Payman Maadi ( fa, پیمان معادی; born 1972), also known as Peyman Moadi, is an Iranian American actor, screenwriter and director. He is best known for starring in the films ''

A Separation ''A Separation'' ( fa, جدایی, Jodâyi; also titled ''Nader and Simin, A Separation'') is a 2011 Iranian drama film written and directed by Asghar Farhadi, starring Leila Hatami, Peyman Moaadi, Shahab Hosseini, Sareh Bayat, and Sarina Farhadi ...

'' (2011) and ''

About Elly ''About Elly'' ( fa, درباره الی, translit. ''Dar bāre-ye Elly'') is a 2009 Iranian drama film. The fourth film by filmmaker Asghar Farhadi, the film examines middle class relationships in Iran. It received universal acclaim. Farhad ...

'' (2009) by Iranian Academy Award-winning director

Asghar Farhadi Asghar Farhadi ( fa, اصغر فرهادی, ; born 7 May 1972)Soureh Movie Database

and ''

Last Knights ''Last Knights'' is a 2015 action drama film directed by Kazuaki Kiriya and written by Michael Konyves and Dove Sussman, based loosely on (and Westernizing, for the most part) the Japanese legend of the forty-seven rōnin. The film, a joint prod ...

'' (2015) and the independent drama film '' Camp X-Ray'' (2014). For his role in ''A Separation'', he won the

Silver Bear for Best Actor The Silver Bear for Best Actor (german: Silberner Bär/Bester Darsteller) was an award presented at the Berlin International Film Festival from 1956 to 2020. It was given to an actor who has delivered an outstanding performance and was chosen by ...

at the

61st Berlin International Film Festival The 61st annual Berlin International Film Festival was held from 10 to 20 February 2011, with actress Isabella Rossellini as the President of the Jury. The Coen Brothers film ''True Grit'' opened the festival. 300,000 tickets were sold in total ...

(2011).

Early life

Maadi was born in

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...

to Iranian parents. When he was 5 years old, his father, an attorney decided to move back to Iran. He graduated from Karaj Azad University with a degree in metallurgical engineering. Maadi later decided to become a screenwriter.

Career

Maadi started his film career as a screenwriter with the film ''Swan Song'' in 2000. He later wrote several renowned Iranian films. He began his acting career in

Asghar Farhadi Asghar Farhadi ( fa, اصغر فرهادی, ; born 7 May 1972)Soureh Movie Database

's film ''

'' (2009), continuing his working relationship with the director in the film ''

'', which was released to widespread critical acclaim. Two years later, he received the Silver Bear award for Best Actor in Leading Role at the

Berlin International Film Festival The Berlin International Film Festival (german: Internationale Filmfestspiele Berlin), usually called the Berlinale (), is a major international film festival held annually in Berlin, Germany. Founded in 1951 and originally run in June, the festi ...

for his performance as Nader in Farhadi's ''

'' (2011). He was seen in the indie drama '' Camp X-Ray'', which was accepted into the U.S. Dramatic Competition section of the 2014

Sundance Film Festival The Sundance Film Festival (formerly Utah/US Film Festival, then US Film and Video Festival) is an annual film festival organized by the Sundance Institute. It is the largest independent film festival in the United States, with more than 46,66 ...

and was released October 17, 2014. Maadi also appeared in the

HBO Home Box Office (HBO) is an American premium television network, which is the flagship property of namesake parent subsidiary Home Box Office, Inc., itself a unit owned by Warner Bros. Discovery. The overall Home Box Office business unit is ba ...

television series ''

The Night Of ''The Night Of'' is a 2016 American eight-part crime drama television miniseries based on the first season of ''Criminal Justice'', a 2008 British series. The miniseries was written by Richard Price and Steven Zaillian (based on the original ''C ...

''.Festival
/ref> In 2014 he was a jury member at the 17th Shanghai International Film Festival. He won the Crystal Simorgh for his role in

Walnut Tree Walnut trees are any species of tree in the plant genus ''Juglans'', the type genus of the family Juglandaceae, the seeds of which are referred to as walnuts. All species are deciduous trees, tall, with pinnate leaves , with 5–25 leaflets; t ...

(2020) at the

Fajr Film Festival Iran's annual Fajr International Film Festival ( fa, جشنواره بین‌المللی فیلم فجر), or Fajr Film Festival (little: FIFF; fa, جشنواره فیلم فجر), has been held every February and April in Tehran since 1982. T ...

.This film is about a father who has to bear the burden of his children's grief under the terrible shadow of war.

Filmography

Film

Television

Awards and nominations

References

External links

* * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Maadi, Payman 1972 births Living people Iranian male film actors Iranian screenwriters Male actors from New York City Silver Bear for Best Actor winners 21st-century Iranian male actors Islamic Azad University alumni People from Tehran Iranian film directors Iranian male stage actors Crystal Simorgh for Best Actor winners