Would this be related to talent? In the case of some thespians, acting just seems to run in the family.
Here are some successful actors and actresses in Iranian cinema who also happened to be siblings.
1. Maral and Mona Farjad
The siblings who are successful actresses have appeared in many ifilm series and movies.
Maral is the daughter of veteran Iranian actor Jalil Farjad. She is a Photography graduate who took part in some acting courses as well. She appeared in her first television film at the age of three and made her stage debut as a teenager alongside her father in a play by Majid Jafari.
The actress has acted in movies such as ‘The Wedding Dinner’ and ‘Brick Boys’. She has also appeared in series such as ‘The Magic Coat’, ‘Operation 125’, ‘Khatoun’, and ‘Zero Hour’, ‘The Friendly Ghost’.
Her sister, Mona, also appeared in many films and series, including ‘In Love’, ‘The Weary-Hearted’ and ‘Medical Building’.
2. Setareh and Laheh Eskandari
The famous sisters have made a big name for themselves in Iranian cinema.
Setareh quit studying English translation at university to enter the world of theater. The Iranian actress made her television debut in 1995 and found fame with the series ‘Narges’ (2006).
She made her cinematic debut in ‘Rival of the Heart’ in 1997 and won the Best Actress Award at the Fajr Theater Festival in 2001 for ‘The Joy of Influencing the Lives of the Unfortunate’.
Eskandari has starred in the series ‘The Gradual Death of a Dream’, ‘Until Morning’, ‘Factor 8’, ‘Passion to Fly’, and Haft-Seen.
Her movies include ‘The Visitor to Rey’, ‘Parya's Story’, ‘Yousef’ and ‘Unplanned’.
Her sister, Laleh, has also played roles in numerous movies, including 'Sharareh', 'This Woman Won't Talk' and 'Trouble'.
3. Sina Mehrad and Saed Soheli
While one of these siblings has a different surname on small and big screens, they are both quite famous in Iranian cinema.
Sina Mehrad AKA Sina Soheili was born into an artist family with his father Saeed Soheili as well as his sibling Saed being famous names in Iranian cinema.
He started amateur acting with a role in his father's flick 'Naked Night'. Some years later at the age of 19, he made a comeback with stage acting in theater plays.
The actor's first appearance on the small screen came with 'The Recluse' before he shot to fame among TV audiences in the series ‘Father’. Most recently he acted in his father's new offering 'Pig Gene'.
Sina Mehrad who appears in ifilm series 'Father' has a close family connection to French-Iranian actress Gloria Hardy.
Saed Soheili is an Iranian film and television actor. Saed Soheili began acting aged 14. His first professional role was in a play for a television film by Javad Ezzati.
4. Mehraveh and Melika Sharifinia
What is intriguing about the sibling pair is that their parents -Mohammad-Reza Sharifinia and Azita Hajian - act in cinema as well
In 2007, she had the opportunity to act alongside her mother in 'Hourglass'. She later became involved in the production of 'A flower for Deborah' as the second assistant director.
She has so far appeared in movies such as 'Masoumeh', 'A Girl Named Tondar', 'Look at Me', 'Nightmare', 'The Outcasts 2', 'If it Rains', 'A Simple Romance', 'A Line of Truth', 'The Stories', and 'Story of My Father's Love'.
The actress has won the Award for Best Actress in a Leading Role from the Film Critics & Writers Association for 'There’s Nothing Going on Behind the Door' in 2010 and Award for Best Actress in TV series for 'Goodbye Child’ from Image World Celebration in 2014.
Mehraveh is playing a starring role in ifilm current series ‘Kimia’.
Her sister, Melika, has appeared in series ‘Shams-ol-Emareh’, ‘The Chef’, ‘Rooster’ and ‘Rental Home’ and movies ‘Pari’, ‘Tears and a Smile’, ‘Death Formation’, ‘Mix’, ‘Mom's Guests’ and ‘Tambourine’.
She has also studied Graphics and has tried her hand at Graphic, Photography and Book illustration.
5. Negin and Shirin Sedq-Gouya
Negin Sedq-Gouya graduated from Al-Zahra University with a Bachelor’s degree in Economics.
She started her cinematic career in 1992 and her debut was the movie ‘Tick Tock’ directed by Mohammad Ali Talebi.
Sedq-Gouya has acted in several movies, including ‘Restless’, ‘The Poor Lover’, ‘The Pilot’, ‘The Fifth Reaction’, ‘The Choice’, ‘Abraham, Friend of Allah’, ‘The Distinguished Suitor’, ‘A Time for Love’, ‘Prison Bride’, ‘Mana’ and ‘Everything's Fine’.
She has also appeared in series such as ‘Where to in Such a Hurry?’, ‘The Edge of Fire’, and ‘Zero Hour’.
Her sister with the stage name, Shirin Bina, is also an actress. Bina has appeared in a number of movies, including ‘Scent of Joseph’, ‘Sohrab’, ‘The Wind Carpet’, ‘Bygone Days’, ‘The Trial’, ‘Dinosaur’, ‘Prison Bride’, ‘Puzzle’, 'You and I’, ‘The Straw Dogs’, and ‘5-Stars’.
She has also acted in several series, including ‘Image of a Dream’ (1996), ‘Passenger from India’ (2002), ‘Help Me’ (2004), ‘Coma’ (2007), and ‘Detective Alavi 2’ (2008), 'Passing Through the Fall' (2009).
6. Kamand and Sepand Amir-Soleimani
Kamand Amir-Soleimani was born into an artistic family. She has a degree in Stage Acting and Directing from the Islamic Azad University.
Her father, who is an actor, did not want her to pursue a career in acting but supported her when he became aware of her passion for this profession.
She was seven when she appeared in the play 'Squirrels'. She made her television debut in 1981 and in 1986 appeared in the movie 'Toranj'.
In 1999, Amir-Soleimani was acknowledged by the Fajr International Film Festival for her role in 'Red' (1998).
The actress’ brother, Sepand Amir-Soleimani, has appeared in several series, including ‘Tiptoe’, ‘I'm a Tenant’, ‘Godfather’, ‘Barareh Nights’ , ‘Narges’, ‘The Man of Two Thousand Faces’, ‘The Occupiers’, ‘Bitter Coffee’, ‘Rooster’ , 'In Hashieh' and ‘The Enigma of the Shah’.
7. Merila and Melika Zarei
Merila Zarei has an engineering degree in food industries. She began her acting career with the series ‘Detective Alavi’ in 1994.
The actress has appeared in numerous series, such as ‘Khazra High School’, ‘Fresh Air’, ‘Seasoned Rider’, ‘Tomorrow is Too Late’, ‘The Story of a City’, ‘A Place of Love’, ‘Time of Fury’, ‘The Young Officer’, ‘The Seamen’, and ‘The Pahlavi Hat’.
Zarei has also played in several movies, including ‘Filmaholic’ , ‘The Fifth Reaction’, ‘The Equation’, ‘The Bachelors’.
She was nominated for a Fajr International Film Festival Crystal Simorgh for her appearances in ‘The Unwanted Woman’, ‘About Elly’, and ‘Daughter’.
Her sister, Melika, is an actress too. While she has appeared in some movies, her main passion for acting is more concentrated on hosting and acting in TV shows for children.
8. Amin and Omid Zendegani
Amin Zendegani was born in a family of artists and musicians and began his artistic activities in 1991 when he entered the University of Tehran, Faculty of Fine Arts.
After gaining four years of experience in stage acting, he made his small screen debut with ‘Young Lawyers’.
He has appeared in the movies ‘Eastern Woman’, ‘The Actor’, ‘The Kingdom of Solomon the Prophet’, ‘Path to Paradise’, ‘Octopus’ and ‘Oblivion Season’.
Zendegani has also appeared in the series ‘Days of Youth’, ‘Lost Innocence’, ‘Spellbound’ and ‘Mokhtarnameh’.
Amin Zendegani's brother, Omid, appeared in the play 'Scream' directed by Farhad Mizban at the age of 16.
While studying Electronic Engineering, he decided to switch majors and studied Theater Acting. Omid, then, continued his studies in Theater Directing.
'Tomorrow is Too Late' is one of his best-known series.
He has appeared in several movies, including 'Returning Home', 'The Fugitive' and 'The Way of Infatuation' and 'The Man of Two Thousand Faces'.
‘Certified Copy’ and Operation 125 (2) are some of the series in which he appeared. Omid is also a musician and popular TV host.
9. Borzou and Bahar Arjmand
Borzou Arjmand began his acting career in theater when he was a child and pursued acting at university. He made his cinematic debut in 2000 with 'The Red Journey'.
He has appeared in the movies 'Butterfly in the Mist', 'The Third Day', 'Mahya', 'Better than Us', 'The Ascended' and 'Forty-Year Old Single'.
The actor has also performed in the series 'The Nights of Barareh, 'The Spiritualists', 'Full or Empty', 'The Man of Two Thousand Faces', 'Passing Through the Fall', 'Bread and Basil', 'Dementia' , 'The Ascended', 'Leila's Loneliness' and 'Kimia'.
In addition to acting, Arjmand has experienced writing, playing music and singing. He was the singer of the opening credits of 'We are not Angels' while acting in the series.
He is the son of late Iranian actor Anoushiravan Arjmand. His sister, Bahar, is an actress.
AG/AG
