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The Most Famous

ACTORS from Iran

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This page contains a list of the greatest Iranian Actors. The pantheon dataset contains 9,996 Actors, 21 of which were born in Iran. This makes Iran the birth place of the 35th most number of Actors behind Israel and Colombia.

Top 10

The following people are considered by Pantheon to be the top 10 most legendary Iranian Actors of all time. This list of famous Iranian Actors is sorted by HPI (Historical Popularity Index), a metric that aggregates information on a biography’s online popularity. Visit the rankings page to view the entire list of Iranian Actors.

Photo of Shohreh Aghdashloo

1. Shohreh Aghdashloo (1952 - )

With an HPI of 56.26, Shohreh Aghdashloo is the most famous Iranian Actor.  Her biography has been translated into 42 different languages on wikipedia.

Shohreh Aghdashloo (Persian: شهره آغداشلو, pronounced [ʃohˈɾe ɒɢdɒʃˈluː]; née Vaziri-Tabar (وزیری‌تبار); 11 May 1952) is an Iranian and American actress. She has received various accolades, including a Primetime Emmy Award and a Satellite Award, in addition to a nomination for an Academy Award. Following numerous starring roles on the stage, she made her film debut in Chess of the Wind (1976). Her next two films The Report (1977) and Sooteh Delan (1977) garnered critical acclaim and established Aghdashloo as one of Iran's leading ladies, although the films were banned in Iran itself. Aghdashloo moved to England during the Iranian Revolution in 1979 and then to the United States, subsequently becoming a U.S. citizen. After several years playing small roles in television and film, her performance in House of Sand and Fog (2003) brought her several film critics' awards and a nomination for an Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress. Her other film appearances include The Exorcism of Emily Rose (2005), X-Men: The Last Stand and The Nativity Story (both 2006), The Odd Life of Timothy Green (2013) and Star Trek Beyond (2016). In television, she is best known for her roles as Dina Araz in the fourth season of 24 and as Chrisjen Avasarala on The Expanse (2015–2022). For her role as Sajida Talfah in the HBO miniseries House of Saddam (2008), she won the Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Limited Series or Movie. In 2013, she released her autobiography titled The Alley of Love and Yellow Jasmines. In 2021, she voiced Grayson in Netflix's series Arcane. In 2024, Shohreh voiced the unnamed dragon in the 2024 Netflix film Damsel.

Photo of Behrouz Vossoughi

2. Behrouz Vossoughi (1938 - )

With an HPI of 51.51, Behrouz Vossoughi is the 2nd most famous Iranian Actor.  His biography has been translated into 20 different languages.

Khalil Vossoughi (Persian: خلیل وثوقی; born 11 March 1938) known professionally as Behrouz Vossoughi (بهروز وثوقی), is an Iranian actor. He has also worked in television, radio and theatre. His work has earned him recognition at several international film festivals, including for Best Actor at the International Film Festival of India in 1974 and San Francisco International Film Festival in 2006.

Photo of Shaun Toub

3. Shaun Toub (1963 - )

With an HPI of 49.60, Shaun Toub is the 3rd most famous Iranian Actor.  His biography has been translated into 29 different languages.

Shaun Toub (Persian: شان توب; ; born February 15, 1958) is an American actor. He has played the character Yinsen in Iron Man (2008) and Iron Man 3 (2013); Farhad in Crash (2004); Rahim Khan in The Kite Runner (2007); Majid Javadi in the Showtime television series Homeland; and Faraz Kamali in the Apple TV+ Israeli series Tehran (2020).

Photo of Navid Negahban

4. Navid Negahban (1968 - )

With an HPI of 46.20, Navid Negahban is the 4th most famous Iranian Actor.  His biography has been translated into 24 different languages.

Navid Negahban (Persian: نوید نگهبان; born June 2, 1968) is an Iranian-American actor. He has appeared on 24, Homeland, Mistresses and as Amahl Farouk / Shadow King in the second and third seasons of FX's Legion. He has also starred as The Sultan in the live-action remake of Aladdin.

Photo of Golshifteh Farahani

5. Golshifteh Farahani (1983 - )

With an HPI of 45.37, Golshifteh Farahani is the 5th most famous Iranian Actor.  Her biography has been translated into 36 different languages.

Rahavard Farahani (Persian: رهاورد فراهانی; born 10 July 1983), known professionally as Golshifteh Farahani (گلشیفته فراهانی), is an Iranian and French actress. She is known for her performances in M for Mother (2006), Body of Lies (2008), About Elly (2009), The Patience Stone (2012), Paterson (2016), Girls of the Sun (2018), Extraction (2020) and its sequel Extraction 2 (2023), and Invasion (2021–present). She was nominated for the Most Promising Actress Award for The Patience Stone at the 2014 César Awards.

Photo of Leila Hatami

6. Leila Hatami (1972 - )

With an HPI of 42.57, Leila Hatami is the 6th most famous Iranian Actor.  Her biography has been translated into 33 different languages.

Leila Hatami (Persian: لیلا حاتمی; born 1 October 1972) is an Iranian actress. Born to filmmaker Ali Hatami and actress Zari Khoshkam, she began her career with acting in the films of her father. She rose to international fame for her role as Simin in Asghar Farhadi's Academy Award-winning film A Separation (2011), for which she received the Silver Bear for Best Actress. Hatami made her film debut portraying Kamal-ol-molk in the drama Kamalolmolk (1984). She received critical acclaim for playing a sterile woman in the drama Leila (1997), and received her first Fajr Film Festival Crystal Simorgh for Best Actress for her performance in Penniless (2009). The Government of France has awarded her the Legion of Honour in 2012.

Photo of Parviz Parastui

7. Parviz Parastui (1955 - )

With an HPI of 41.66, Parviz Parastui is the 7th most famous Iranian Actor.  His biography has been translated into 18 different languages.

Parviz Parastui (Persian: پرویز پرستویی; born 24 June 1955) is an Iranian actor. He has received various accolades, including four Crystal Simorgh for Best Actor–making him the only actor to have four wins in that category–four Hafez Awards, two Iran Cinema Celebration Awards and an Iran's Film Critics and Writers Association Awards.

Photo of Nazanin Boniadi

8. Nazanin Boniadi (1979 - )

With an HPI of 41.35, Nazanin Boniadi is the 8th most famous Iranian Actor.  Her biography has been translated into 25 different languages.

Nazanin Boniadi (; Persian: نازنین بنیادی [nɑːzæˈniːn bonjɑːˈdiː]; born 1980) is a British actress and activist. Born in Tehran and raised in London, she went to university in the United States, where she landed her first major acting role as Leyla Mir in the medical drama General Hospital (2007–2009) and its spin-off General Hospital: Night Shift (2007). Since then, Boniadi has played Nora in the sitcom How I Met Your Mother (2011), Fara Sherazi in the spy thriller series Homeland (2013–2014), Esther in the historical drama film Ben-Hur (2016), Clare Quayle in the sci-fi thriller series Counterpart (2017–2018), Zahra Kashani in the action thriller film Hotel Mumbai (2018), and Bronwyn in the fantasy series The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power (2022–present). She was an Amnesty International spokesperson from 2009 to 2015 and served as a board member for the Center for Human Rights in Iran from October 2015 until February 2021. Her focus has been on youth and women's rights.

Photo of Shahab Hosseini

9. Shahab Hosseini (1974 - )

With an HPI of 41.09, Shahab Hosseini is the 9th most famous Iranian Actor.  His biography has been translated into 27 different languages.

Seyyed Shahabedin Hosseini Tonekaboni (Persian: سید شهاب‌الدین حسینی تنکابنی; born February 3, 1974) is an Iranian actor, producer, director and screenwriter. He is known for his collaborations with Iranian Academy Award-winning director Asghar Farhadi in About Elly (2009), A Separation (2011), and The Salesman (2016). His accolades include a Cannes Film Festival Award for Best Actor, a Silver Bear for Best Actor, and a Crystal Simorgh for Best Actor.

Photo of Mostafa Zamani

10. Mostafa Zamani (1982 - )

With an HPI of 39.59, Mostafa Zamani is the 10th most famous Iranian Actor.  His biography has been translated into 15 different languages.

Mostafa Zamani (Persian: مصطفی زمانی, also Romanized as 'Mostafā Zamāni'; 20 June 1982) is an Iranian actor. He has received various accolades, including a Hafez Award and two Iran Cinema Celebration Awards, in addition to nominations for a Crystal Simorgh and an Iran's Film Critics and Writers Association Award.

Pantheon has 21 people classified as actors born between 1938 and 1988. Of these 21, 21 (100.00%) of them are still alive today. The most famous living actors include Shohreh Aghdashloo, Behrouz Vossoughi, and Shaun Toub. As of April 2022, 7 new actors have been added to Pantheon including Parviz Parastui, Mostafa Zamani, and Mohammad Reza Golzar.

Living Actors

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Newly Added Actors (2022)

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