Ali Reza Farahnakian works as an actor, writer and improv comedian in the United States. He established The Peoples Improv Theater in New York City and appeared as a co‑lead on Adult Swim’s sitcom Delocated. He has been wed to Beth Saunders beginning in September 2004.
Hamed Ahangi Moghaddam, an Iranian who previously performed as a comedian, hosted shows, acted and directed, rose to fame with his series Ahangi Night, launched in 2021 and still on air, which brought him a Hafez Award nomination. He added another Hafez nomination to his résumé in 2023 for his work on TNT.
Kambiz Hosseini, an Iranian political humorist, performer, and presenter on both TV and radio, currently leads the podcast Paradox, broadcast via Radio Farda. He previously anchored the satirical news show Poletik on the same station and produced the weekly Iran‑rights series Five in the Afternoon. From 2009 through 2012 he conceived and hosted the award‑winning television program Parazit for Voice of America.
Maziyar Jobrani, who performs under the name Maz Jobrani, is an Iranian‑American stand‑up comic and actor. He was a founding member of the comedy troupe known as the Axis of Evil, which filmed a special for Comedy Central. In addition to his stand‑up work, Jobrani has taken parts in a variety of movies and TV series, such as the sitcom Better Off Ted, and has made appearances on radio programs and club stages. His screen credits feature The Interpreter, Friday After Next, Dragonfly and Jimmy Vestvood: Amerikan Hero. In 2017 he joined the cast of the CBS series Superior Donuts as a recurring character. He formerly served on the advisory board of the National Iranian American Council (NIAC).
Born in Iran and raised in the United States, Nasim Pedrad works as an actress and comedian. She joined the ensemble of NBC’s Saturday Night Live, appearing from 2009 until 2014. Afterward she took leading roles in Fox’s sitcoms Mulaney (2014‑2015) and New Girl (2015‑2018), appeared in the horror‑comedy series Scream Queens (2015) on Fox, and acted in the sci‑fi comedy People of Earth (2017) for TBS. Pedrad also wrote, produced and headlined the TBS/Roku Channel comedy series Chad, which ran from 2021 to 2024.
Born in Iran, Shaparak Khorsandi—who once performed under the name Shappi Khorsandi—is a British comedian and author. She is the daughter of Iranian political satirist and poet Hadi Khorsandi.
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