Omid Abtahi is an American

United States

The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

 actor of Iran

Iran

Iran , officially the Islamic Republic of Iran , is a country in Southern and Western Asia. The name "Iran" has been in use natively since the Sassanian era and came into use internationally in 1935, before which the country was known to the Western world as Persia...

ian origin.

Biography

Before moving to the United States

United States

The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

, Abtahi and his family lived in Europe

Europe

Europe is, by convention, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally 'divided' from Asia to its east by the watershed divides of the Ural and Caucasus Mountains, the Ural River, the Caspian and Black Seas, and the waterways connecting...

 and the Middle East

Middle East

The Middle East is a region that encompasses Western Asia and Northern Africa. It is often used as a synonym for Near East, in opposition to Far East...

.

He grew up in Orange County, California

Orange County, California

Orange County is a county in the U.S. state of California. Its county seat is Santa Ana. As of the 2010 census, its population was 3,010,232, up from 2,846,293 at the 2000 census, making it the third most populous county in California, behind Los Angeles County and San Diego County...

, and graduated from University High School in Irvine.

Before acting on television

Television

Television is a telecommunication medium for transmitting and receiving moving images that can be monochrome or colored, with accompanying sound...

, Abtahi performed on stage in many theatrical productions including Fraulein Else at the Berkeley Repertory, McCarter Theatre and Longwarf Theatre; Adoration of the Old Woman at the Sundance Theatre Lab and Your Everyday Typical Romantic Comedy at the Kennedy Centre. He has also guest starred on the television series

Television program

A television program , also called television show, is a segment of content which is intended to be broadcast on television. It may be a one-time production or part of a periodically recurring series...

 JAG

JAG (TV series)

JAG is an American adventure/legal drama television show that was produced by Belisarius Productions, in association with Paramount Network Television and, for the first season only, NBC Productions...

, Judging Amy

Judging Amy

Judging Amy is an American television drama that was telecast from September 19, 1999, through May 3, 2005, on CBS-TV. This TV series starred Amy Brenneman and Tyne Daly...

and 24

24 (TV series)

24 is an American television series produced for the Fox Network and syndicated worldwide, starring Kiefer Sutherland as Counter Terrorist Unit agent Jack Bauer. Each 24-episode season covers 24 hours in the life of Bauer, using the real time method of narration...

. He played Justin Yates in Ghost Whisperer

Ghost Whisperer

Ghost Whisperer is an American television supernatural drama, which ran on CBS from September 23, 2005 to May 21, 2010.The series follows the life of Melinda Gordon , who has the ability to see and communicate with ghosts...

.

Abtahi also filmed the movie Running with Scissors

Running with Scissors (film)

Running with Scissors is a 2006 American comedy-drama film based on Augusten Burroughs' 2002 memoir of the same name, written and directed by Ryan Murphy, and starring Joseph Cross, Annette Bening, Brian Cox, Joseph Fiennes, Evan Rachel Wood, Alec Baldwin, Jill Clayburgh, and Gwyneth Paltrow with...

, which he co-starred along with Annette Bening

Annette Bening

Annette Carol Bening is an American actress. Bening is a four-time Oscar nominee for her roles in The Grifters, American Beauty, Being Julia and The Kids Are All Right, winning Golden Globe Awards for the latter two films...

 and Gwyneth Paltrow

Gwyneth Paltrow

Gwyneth Kate Paltrow is an American actress and singer. She made her acting debut on stage in 1990 and started appearing in films in 1991. After appearing in several films throughout the decade, Paltrow gained early notice for her work in films such as Se7en and Emma...

. The film was released in 2006.

Since arriving in Los Angeles, Omid has been a series regular on FX's Over There

Over There (TV series)

Over There is an action / drama / war television series that aired on FX. It premiered in the United States on July 27, 2005 and premiered in Canada on September 6, 2005 on the History Television channel. The series was presented in 16:9 widescreen format in the U.S...

and Showtime's Sleeper Cell

Sleeper Cell (TV series)

Sleeper Cell is a one-hour drama on the Showtime network that began airing on December 4, 2005. The tagline for the first season was "Friends. Neighbors. Husbands. Terrorists." and the tagline for the second season was "Cities. Suburbs. Airports. Targets." The series was nominated for an Emmy award...

.

While preparing for the role of Pvt. Tariq Nassiri on the television series Over There, Abtahi learnt how to speak Arabic

Arabic language

Arabic is a name applied to the descendants of the Classical Arabic language of the 6th century AD, used most prominently in the Quran, the Islamic Holy Book...

 and studied Middle Eastern culture.

Omid made his New York stage debut in Urge for Going by Mona Mansour.

Filmography

{| class="wikitable"
|-
! Year !! film !! role !! other notes
|-
| rowspan=4| 2005 || JAG

JAG (TV series)

JAG is an American adventure/legal drama television show that was produced by Belisarius Productions, in association with Paramount Network Television and, for the first season only, NBC Productions...

|| Wahid || episode "Heart of Darkness"
|-
| 24

24 (TV series)

24 is an American television series produced for the Fox Network and syndicated worldwide, starring Kiefer Sutherland as Counter Terrorist Unit agent Jack Bauer. Each 24-episode season covers 24 hours in the life of Bauer, using the real time method of narration...

|| Safa || Episode "Day 4: 7:00 p.m.-8:00 p.m."
|-
| Judging Amy

Judging Amy

Judging Amy is an American television drama that was telecast from September 19, 1999, through May 3, 2005, on CBS-TV. This TV series starred Amy Brenneman and Tyne Daly...

|| Reza Ajami || Episode "The New Normal"
|-
| Over There

Over There (TV series)

Over There is an action / drama / war television series that aired on FX. It premiered in the United States on July 27, 2005 and premiered in Canada on September 6, 2005 on the History Television channel. The series was presented in 16:9 widescreen format in the U.S...

|| Tariq Nassiri || television series
|-
| rowspan=2| 2006 || Running with Scissors

Running with Scissors (film)

Running with Scissors is a 2006 American comedy-drama film based on Augusten Burroughs' 2002 memoir of the same name, written and directed by Ryan Murphy, and starring Joseph Cross, Annette Bening, Brian Cox, Joseph Fiennes, Evan Rachel Wood, Alec Baldwin, Jill Clayburgh, and Gwyneth Paltrow with...

|| Restaurant manager ||
|-
| Sleeper Cell

Sleeper Cell (TV series)

Sleeper Cell is a one-hour drama on the Showtime network that began airing on December 4, 2005. The tagline for the first season was "Friends. Neighbors. Husbands. Terrorists." and the tagline for the second season was "Cities. Suburbs. Airports. Targets." The series was nominated for an Emmy award...

|| Salim || television series
|-
| rowspan=3| 2008 || The Mysteries of Pittsburgh

The Mysteries of Pittsburgh (film)

The Mysteries of Pittsburgh is a film based on Michael Chabon's best-selling novel of the same name, which was published in 1988. The screenplay was written by Rawson Marshall Thurber, who also directed. It was Produced by Michael London and Executive Produced by Omar Amanat. Shooting in...

|| Mohammed ||
|-
| Ocean of Pearls

Ocean of Pearls

Ocean of Pearls is a movie released in 2008. It is the first film directed by Sarab Singh Neelam, a Sikh gastroenterologist from Troy, Michigan. It was written by Neelam and Veerendra Prasad.-Plot:...

|| Amrit Singh ||
|-
| Space Chimps

Space Chimps

Space Chimps is a 2008 computer-animated family comedy film produced by Vanguard Animation, Starz Media and 20th Century Fox, and it was released on July 18, 2008. The film is produced by Barry Sonnenfeld, John H. Williams, and John W...

|| Dr. Jagu || voice
|-
| rowspan=6| 2009 ||rowspan="3"| 24

24 (TV series)

24 is an American television series produced for the Fox Network and syndicated worldwide, starring Kiefer Sutherland as Counter Terrorist Unit agent Jack Bauer. Each 24-episode season covers 24 hours in the life of Bauer, using the real time method of narration...

||rowspan="3"| Jibraan Al-Zarian || Episode "Day 7: 3:00 a.m.-4:00 a.m."
|-
| Episode "Day 7: 4:00 a.m.-5:00 a.m."
|-
| Episode "Day 7: 5:00 a.m.-6:00 a.m. "
|-
| Brothers || Yusuf
|-
| rowspan="2"| NCIS

NCIS (TV series)

NCIS, formerly known as NCIS: Naval Criminal Investigative Service, is an American police procedural drama television series revolving around a fictional team of special agents from the Naval Criminal Investigative Service, which conducts criminal investigations involving the U.S...

||rowspan="2"| Saleem || Episode "Aliyah"
|-
| Episode "Truth or consequences"
|-
| rowspan=1| 2010 || The Event

The Event (TV series)

The Event is an American television series containing elements of science fiction, action/adventure and political allegory. The show was created by Nick Wauters, and premiered on NBC on September 20, 2010...

|| William || Episode "Protect Them from the Truth"
|-
| rowspan=1| 2010 || The Mentalist

The Mentalist

The Mentalist is an American police procedural television series which debuted on September 23, 2008, on CBS. The show was created by Bruno Heller, who is also the show's executive producer...

|| Markham Shankar || Series 3 Episode 7 "Red Hot"
|-
| rowspan=1| 2011 || Fringe

Fringe (TV series)

Fringe is an American science fiction television series created by J. J. Abrams, Alex Kurtzman and Roberto Orci. The series follows a Federal Bureau of Investigation "Fringe Division" team based in Boston, Massachusetts under the supervision of Homeland Security...

|| Simon Phillips || Episode "Concentrate and Ask Again"
|-

External links