jeyrani, Ahmad Reza Darvish, and Majid Majidi.- Mohammad Reza Foroutan is an Iranian actor and singer.
Mohammad Reza Foroutan has started acting since 1994.He studied Health Psychology.
His first film was Goal. After some minor roles, his performance in an episode of TV series The Clue revealed his capabilities and Masoud Kimiay chose him for the leading role of Mercedes. He has received several awards including the best male actor award for acting in Ghermez at the 1999 Fajr International Film Festival and best male actor award for acting in Be Ahestegi at the 2005 Fajr International Film Festival. - Actor
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Ezzatolah Entezami (also spell Ezatollah Entezami, born 1924 in Tehran, Iran) is an award-winning Iranian actor. Graduated from theater and cinema school in Hanover, Germany in 1958, Entezami started his career on stage in 1941. He has been acting in movies since 1969. His debut performance in Darius Mehrjui's admired classic film, The Cow(Gaav), received the Golden Hugo in Chicago International Film Festival in 1971. He shined in the role of a naive villager who cannot endure the death of his beloved cow and starts to believe that he is the cow himself.
He is known as one of the most prominent actors in Iranian cinema and has been labeled as the greatest actor in history of the cinema of Iran. He has worked with most of the prominent Iranian film directors, including Darius Mehrjui (eight films), Ali Hatami (four films), Nasser Taqvaee, Mohsen Makhmalbaf, Behrouz Afkhami and Rakhshan Bani-Etemad. He has been awarded the Crystal Simorgh for the Best Actor twice from the International Fajr Film Festival, for Grand Cinema and The Day of Angel.
His work and accomplishments were recognized in October 2006 at the Iran cultural center in Paris.- Actor
- Producer
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.- Actor
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Mehdi Hashemi is an Iranian actor, screenwriter, and director. He also is the winner of the ninth International Fajr Film Festival award, Crystal Simorgh, for his playing in the film Do Film Ba Yek Belit (translates "one ticket for two movies"). For his roles in "two movies with one ticket" (1990), Alzheimer's (2018) and Agha Youssef (2019), he won the Crystal Simorgh for the best actor of the Fajr Film Festival. He is the brother of Nasser Hashemi.- Actor
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- Production Designer
Reza Kianian was born in Tehran on June 19, 1951. The second child in a family of 8 (he has 4 brothers and 2 sisters), he moved to the city of Mashhad with his family when he was 1 year old. His first acting coach was his brother Davood, whom arranged for him to act in his theatrical troupe for 3 years. After leaving his brother's group, Kianian started acting professionally in theatre groups around Iran. In 1972, he was accepted and completed his degree in acting at University of Tehran. Throughout his illustrious career, Kianian has worked with esteemed directors such as Bahman Farmanara, Massoud Kimiayi, Ebrahim Hatamikia and Saman Mogadam to name a few. Kianian married his wife of almost 30 years, Haydeh, on March 21 1983, on the Persian New Year. A painter and photographer and sculptor, Kianian splits his time between film projects and fine arts. His paintings and photos have sold in various national and international auctions as well as solo and group exhibitions in the more prestigious galleries. In June of 2012, Reza Kianian acted as the auctioneer for the Tehran Auction, the first ever auction-style event in Tehran. The Tehran Auction set a worldwide record by selling out, raising over a million dollars. Furthermore, Reza Kianian is the author of 9 books, winner of numerous awards and is considered to be one of the staples of Iranian Cinema.- Aslani was born in Bijar, Iran although he grew up in Tehran, and was recognised for his impersonation skills at an early age. Aslani played his first role in The Blue-Veiled by Rakhshan Bani Etemad 1995. Aslani won Crystal Simorgh for illustrious played his role in Private Life movie at the Fajr Film Festival 2012. Aslani in 2011 played the Different role Ibn Ziyad in Mokhtarnameh Tv series. He played at the Daughter movie by Reza Mir-Karimi and winner Best Actor Award in Moscow International Film Festival 2016.[4] He won the IFFI Best Actor Award (Male) at the 47th International Film Festival of India.
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Mosaffa was born in Tehran, Iran. His father, Mozaher Mosaffa is a renowned Persian poet and professor of Persian literature at the University of Tehran (UT). Mosaffa's mother, Amir Banoo Karimi is also a leading scholar and professor of Persian literature at the University of Tehran (UT) and the eldest daughter of the legendary Persian poet, Amiri Firuzkuhi.
As a child, Mosaffa discovered his interest in story writing and english, contributing to his fluency in the language. He is a graduate of Civil Engineering from the University of Tehran (UT) where he showed an interest in acting; making his debut in the 1991 film, Omid. Mosaffa went on to win the prize for best male actor the following year at the Fajr International Film Festival for his role in Darius Mehrjui's film, Pari. Mosaffa met his future wife, Iranian actress Leila Hatami on the set of Dariush Mehrjui's 1996 film, Leila. The two married in 1999 and have two children, a son named Mani (born February 2007) and a daughter named Asal (born October 2008).
Mosaffa's experience with directing began with the short films, Incubus, The Neighbor and the documentary feature, Farib-e-She'r or The Deceit of Poesy. He then went on to direct his first film in 2005 with Portrait of a Lady Far Away /Sima-ye Zani Dar Doordast, starring Leila Hatami and Homayoun Ershadi which was awarded the Sutherland Trophy at the BFI London Film Festival also known as the London Film Festival. His first feature film subsequently won the hearts of the audience winning the People's Choice Award at the Chicago International Film Festival and was nominated for the Crystal Globe at the 2005 Karlovy Vary International Film Festival. Mosaffa's second film, The Last Step /Pele ye Akhar, starring Leila Hatami has received acclaim from critics and audiences worldwide following its international premiere at the 2012 Karlovy Vary International Film Festival which gained Mosaffa the international critics' FIPRESCI prize for best film and awarded Leila Hatami with the Crystal Globe for Best Actress for her leading role in the film.
In October 2012, Mosaffa joined Oscar winning director of A Separation, Asghar Farhadi in Paris; starring alongside Bérénice Bejo and Tahar Rahim for Farhadi's first foreign language film, "Le Passé" or "The Past" set to premiere at the Cannes Film Festival in May 2013.- Actor
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Reza Attaran was born in Mashhad, Khorasan, I.R.Iran. He is an Iranian actor, singer, writer and director. He has appeared in both films and television shows. Attaran won the Best Actor award at the 2008 Gol Aga Comedy Film Festival. He made his big introduction in 1995 when he was cast in Saate Khosh (1995-1996) directed by Mehran Modiri.- Actor
- Writer
Khosro Shakibai was born on 27 March 1944 in Tehran, Iran. He was an actor and writer, known for Hamoun (1990), Unruled Paper (2002) and Night Bus (2007). He was married to Parvin Kooshiar and Tania Johari. He died on 18 July 2008 in Tehran, Iran.- Actor
- Producer
Jamshid Mashayekhi is a celebrated Iranian actor and an iconic figure of Iranian cinema. Mashayekhi began professional acting on stage in 1957. His first feature film role was Brick and Mirror(1965, Ebrahim Golestan). After a four-year break, he acted in The Cow (1969, Darius Mehrjui) and Kaiser(Qeysar) (1969, Masoud Kimiai). Mashayekhi commonly appears as an elderly grandfather because of his white hair and charismatic face and figure. He received a best performance award for The Grandfather (1985, Majid Gharizadeh) from the First Festival of Non-aligned Countries in North Korea.- Parsa Pirouzfar was born on 13 September 1972 in Tehran, Iran. He is an Iranian actor; theater director, acting teacher, playwright, translator and painter. From 1984 to 1990, when he was in high school, he created his first comic strips. According to the information holds on his official website, these comic stories never have been published. Having graduated from high school with Math and Physics major in 1990, he started his academic studies in painting at the Faculty of Fine Arts of the University of Tehran in 1991. Where, in the same year, he also started his acting on stage in different university plays. Parsa Pirouzfar also worked as a voice-over actor from 1993 to 1997. His first film role came at the age of 22 in 1994, playing a brief part in Dariush Mehrjui's "Pari". In the same year, he studied "Stanislavsky's acting method" under acting instructor Mahin Oskouei, the Iranian theater director and instructor and Iran's pioneering female theater arts figure. In 1995 he continued his studies in acting at Samandarian Institute of Dramatic Arts under renowned Iranian film and theater director, translator and acting instructor Hamid Samandarian. His stage debut was in the same year. He performed in Les Misérables directed by Behrouz Gharibpour, Iranian theater director and pioneer of traditional Persian puppet theater, and played as Marius Pontmercy; however, he became involved in theater while he was studying painting at the University of Tehran and even before playing the role of Marius. Having graduated with a bachelor's degree from Tehran University's Faculty of Fine Arts in painting in 1997, he performed in "The Lady Aoi" by Yukio Mishima, directed by Bahram Beyzaie, and played the role of Hikaru. This was his second official appearance on the stage of the theatre. Parsa Pirouzfar officially started working on his own personal projects for stage in 2001 and he made his directional debut in theater with 'Art', a play by Yasmina Reza. He gave acting courses as a theater teacher at Karnameh Institute of Arts and Culture as well as in extracurricular acting classes of Allameh Tabatabaie University in 2004 and 2005 and also at Hilaj Film School in 2007, 2010 and 2011. Since graduation from high school, Parsa Pirouzfar has also periodically been involved in sculpture, graphic design and making teasers. Parsa Pirouzfar is a founder member of Iranian Theater Actors Association, member of Khaneh Cinema (Iranian Alliance of Motion Picture Guilds), member of Iranian Film Actors Association (I.F.A.A.) and The Theater Forum.
- Actor
- Art Director
- Casting Department
Habib Rezaei is known for Low Heights (2002), There's Always a Woman in Between (2008) and The Lizard (2004).- Actor
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- Director
Peyman Maadi was born in 1972 in New York City to an Iranian couple. His father was a lawyer. His family moved back to Iran when he was 5 years old. He graduated in Metallurgical Engineering from Karaj Azad University. Maadi started his film career as a screenwriter in late 2000s. He is the writer of several famous Iranian films. He started his acting career in Asghar Farhadi's film About Elly (2009). Two years later, he received the Silver Bear award for Best Actor in Leading Role for his performance as Nader in Farhadi's A Separation (2011) from the Berlin International Film Festival.- Actor
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Mani Haghighi is an Iranian film director, writer, film producer, and actor. Haghighi started making movies in 2001.
Haghighi was educated in Iran and, from the age of 15, Appleby College in Canada. He took a BA in philosophy at McGill University in Montréal, where he studied under Charles Taylor and Brian Massumi, and directed plays including Pinter's Betrayal and Shakespeare's Macbeth. He then followed postgraduate studies at Guelph and Trent universities. He contributed a chapter to A Shock to Thought: Expression after Deleuze and Guattari, edited by Brian Massumi, and also translated Michel Foucault's This is Not a Pipe into Persian.
Between 2007 and 2016 Haghighi produced and directed two documentaries about the Iranian filmmaker Dariush Mehrjui. The shorter film Hamoun's Fans (2008) dealt with the phenomenal success of Mehrjui's classic cult film Hamoun (1989). Haghighi published an open call to everyone who considered themselves a fan of the film to write him a one-page explanation of their reasons for loving it. From the hundreds of responses he chose five people to tell their stories. The second film, Mehrjui: The 40 Year Report (2015), is an exploration of Mehrjui's entire oeuvre through detailed interviews with Mehrjui himself, as well as his collaborators and critics. The film won the Best Documentary Film Director Award from the Fajr Film Festival, Tehran.