Homayoun Ershadi
Homayoun Ershadi | |
|---|---|
همایون ارشادی | |
 Ershadi in 2015 | |
| Born | 26 March 1947 Isfahan, Iran |
| Died | 11 November 2025 (aged 78) Iran |
| Alma mater | Ca' Foscari University of Venice |
| Occupation | Actor |
| Years active | 1995–2025 |
| Children | 2 |
Homayoun Ershadi (alternatively spelled Homayon Ershadi, Persian: همایون ارشادی; 26 March 1947 – 11 November 2025) was an Iranian actor. He was known for his debut role in Taste of Cherry (1997), and several subsequent Iranian and other films, including European films like Agora or Hollywood films like The Kite Runner and Zero Dark Thirty.
Early life and education
Homayoun Ershadi was born in Isfahan on 26 March 1947, and spent his adolescence in Karaj and Abadan.[1][2] He moved to Italy to study architecture at the Ca' Foscari University of Venice in Venice, graduating in 1970.
Ershadi initially worked in Iran as an architect, but relocated to Canada with his wife following the Iranian Revolution. He and his wife settled in Vancouver, British Columbia, where he continued work as an architect. Ershadi returned to Iran in 1990 after he and his wife filed for divorce.[3][4]
Career
Following Ershadi's return to Iran, he settled in Tehran. Ershadi was discovered by director Abbas Kiarostami, while sitting in his car in traffic. Kiarostami approached him and requested him to play the leading role of his film, Taste of Cherry.[4]
In 2007 he was cast in The Kite Runner, a film about two young boys growing up in Afghanistan.[4]
Personal life and death
Ershadi's two children live in Vancouver, a place he visited often to see his grandchildren.[3]
Ershadi died from cancer in Iran on 11 November 2025, at the age of 78.[5] He was buried at the Behesht-e Sakineh in Karaj. [6]
Awards
Ershadi won the Sepanta Awards in 2017 for "Best Actor for Short Film" for his work in Blue Lantern, from the 10th Annual Iranian Film Festival in San Francisco, California.[7]
Cultural reference
The short story Seeing Ershadi by Nicole Krauss was published in The New Yorker on 5 March 2018. It is about a ballet dancer who watches a film featuring Ershadi and then becomes obsessed with his face.[8]
Filmography
| Year | Title | Role | Director | Ref. |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1997 | Taste of Cherry | Mr Badii | Abbas Kiarostami | [9][10] |
| 1998 | The Pear Tree | Dariush Mehrjui | [11] | |
| 2002 | Disturbant | Sirus Alvand | ||
| 2005 | Portrait of a Lady Far Away | Ali Mosaffa | [9] | |
| 2006 | Color of Friend | Mr Jahangir | Bita Shafipour | |
| 2007 | The Kite Runner | Baba | Marc Forster | [12] |
| 2008 | Aal | Bahram Bahramian | ||
| 2009 | Agora | Aspasius | Alejandro Amenábar | [13] |
| 2011 | Facing Mirrors | Pedar | Negar Azarbayjani | [14] |
| 2012 | Zero Dark Thirty | Hassan Ghul | Kathryn Bigelow | |
| 2013 | Good to Be Back | Merati | Dariush Mehrjui | |
| 2014 | A Most Wanted Man | Faisal Abdullah | Anton Corbijn | |
| 2014 | Ghosts | Dariush Mehrjui | ||
| 2015 | Utopia | Hassan Nazer | ||
| 2016 | Ali and Nino | Asif Kapadia | [15] | |
| 2016 | Blue Lantern | Reza Yarkhalaji | [16] | |
| 2016 | The Last Inhabitant | Ibrahim | Jivan Avetisyan | [17] |
| 2017 | Lina | father | Ramin Rasouli | [18] |
| 2019–2020 | Mannequin | Jamshid | Hossein Soheilizadeh | |
| 2020 | No Choice | Reza Dormishian | ||
| 2022 | The Town | Ali Hazrati |
References
- ^ حشمتی, محمدحسین (12 November 2025). "بیوگرافی همایون ارشادی و علت اصلی فوت او+ همسر، فرزندان و فیلم ها". setare.com (in Persian). Retrieved 21 November 2025.
- ^ "Homayoun Ershadi". Beirut International Film Festival. Retrieved 6 May 2025.
- ^ a b "'He saw 6-foot-8 in my eyes'". The Globe and Mail. 11 December 2007. Retrieved 6 May 2025.
- ^ a b c Kerr, Euan (27 December 2007). "Homayoun Ershadi's strange trip to stardom". Minnesota Public Radio (MPR). Retrieved 1 April 2016.
- ^ "Iranian actor Ershadi dies at 78 after battle with cancer". Alarabiya English. 11 November 2025. Retrieved 11 November 2025.
- ^ "همایون ارشادی بازیگر سینما و تلویزیون درگذشت + علت فوت و مکان تدفین". شهر خبر. 11 November 2025. Retrieved 21 November 2025.
- ^ "Winners of 2017 'Sepanta Awards' at 10th Annual Iranian Film Festival in San Francisco announced". Payvand.com. 10 February 2017. Archived from the original on 5 June 2018. Retrieved 22 December 2017.
- ^ Krauss, Nicole (26 February 2018). ""Seeing Ershadi"". The New Yorker. ISSN 0028-792X. Retrieved 23 November 2019.
- ^ a b "Review: 'Portrait of a Lady Far Away'". Variety Magazine. Penske Business Media LLC. 5 July 2005.
- ^ Holden, Stephen (20 March 1998). "'Taste of Cherry': Simultaneously Epic and Precisely Minuscule". The New York Times. Retrieved 23 November 2019.
- ^ "The Pear Tree". The Film Sufi. 28 February 2013. Retrieved 1 April 2016.
- ^ French, Howard W. (31 December 2006). "Where to Shoot an Epic About Afghanistan? China, Where Else?". The New York Times. pp. (p. 2). Retrieved 15 February 2007.
- ^ Perry, Byron (24 February 2008). "Homayoun Ershadi". Variety. Retrieved 23 November 2019.
- ^ Scheib, Ronnie (7 September 2011). "Facing Mirrors". Variety. Retrieved 23 November 2019.
- ^ Debruge, Peter (5 February 2016). "Sundance Film Review: 'Ali and Nino'". Variety Magazine. Retrieved 1 April 2016.
- ^ "Blue Lantern". Iranian Film Festival. 2017. Retrieved 23 November 2019.
- ^ "Film Production: The Last Inhabitant". National Cinema Center of Armenia (NCCA). Archived from the original on 17 August 2016. Retrieved 22 November 2019.
- ^ "Iran, Afghan Actors in 3-Nation Production". Financial Tribune. 20 September 2017. Retrieved 16 November 2021.
