Arian Moayed
Arian Moayed | |
---|---|
Born | |
Alma mater | Indiana University (B.A.) |
Occupation(s) | Actor, writer, director |
Years active | 2002–present |
Spouse | Krissy Shields |
Children | 2 |
Arian Moayed (Persian: آرین مؤید, born April 15, 1980) is an Iranian-born American actor, writer, and director. Moayed received a Tony Award nomination for Best Featured Actor in a Play for his performance in Bengal Tiger at the Baghdad Zoo[1][2][3] and also starred in the Tony Award-winning The Humans. Moayed appears as a recurring character in Succession.
For his work in theatre, he is a recipient of an Obie, Theater World Award, Drama Desk Award.
Early life
Moayed was born in Iran. His father is a banker by profession. His parents left Iran following the 1979 Iranian Revolution. The family settled in Glenview, Illinois, a suburb of Chicago, when Moayed was five years old. He speaks Persian.[4]
Moayed graduated from Glenbrook South High School in 1998. He then received a bachelor's degree from Indiana University in 2002. During college, he appeared in plays by Samuel Beckett, Carlos Goldoni and William Shakespeare.[1]
Career
Moayed moved to Manhattan after college.[2] In 2002, Moayed and director Tom Ridgely, who was Moayed's roommate at Indiana University,[2] co-founded the Waterwell, a theater, education and film company based out of New York.[1][2] Waterwell has produced more than a dozen stage productions and shows since the theater was established.[1]
He portrayed the character of Musa in Rajiv Joseph's Bengal Tiger at the Baghdad Zoo, where Moayed appeared opposite Robin Williams.[1] Moayed received a Tony Award nomination for Best Featured Actor in a Play for his portrayal of Musa at the 65th Tony Awards in 2011.[1] He also received a Drama League Award nomination and received a Theater World Award.
As a writer/director, Moayed wrote and directed his first short Overdue, which premiered at the Cinequest Film Festival and was released on The Business of Being Born website. His second film, Day Ten, stars Omar Metwally and is about the days after September 11, 2001, premiering at the Tribeca Film Festival.
In 2016, he starred as Babur, one of two characters in Guards at the Taj, a play written by Rajiv Joseph, alongside Omar Metwally as Humayun. For his performance, he received a 2016 Obie Award presented by the American Theatre Wing and The Village Voice.
In 2017, Moayed starred as Richard Saad in Stephen Karam's The Humans, which performed at the Roundabout Theater off-Broadway, Helen Hayes Theater and Gerald Schoenfeld Theater on Broadway as well as the Hampstead Theater in London, United Kingdom. The production was directed by Joe Mantello and produced by Scott Rudin and garnered Moayed a Drama Desk Award, Drama League Award and a Tony Award for Best Play.
In 2018, Moayed starred as Stewy Hosseini in HBO's Succession.
Waterwell
Waterwell focuses on socially conscious and civic minded approach to theater, education, and film. Waterwell mission states, "empower its audience to change their lives and the world in which they live."
As the co-founder of Waterwell, Moayed has helped devise over a dozen original productions including most recently a dual-language Hamlet (played the title role) to critical acclaim. Also with Waterwell, Moayed produced a forgotten war musical called Blueprint Specials, produced on board of the Intrepid with a cast of veterans.[5]
With Waterwell Drama Program, Mr. Moayed helps administers public school arts programming with hundreds of students in New York City giving high quality theater and empathy training free of charge. One of their primary partners is the Professional Performing Arts School, where Moayed teaches classes such as Artist as Citizen as well as a monologue class for seniors.
With Waterwell Films, he has written and directed the Emmy nominated[6] and Webby nominated The Accidental Wolf, a premium short form series starring Kelli O'Hara, Laurie Metcalf, Denis O'Hare, Brandon Dirden, Ben McKenzie, Judith Ivey, Reed Birney, Marsha Stephanie Blake and a cast of over 70 Tony nominations on its own platform, theaccidentalwolf.com.
Personal life
He lives in New York City with his wife, Krissy Shields and his two daughters, Olive Joon and Ivy Shireen.[1][2]
Selected filmography
- 2007 – M.O.N.Y. (NBC pilot, directed by Spike Lee)
- 2007 – Arranged
- 2007 – Law & Order: Special Victims Unit
- 2008 – The Christians
- 2010 – Law & Order: Criminal Intent
- 2011 – Roadie
- 2013 – The Following
- 2014 – Believe (produced by JJ Abrams, pilot directed by Alfonso Cuarón)
- 2014 – Rosewater
- 2015 – Appropriate Behavior
- 2015 – Rock the Kasbah
- 2017 – Madam Secretary
- 2018 – Succession
- 2019 — Amir
References
- ^ a b c d e f g Kennedy, Mark (2011-06-03). "Arian Moayed loving life thanks to 'Bengal Tiger'". Associated Press. San Francisco Chronicle. Retrieved 2011-06-07.[permanent dead link]
- ^ a b c d e Ryzik, Melena (2011-05-01). "From Starry-Eyed to Star: Arian Moayed Is Acclaimed for 'Bengal Tiger' and Waterwell". The New York Times. Retrieved 2011-06-07.
- ^ "Arian Moayed". imdb.com.
- ^ Lacher, Irene (2009-05-29). "Arian Moayed aims to show the world the true face of Middle Easterners". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved 2011-06-07.
- ^ "Blueprint Specials". The American Theatre Wing. Retrieved 2018-10-17.
- ^ "The Accidental Wolf". Television Academy. Retrieved 2018-10-17.
External links
- 1980 births
- Living people
- American male stage actors
- American theatre managers and producers
- American male screenwriters
- Indiana University alumni
- People from Glenview, Illinois
- Male actors from New York City
- Iranian emigrants to the United States
- American writers of Iranian descent
- Male actors from Illinois
- American male television actors
- 21st-century American male actors
- 21st-century Iranian male actors
- American male film actors
- Film directors from Illinois
- Screenwriters from New York (state)
- Screenwriters from Illinois
- Iranian male television actors
- Iranian screenwriters
- Theatre World Award winners