Nazanin Boniadi is a British-Iranian actress, rapidly making her mark in both film and television as well as continuing her heartfelt work as an activist. On the big screen, Boniadi portrays former Fox News reporter Rudi Bakhtiar in Lionsgate’s drama Bombshell. The film has been recognized for its ensemble cast with a Critics’ Choice and Screen Actors Guild Award nomination. Boniadi starred as Zahra in Bleecker Street’s feature Hotel Mumbai. The film was an Official Selection of the 2018 Toronto International Film Festival, opened the Adelaide Film Festival, and garnered 13 Australian Academy of Cinema and Television Arts (AACTA) Award nominations (including Best Lead Actress for Boniadi). On television, Boniadi starred as Clare opposite J.K. Simmons in the critically acclaimed Starz original, Counterpart. B
Nazanin Boniadi is a British-Iranian actress, rapidly making her mark in both film and television as well as continuing her heartfelt work as an activist. On the big screen, Boniadi portrays former Fox News reporter Rudi Bakhtiar in Lionsgate’s drama Bombshell. The film has been recognized for its ensemble cast with a Critics’ Choice and Screen Actors Guild Award nomination. Boniadi starred as Zahra in Bleecker Street’s feature Hotel Mumbai. The film was an Official Selection of the 2018 Toronto International Film Festival, opened the Adelaide Film Festival, and garnered 13 Australian Academy of Cinema and Television Arts (AACTA) Award nominations (including Best Lead Actress for Boniadi). On television, Boniadi starred as Clare opposite J.K. Simmons in the critically acclaimed Starz original, Counterpart. Boniadi co-starred as Fara Sherazi in seasons three and four of the Emmy and Golden Globe Award-winning drama Homeland, for which she shared a 2015 SAG-AFTRA Award nomination for Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble in a Drama Series. She also played Nora in seasons six and seven of How I Met Your Mother. Additional on-screen credits include Ben-Hur, Passengers, The Next Three Days, and the first installment of Iron Man.
Born in Tehran, Boniadi and her family relocated to London shortly after the Iranian Revolution. Boniadi later moved to the United States to pursue medicine. After completing a Bachelor’s Degree with Honors in Biological Sciences from the University of California, Irvine, and receiving an undergraduate research award in heart transplant rejection, she switched gears back to her first love and trained in Contemporary Drama at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Arts in London. Boniadi is a dedicated human and women’s rights advocate with a focus on Iran. From 2009-2015, she served as a spokesperson for Amnesty International USA (AIUSA) and continues to partner with the non-profit as an Amnesty International Artist of Conscience. In 2014, she was selected for term membership by the Council on Foreign Relations and in 2015, she joined the Board of Directors at the Center for Human Rights in Iran. Boniadi’s advocacy work has taken her to Capitol Hill, British Parliament, and most recently, the Bundestag. Boniadi is fluent in English and Persian. She currently resides in Los Angeles.
