Best Iranian Actor/Actress
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- Actor
- Writer
- 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.- Actress
- Costume Designer
- Production Designer
Award-winning actress, Leila Hatami, was born on October 1, 1972 in Tehran, Iran, to legendary Iranian Director, Ali Hatami, and actress mother, Zari Khoshkam (Zahra Hatami). During her childhood, she appeared in several of her father's films including the historical TV series, Nightingales (1988), and biopic Kamalolmolk (1984), as well as a role as Leila, the blind Turkish princess in the film The Love-stricken (1992). After completing high school, she moved to Lausanne, Switzerland and started her studies in Electronic Engineering. However, after two years she changed her major to French Literature. She completed her studies in a couple of years and moved back to Iran.
After a pause in her film career of a few years which included her studies in Switzerland, she made her professional entry into cinema with Dariush Mehrjui's film Leila (1997) as the title character. Her performance in the film received rave reviews from critics and audiences worldwide. She also received the Diploma of Honor for Best Actress from the 15th Fajr Film Festival. Later, she married her co-star Ali Mosaffa in 1999. They now have two children: a son named Mani (born February 2007) and a daughter named Asal (born October 2008).
To date, Hatami has worked with some of the most celebrated Iranian directors. Moreover, her performance in The Deserted Station (2002) won the Best Actress award from the 26th Montreal World Film Festival. She also appeared in her husband's directorial debut film, Portrait of a Lady Far Away (2005). In 2011, she won the prestigious Silver Berlin Bear award at the 61st Berlin International Film Festival for the Best Actress in a Leading Role in Asghar Farhadi's internationally acclaimed film, A Separation (2011).- 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).- Actress
- Producer
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.- Actress
- Camera and Electrical Department
- Composer
Golshifteh started her acting career in theater at the age of 6 and has always kept a strong link with theater, but it was at the age of 14 that she acted in her first film The Pear Tree (1998), for which she won the prize for the Best Actress from the international section of the Fajr film festival, immediately making her one of the stars of Iranian cinema. Since then she has played in more than 15 films, many of which have been screened or awarded at international festivals. Amongst her latest films are Bahman Ghobadi's Half Moon (2006) (winner of the Golden Seashell at the San Sebastián film festival 2006), Dariush Mehrjui's controversial The Music Man (2007), still banned in Iran, and the late Rasool Mollagholi Poor's M like Mother (2006), which after a huge success in Iran was chosen to represent Iran for the Best Foreign Film at the Academy Awards in 2008. After playing in Body of Lies (2008) by Ridley Scott, Golshifteh became the first Iranian star to act in a major Hollywood production. Subsequently she was banned from her country. Her last film in Iran About Elly (2009) won a Silver Bear in Berlin and the Best Narrative Feature at Tribeca (2009). Golshifteh graduated from music school, she sings and plays the piano amongst other instruments. She is also fluent in French and English and lives in Paris now.- Actor
- Writer
- Director
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.- Actor
- Costume Designer
Saber Abar is an Iranian actor, director and writer. He is best known for his performance in About Elly (2008), directed by Academy Award-winning Asghar Farhadi. He has received various accolades, including two Iran Cinema Celebration Awards and an Iran's Film Critics and Writers Association Award, in addition to nominations for two Crystal Simorghs and two Hafez Awards. Abar began his career hosting television shows such as Rainbow, a children's TV show, and a game show called In 100 Seconds'. He later gained recognition with his role in Mohsen Makhmalbaf's Sha'ere Zobale. In 2006, he starred alongside Ezzatollah Entezami in Minaye Shahr-e Khamush as a driver and that role earned him a Crystal Simorgh Prize Nomination for Best Supporting Actor. Abar's talent did not go unnoticed in Dayere Zangi (2007), as he then was offered a role in Asghar Farhadi's About Elly. The movie received positive reviews, such as the review from David Bordwell, who called it a masterpiece. Abar played "Alireza", whose fiancée goes missing. The role earned him another nomination in the Fajr International Film Festival. Saber has also starred in Hich (2009), Nokhodi (2009), Thirteen 59 (2010) and Entehaye Khiabane Hashtom (2010) and had a cameo appearance in Ayene-haye Ruberu (2010). He plays the main role in The Frog.- Mohamad Ali Keshavarz was born on 15 April 1930 in Isfahan, Iran. He was an actor, known for Chess of the Wind (1976), Wolves (1988) and The imperilled (1983). He was married to Mona Taheri. He died on 14 June 2020 in Tehran, Iran.
- Actor
- Producer
Navid Mohammadzadeh is an Iranian actor. He has received various accolades, including two Crystal Simorghs, four Hafez Awards, three Iran Cinema Celebration Awards and four Iran's Film Critics and Writers Association Awards. In 2017, he won the Orizzonti Award for Best Actor at the 74th Venice International Film Festival for his performance in No Date, No Signature (2017). His performance in the movie I'm Not Angry (2012) was praised by critics, and for it, he was nominated for the Crystal Simorgh for Best Actor from the Fajr Film Festival. He has also won the Crystal Simorgh for the best supporting actor of the Fajr Film Festival twice in a row for his roles in Abed and Yak Roz and Without Date, Without Signature. His first experience was in a show was the Frog series. He is of Persian and Kurdish origin. He has an associate degree in civil engineering. On July 19, 2021, he officially announced his marriage to Fereshteh Hosseini via a post on his official Instagram account.- 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.- 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. - Actress
- Costume Designer
- Producer
Hediyeh Tehrani started her acting career with Masud Kimiai's "The Sultan (1997)", which made her a recognizable star instantly. Previously, she had been offered a few roles which she passed on. In 1997, Hedieh won a Hafiz Award (a prestigious industry award in Iran) for Best Actress in a Leading Role for her portrayal of 'Maryam Koohsari' in Soltan. Since then, Hedieh has won numerous awards for her numerous roles - both nationally and internationally- perhaps making her one of the most recognizable artists in Iran. Hedieh is known for her portrayal of strong, willful and often stubborn women. Besides her acting career, Hedieh has been adamant about promoting her country- Iran- through her photography. Her pictorial essays on some of the most remote areas of Iran has garnered her much recognition and she is an active member of "Khooshe Saar-e Boomi" a grassroot organization dedicated to preserving native and indigenous cultural habitats and customs. She has been instrumental in organizing photography and educational tours in this area. Hediyeh is also an active member of a children's charity, Bonyad-e Koodak, lending her time and name to bringing children's issues to the forefront.- Actor
- Director
- Producer
Hamid Farrokhnezhad is an Iranian actor, writer, and director. He has received various accolades, including four Simorgh award (two for acting), two Hafez Awards, three Iran Cinema Celebration Awards, and an Iran's Film Critics and Writers Association Award. He started his career in student theatre and making some short films. After acting in Khosrow Sinai's Dar Kooche-haye Eshgh he had the chance to play a role in another movie by Sinai, Aroos-e Atash aka Bride of fire which brought him many awards in Fajr Film Festival, Karlovy Vary International Film Festival and Khane-ye Cinema award. He had roles in three films by Sinai and had worked with notable Iranian directors such as Ebrahim Hatamikia, Asghar Farhadi and Bahram Beyzayi. He also gained TV popularity after acting in the role of a ghost named "Hasan Golab" in a TV series directed by Ebrahim Hatamikia.- 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.- 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.- Actress
- Costume Designer
- Writer
Baran Kosari was born in 1985 in Tehran. She graduated from Soureh academy. The Best Papa Of World (1991) is her first acting experiment. Since then, she acted in her mother's movie Rakhshan Banietemad, Narges (1991), The Blue Scarf (1994), The May Lady (1997), Rain and Landsman episode - from Kish Stories episode (1998), Under The Skin Of The City (2000), Our Times documentary movie (2001). Baran Kosari ascertained her abilities as theater actress with play in Over The Mirror (1997) with Azita Hajian directing. Baran Kosari is one of the panel in Iran cinema award in 17th Children & Teenager International Festival. She won Crystalline Simorgh and Diploma of Honor in 25th Fajr International Film Festival.- Mahnaz Afshar was born in Tehran on June 11 1977. She graduated in natural science in high school . After graduation, one of her relatives who was the Theater Affairs Assistant in "Soureh" college introduced her to "Hannaneh" Art institute. Having studied video edition in the following years, she participated in assembly job of "Ketabe Avval" training materials, directed by Darioush Mehrjooii. Later on, she was invited by Miss. Shamsi Fazl Elahi to act in a TV series called "Gomshodeh" (Lost) directed by Mr.Masud Navaii, making her first official play in TV industry. Her professional career continued by acting in a movie called Friends (2000) (Friends) directed by Mr. Abdollah Eskandari. The film, however, was not released in movie theaters due to complications with the authorities regarding the story and morals of the film. Her first official appearance as an actress in the cinema industry debuted in a work called Shoure Eshgh (Passion of Love), which received positive reviews by audience and critics of the time. Having gained substantial fame for her act, she later appeared in Cease Fire (2006) (Truce), a major hit, and Season Salad (2005) (Salad of the season).
- Director
- Actor
- Writer
Mehran Modiri is considered to be the leading artist in social satire in Iran. His various series which have been broadcast through IRIB have set records in terms of viewership (an estimated 85% viewership when he is on air), as well as make him a popular personality among masses. In 2008 Modiri left IRIB to star and direct a home-entertainment series; a series which instead of broadcast is released on DVD on a weekly basis, entitled Ghahve-ye Talkh (Bitter Coffee). Although Ghahve-ye Talkh's delay in release put it in second place in terms of innovative media (another series, Ghalb-e Yakhi was released first, making it the first ever such program in Iran), but its sales surpassed its competitor by over double, a revelation which the industry and critics have linked directly with Modiri's popularity with his fans. In 2012, after Ghahve-ye Talkh was completed, Modiri signed on to play the lead role for his competition show, Ghalb-e Yakhi's 3rd Season. Modiri is a writer, director, actor and a recording artist. He has performed in front of sold out audiences in Tehran, including a concert benefiting UNICEF. He was named the 20th most powerful person in Iran - and the only entertainer on the list- by Newsweek magazine in 2009.
Modiri is an avid reader, loves classical music and is very learned in philosophy, fine arts, classic literature and biology. He is divorced and has two children.- Actor
- Writer
- Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
Atila Pesyani was an Iranian actor. Among the films in which he performed are The Hidden Half (2001), Ceasefire 1 and 2 (2005 and 2014), Hidden Feeling (2006), Throughout the Night (2010), The Redemption (2010), The President's Cell Phone (2011) and The Wooden Bridge (2011). Some series which he played roles in are The First Night of Peace (2006), Privacy Policy (2009), Goodbye Child (2012), A Piece of Land (2012), Like a Mother (2013), Madineh (2014) and A Beautiful Revolution (2014).
Pesyani received a nomination for the Best Supporting Actor Golden Statue for the movies Two Women (1998), The Burnt Generation (1999), The Last Supper (2001) and Who Killed Amir? (2005) as well as a nomination for the Crystal Simorgh's Best Leading Actor for In Cold Blood (1994) from the Fajr International Film Festival.
Atila Pesyani was the son of actress Jamileh Sheykhi.
Pesyani died of stomach cancer on 6 October 2023, at the age of 66.- Actor
- Director
- Writer
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
- 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
- Writer
- Director
Houman Seyyedi is an Iranian actor, director, screenwriter and editor. He has received various accolades, including six Crystal Simorghs-making him the only director to have three wins in Special Jury Prize category-two Hafez Awards, five Iran's Film Critics and Writers Association Awards, a NETPAC Award and an Asian New Talent Award. His sixth film, World War III (2022) won the Orizzonti Award for Best Film at the 79th Venice International Film Festival.
Houman Seyyedi is an Iranian theater, television and cinema actor & director, known for his role in " The Endless Way " series.
His directing of short movies, including '35 Meters Below Sea Level' and 'Blue Tooth', earned him several awards at Tehran International Short Film Festival. He also directed his first long movie 'Africa' in 2010.
Seyyedi, who was the writer as well as editor of 'Africa', managed to receive an award for Best Movie in video works section of the 29 Fajr International Film Festival.
He has participated in several movies, including 'Fireworks Wednesday' (2005), 'Barefoot in Heaven' (2005), 'He Who Goes to Sea' (2006), 'The Wound on Eve's Shoulder' (2007), 'The Freeway' (2010), 'Thirteen' (2012), 'The Exclusive Line' (2013), 'Confessions of My Dangerous Mind' (2014), 'Buffalo' (2014), 'I am Diego Maradona' (2014), 'Sleep Bridge' (2015) and 'Profiles' (2015).- She is an Iranian actress and one of the most talented, rapidly fame growing celebrities among new generation stars of Iranian Cinema. Her fame is mainly due to her indispensable performance, outstanding face-acting and exceptional enunciation.
Born in 1985 Iran, Babol (Mazandaran province) upon being accepted in the university, course of Graphic Arts, she moved to Tehran. While studying university, she was offered an audition which led to her first appearance in a movie named "A Man and a City" (2007). This movie was not successful in both box office (indeed it did not get general presentation) and critic reviews.
She made her breakthrough by appearing in TV series "Five Kilometres to Paradise" (2011) and TV series Zamaneh (2012) alongside with some successful Telefilms such as "The Pool" (Estakhr, 2014). Then she starred in the home video network series "Shahrzad" (2015-16) in which she played a leading role and got her triumph.
The series succeeded by her appearance in first film director Saeed Roustayi's movie "Life plus one day" (2015) in which she played the main character then nominated and won the Crystal Simorgh for the best actress in the 34th International Fajr Film Festival.
She is also involved and interested in charity work and Animal rights. In 2013 she participated in a reading plays, giving away all the acquired money to Mahak, which is an organization that supports cancerous children. She also contributes to animal shelters from time to time.