HOME

TheInfoList



OR:

Maziyar Jobrani ( fa, مازیار جبرانی; born February 26, 1972) is an American comedian and actor who was part of the "
Axis of Evil The phrase "axis of evil" was first used by U.S. President George W. Bush and originally referred to Iran, Iraq, and North Korea. It was used in Bush's State of the Union address on January 29, 2002, less than five months after the 9/11 attac ...
" comedy group. The group appeared on a comedy special on Comedy Central. Jobrani has also appeared in numerous films, television shows, including ''
Better Off Ted ''Better Off Ted'' is an American satirical sitcom series, created by Victor Fresco, who also served as the show's executive producer. The series ran on the ABC network from March 18, 2009, to January 26, 2010. ''Better Off Ted'' focuses on t ...
'', on radio, and in comedy clubs. His filmography includes roles in '' The Interpreter'', ''
Friday After Next ''Friday After Next'' is a 2002 American stoner comedy film directed by Marcus Raboy and starring Ice Cube (who also wrote the film), Mike Epps (in a dual role), John Witherspoon, Don "D.C." Curry, Anna Maria Horsford, and Clifton Powell. ...
'', ''
Dragonfly A dragonfly is a flying insect belonging to the infraorder Anisoptera below the order Odonata. About 3,000 extant species of true dragonfly are known. Most are tropical, with fewer species in temperate regions. Loss of wetland habitat thre ...
'', and '' Jimmy Vestvood: Amerikan Hero''. He appeared as a regular character on the 2017 CBS sitcom ''
Superior Donuts ''Superior Donuts'' is a play by American playwright Tracy Letts. Its world premiere was staged by the Steppenwolf Theatre Company in Chicago in 2008. It premiered on Broadway in 2009. Synopsis The play focuses on the relationship between de ...
''. He had been an advisory board member of the National Iranian American Council (NIAC).


Early life and education

Jobrani was born in
Tehran Tehran (; fa, تهران ) is the largest city in Tehran Province and the capital of Iran. With a population of around 9 million in the city and around 16 million in the larger metropolitan area of Greater Tehran, Tehran is the most popul ...
, Iran. He and his parents moved to
California California is a state in the Western United States, located along the Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the most populous U.S. state and the 3rd largest by area. It is also the m ...
when he was six years old.Maz Jobrani Comedy Central Special He was raised in Tiburon in the
San Francisco Bay San Francisco Bay is a large tidal estuary in the U.S. state of California, and gives its name to the San Francisco Bay Area. It is dominated by the big cities of San Francisco, San Jose, and Oakland. San Francisco Bay drains water f ...
area. He attended Redwood High School in Larkspur, and was inducted into the Redwood distinguished alumni class of 2017. Jobrani studied
political science Political science is the scientific study of politics. It is a social science dealing with systems of governance and power, and the analysis of political activities, political thought, political behavior, and associated constitutions and ...
and Italian at
UC Berkeley The University of California, Berkeley (UC Berkeley, Berkeley, Cal, or California) is a public land-grant research university in Berkeley, California. Established in 1868 as the University of California, it is the state's first land-grant uni ...
, where he received a B.A. degree. He was enrolled in a
PhD PHD or PhD may refer to: * Doctor of Philosophy (PhD), an academic qualification Entertainment * '' PhD: Phantasy Degree'', a Korean comic series * '' Piled Higher and Deeper'', a web comic * Ph.D. (band), a 1980s British group ** Ph.D. (Ph.D. al ...
program at
UCLA The University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) is a public land-grant research university in Los Angeles, California. UCLA's academic roots were established in 1881 as a teachers college then known as the southern branch of the California ...
when he decided to pursue his childhood dream of acting and performing comedy.


Career


Television and radio

Jobrani has since made appearances on shows like ''
The Colbert Report ''The Colbert Report'' ( ) is an American late-night talk and news satire television program hosted by Stephen Colbert that aired four days a week on Comedy Central from October 17, 2005, to December 18, 2014, for 1,447 episodes. The show fo ...
'', ''
The Tonight Show with Jay Leno ''The Tonight Show with Jay Leno'' is an American late-night talk show hosted by Jay Leno that first aired from May 25, 1992, to May 29, 2009. It resumed production on March 1, 2010 and ended on February 6, 2014. The fourth incarnation of the ...
'', ''
The Late Late Show with Craig Ferguson ''The Late Late Show with Craig Ferguson'' is an American late-night talk show hosted by Scottish actor and comedian Craig Ferguson. This was the third iteration of the The Late Late Show (American talk show), ''Late Late Show'' franchise, airing ...
'', '' Talkshow with Spike Feresten'', ''
Whitney Whitney may refer to: Film and television * ''Whitney'' (2015 film), a Whitney Houston biopic starring Yaya DaCosta * ''Whitney'' (2018 film), a documentary about Whitney Houston * ''Whitney'' (TV series), an American sitcom that premiered i ...
'', and regularly performs at top comedy clubs (in California and New York) such as
The Comedy Store The Comedy Store is an American comedy club opened in April 1972. It is located in West Hollywood, California, at 8433 Sunset Boulevard on the Sunset Strip. An associated club is located in La Jolla, San Diego, California. History The Comedy ...
. He made an appearance as a dental patient on an episode of '' Still Standing'', in the
pilot episode A television pilot (also known as a pilot or a pilot episode and sometimes marketed as a tele-movie), in television in the United States, United States television, is a standalone episode of a television series that is used to sell a show to a te ...
s of ''
Better Off Ted ''Better Off Ted'' is an American satirical sitcom series, created by Victor Fresco, who also served as the show's executive producer. The series ran on the ABC network from March 18, 2009, to January 26, 2010. ''Better Off Ted'' focuses on t ...
'', '' The Knights of Prosperity'', on an episode of ''
Cedric the Entertainer Presents ''Cedric the Entertainer Presents'' is an American sketch comedy television series and television program featuring dance numbers starring Cedric the Entertainer. The series premiered September 18, 2002 on Fox and after the first season, Fox rene ...
'', on an episode of ''
Malcolm in the Middle ''Malcolm in the Middle'' is an American family television sitcom created by Linwood Boomer for Fox. The series premiered on January 9, 2000, and ended on May 14, 2006, after seven seasons and 151 episodes. The series follows a dysfunction ...
'' as Robber #2 and on an episode of ''
The West Wing ''The West Wing'' is an American serial political drama television series created by Aaron Sorkin that was originally broadcast on NBC from September 22, 1999, to May 14, 2006. The series is set primarily in the West Wing of the White Hous ...
'' as a Saudi prince. He also made appearances in ''
13 Going on 30 ''13 Going on 30'' (released as ''Suddenly 30'' in some countries) is a 2004 American fantasy romantic comedy film written by Cathy Yuspa and Josh Goldsmith, directed by Gary Winick, and starring Jennifer Garner. It follows a 13-year-old girl in ...
'' and '' Bug''. He has toured with the Axis of Evil Comedy Tour. He provided the voice of Ahmed Farahnakian in the audiobook version of ''
World War Z ''World War Z: An Oral History of the Zombie War'' is a 2006 zombie apocalyptic horror novel written by American author Max Brooks. The novel is broken into eight chapters: “Warnings”, “Blame”, “The Great Panic”, “Turning the Ti ...
''. Jobrani has written a movie with a friend called '' Jimmy Vestvood: Amerikan Hero''. Jobrani makes occasional appearances on
NPR National Public Radio (NPR, stylized in all lowercase) is an American privately and state funded nonprofit media organization headquartered in Washington, D.C., with its NPR West headquarters in Culver City, California. It differs from other ...
's news quiz show '' Wait Wait... Don't Tell Me!'' and
American Public Media American Public Media (APM) is an American company that produces and distributes public radio programs in the United States, the second largest company of its type after NPR. Its non-profit parent, American Public Media Group, also owns and o ...
's ''Wits''. He appeared on episode 118, October 28, 2010, of ''
WTF with Marc Maron ''WTF with Marc Maron'' is a weekly podcast and radio show hosted by stand-up comedian Marc Maron. The show was launched in September 2009. The show is produced by Maron's former Air America co-worker Brendan McDonald. Background The show's ti ...
''. Additionally, Jobrani co-hosts his own podcast on the All Things Comedy podcasting network with fellow comedians
Al Madrigal Alessandro Liborio Madrigal (born July 4, 1971)"'W ...
, Chris Spencer, and Aaron Aryanpur. Titled ''Minivan Men'', the podcast chronicles the lives and experiences of the hosts with particular focus on fatherhood. He played Jafar in the 2015 musical fantasy television film '' Descendants''. In 2015, Jobrani released a memoir entitled ''I'm Not a Terrorist, But I've Played One On TV''.


Standup style

Jobrani's jokes focus on race and the misunderstanding of Middle Easterners in America. He also talks about his family.


Social and Political activities

Jobrani had been a board member of the National Iranian American Council (NIAC).. In 2015, he stepped down after discovering NIAC's alleged ties to the Iranian government. He also sits on the board of the Persian American Cancer Institute (PACI.org) and also works with International Society for Children with Cancer (ISCC-Charity.org).


Personal life

In 2006, Jobrani married an Indian-American attorney named Pretha. They have a son and daughter and reside in California. Mr. Jobrani has two younger brothers and an older sister. His youngest brother is A. Joseph "Joey" Jobrani. After that is Mr. Kashi Jobrani (b. 1977 - d. 2014) who died when he was 36. His older sister, Director/Producer Mariam Jobrani (b. 1969 - d. 2017) died at the age of 47 from metastatic breast cancer.


Stand up specials

* 2007 '' Axis of Evil Comedy Special'' * 2009 ''Brown & Friendly'' * 2013 ''I Come in Peace'' * 2015 ''I'm Not a Terrorist, But I've Played One On TV'' * 2017 ''Immigrant''


Books

*


See also

*
Iranian stand-up comedy Iranian stand-up comedy refers to stand-up comedy by Iranians or based on Persian satire. Notable figures * Ebrahim Nabavi, 2005 Prince Claus Award winner * Hamed Ahangi * Hadi Khorsandi * Omid Djalili * Maziar Jobrani * Eslam Shams, 2006 Ense ...
* Axis of Evil Comedy Tour


References


External links

* * * *
Interview and photos



Interview with SanDiego.com, 2/14/2011

Maz Jobrani speaks about the immigrant experience for an Iranian-American
{{DEFAULTSORT:Jobrani, Maz 21st-century American comedians American stand-up comedians American comedians of Iranian descent American male comedians American male actors Iranian emigrants to the United States People from Tiburon, California People from Tehran University of California, Berkeley alumni University of California, Los Angeles alumni Comedians from California 1972 births Living people Redwood High School (Larkspur, California) alumni