Pej Vahdat
Pej Vahdat | |
|---|---|
| Born | Pejman Vahdat April 10, 1982 Tehran, Iran |
| Education | San Diego State University |
| Occupation | Actor |
| Years active | 2004–present |
Pejman "Pej" Vahdat (/ˈpɛdʒ vəˈdɑːt/ PEJ və-DAHT) is an Iranian-American actor known for his role of Arastoo Vaziri in Bones from 2009 to 2017.[1]
Early life
[edit | edit source]Vahdat was born in Tehran during the Iranian revolution to Nina Emami and Dr. Amoo, one of the Shah of Iran's physicians.[1] Vahdat has a sister, Parastoo Emami, a parenting coach and a brother, Paiman.
While he was a baby his family moved to Germany for 8 months before moving to San Jose, California.[2]
Acting was not his first career path. Vahdat originally aimed to be a professional tennis player.[1] Vahdat attended San Diego State University, where he was a member of the San Diego State Aztecs men's tennis team.
Career
[edit | edit source]Before playing in Bones Vahdat has appeared in numerous television shows including House, The Unit, Arrested Development and Lie to Me.[2]
Early in his acting career, Pej Vahdat often auditioned for stereotypical Middle Eastern roles, such as terrorists, store owners, or taxi drivers. He found it frustrating that these limited portrayals were the majority of what was available to actors like him. Things changed for Vahdat when he landed the role of Arastoo Vaziri on Bones in 2009. He was proud to play a brilliant Muslim scientist helping solve crimes instead of committing them, which he saw as a meaningful challenge to typical Hollywood depictions of Muslims.[3]
In 2009 Vahdat started playing Arastoo Vaziri on the Bones a character who is an Iranian lab assistant working alongside forensic anthropologists. Initially portrayed with an Iranian accent, Arastoo is later revealed to actually have an American accent, a twist that surprised both the audience and Vahdat himself. This choice was intended to challenge stereotypes and offer a more nuanced portrayal of Middle Eastern characters on television. On the show, Arastoo becomes romantically involved with his boss, Dr. Camille Saroyan, played by Tamara Taylor—another development Vahdat didn’t anticipate.[1] The show ended in 2017.
In 2010 he played Kash, a store owner, during the first season of the Showtime series Shameless.[4]
In 2016 Vahdat joined the Amazon drama series Sneaky Pete in a recurring role alongside Giovanni Ribisi. Vahdat played Raj Kumar Mukherjee, an educated man who enjoys gambling and frequently participates in high-stakes card games at secret events hosted by a character named Vince.[5]
Between 2018 and 2020 Vahdat had a recurring role as Kelly Patel, a millionare and the empire owner on Fox's Empire[6]
In 2022, Vahdat was cast as Dex Dexter a charming and a fund manager in the fifth season of the CW reboot series Dynasty.[7]
Between 2022 and 2024 Vahdat appeared as the young Faraz Hamzad, a powerful and ruthless Afghan warlord, hell bent on seeking revenge, also played by Navid Negahban, in the FX series The Old Man.
In 2025 Vahdat has joined the cast of Tracker Season 2 on CBS in a recurring role. He plays Leonard Sharf, a powerful and demanding client of Reenie (Fiona Rene).[8][9][10]
He will also star in the upcoming comedy Pickleheads and appear in the next season of Peacock’s Poker Face.[8]
Personal life
[edit | edit source]In 2003 he started dating Narsis Attar[11] a medical doctor and Heme-Onc fellow at Dana Farber and MGH Cancer Center.
Vahdat is an Iranian-American Muslim who immigrated to the U.S. as a baby. The Trump administration’s travel ban targeting several Muslim-majority countries, including Iran, hit home for him and pushed him in 2017 to speak out. Though not usually political, he began using his Twitter account to express his views and raise awareness.[3]
Filmography
[edit | edit source]Films
[edit | edit source]| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2006 | The Butcher | Chip | |
| 2008 | A Separate Tribe | Stranger | Short film |
| 2008 | Juan Frances: Live | Amir | |
| 2010 | Groupie | Clerk | |
| 2013 | Blood Shot | Ruhmeo | |
| 2014 | A Girl Walks Home Alone at Night | DJ Porno | |
| 2018 | Hope Springs Eternal | Mr. Garner | |
| 2019 | The Day Shall Come | Nura |
Television
[edit | edit source]| Year | Title | Role | Notes | Ref. |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2004 | Finding the Endzone | Bobby | TV short | |
| 2005 | The Flight That Fought Back | Ziad Jarrah | Television film | [12] |
| 2005 | Sleeper Cell | David | Episode: "Al-Faitha" | |
| 2005–2009 | General Hospital | Kia / Dr. Dylan Litz | 2 episodes | |
| 2006 | Arrested Development | Iraqi Guard | Episode: "Exit Strategy" | |
| 2006 | Windfall | Cop / Tony Larma | Episode: "Priceless" | |
| 2006 | NCIS | Dead Motorcyclist Balash Sassnio | Episode: "Shalom" | |
| 2006 | Everybody Hates Chris | Dr. with Leg | Episode: "Everybody Hates Kris" | |
| 2006–2007 | Mind of Mencia | Henchman / Ravi | 3 episodes | |
| 2007 | House | Hamid | Episode: "Airborne" | |
| 2008 | Valentine | Sameer Patel | Episode: "Daddy's Home" | |
| 2008 | The Unit | Zafar Khalid | Episode: "Inquisition" | |
| 2008 | Caught in the Action | Ahmad | Television film | |
| 2009 | Lie to Me | Jason Kashani | Episode: "Life Is Priceless" | |
| 2009–2017 | Bones | Arastoo Vaziri | Recurring role, 31 episodes | [3] |
| 2010 | Hawthorne | Salim Amara | Episode: "Final Curtain" | |
| 2011 | NCIS: Los Angeles | Rameesh Nayam-Singh | Episode: "Tin Soldiers" | |
| 2011 | Grey's Anatomy | Tarik Amin | Episode: "This Is How We Do It" | |
| 2011–2012 | Shameless | Kash | 8 episodes | [4] |
| 2012 | Harry's Law | Alden Mills | Episode: "And the Band Played On" | |
| 2012 | Single Ladies | Kaseem | Episode: "Finally" | |
| 2013 | Hot in Cleveland | Ravi | Episode: "Cleveland Indians" | |
| 2014 | The Mysteries of Laura | Kasib Al Wazir | Episode: "The Mystery of the Dysfunctional Dynasty" | |
| 2014 | Dallas | Nasir Ali | 3 episodes | |
| 2015 | Perception | Vice Consul Rashid Prasad | Episode: "Mirror" | |
| 2016 | Sneaky Pete | Raj Kumar Mukherjee | 5 episodes | [5] |
| 2017 | Lucifer | Josh Hamid | Episode: "They're Back, Aren't They?" | |
| 2017 | The Good Doctor | Dr. Avi Mehta | Episode: "Intangibles" | |
| 2017–2018 | Arrow | Sam Armand | 4 episodes | |
| 2018–2020 | Empire | Kelly Patel | 13 episodes | [6] |
| 2018 | NCIS | Nigel Hakim | 2 episodes | |
| 2018 | Elementary | Tim Darsha | Episode: “You’ve Come A Long Way, Baby” | |
| 2022 | Dynasty | Dex Dexter | Recurring role | [7] |
| City on a Hill | Agent Ramin Milani | 6 episodes | ||
| 2022–2024 | The Old Man | Young Faraz Hamzad | Recurring role | |
| 2025 | Tracker | Leonard Sharf | Season 2 | [8] |
| 2025 | Eyes of Wakanda | Lion Guard #2 (voice) | Episode: "Into the Lion's Den" |
Video Games
[edit | edit source]| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2019 | Crackdown 3 | Reza Khan | voice acting[13] |
| 2023 | Dead Space Remake | Dr. Terrence Kyne | Facial, motion capture & voice acting |
| 2025 | Date Everything! | Amir | voice acting[13] |
References
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- ^ a b "Who Is Empire Owner Millionaire Kelly Patel on Empire?"
- ^ a b Lua error in Module:Citation/CS1/Configuration at line 2172: attempt to index field '?' (a nil value).
- ^ a b c Lua error in Module:Citation/CS1/Configuration at line 2172: attempt to index field '?' (a nil value).
- ^ Lua error in Module:Citation/CS1/Configuration at line 2172: attempt to index field '?' (a nil value).
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- ^ a b Lua error in Module:Citation/CS1/Configuration at line 2172: attempt to index field '?' (a nil value).
External links
[edit | edit source]- Pej Vahdat at IMDb
- Pej Vahdat on TwitterLua error in Module:EditAtWikidata at line 29: attempt to index field 'wikibase' (a nil value).Lua error in Module:WikidataCheck at line 29: attempt to index field 'wikibase' (a nil value).
- Pej Vahdat on InstagramLua error in Module:WikidataCheck at line 29: attempt to index field 'wikibase' (a nil value).
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