Salme Geransar is an Iranian-Australian actress and artist. She is known for her roles in the 2019 sci-fi thriller ''The Mandela Effect''; ''

Neighbours ''Neighbours'' is an Australian television soap opera that has aired since 18 March 1985. It was created by television executive Reg Watson. The Seven Network commissioned the show following the success of Watson's earlier soap '' Sons and ...

'' (2020); ''Clickbait'' (2021); and as Anousha in the

ABC ABC are the first three letters of the Latin script. ABC or abc may also refer to: Arts, entertainment and media Broadcasting * Aliw Broadcasting Corporation, Philippine broadcast company * American Broadcasting Company, a commercial American ...

series ''Mystery Road: Origin'' (2022). She appeared in the 2024

Melbourne Theatre Company The Melbourne Theatre Company is a theatre company based in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia. Founded in 1953 as the Union Theatre Repertory Company at the Union Theatre at the University of Melbourne, it is the oldest professional theatre com ...

's production of ''English''.

Early life and education

Salme Geransar was born in

Tehran Tehran (; , ''Tehrân'') is the capital and largest city of Iran. It is the capital of Tehran province, and the administrative center for Tehran County and its Central District (Tehran County), Central District. With a population of around 9. ...

, Iran. She moved to Australia with her family at the age of four, and grew up on the Central Coast of

New South Wales New South Wales (commonly abbreviated as NSW) is a States and territories of Australia, state on the Eastern states of Australia, east coast of :Australia. It borders Queensland to the north, Victoria (state), Victoria to the south, and South ...

. She played the

piano A piano is a keyboard instrument that produces sound when its keys are depressed, activating an Action (music), action mechanism where hammers strike String (music), strings. Modern pianos have a row of 88 black and white keys, tuned to a c ...

as a child, and enjoyed the arts and mathematics at school. She studied

biotechnology Biotechnology is a multidisciplinary field that involves the integration of natural sciences and Engineering Science, engineering sciences in order to achieve the application of organisms and parts thereof for products and services. Specialists ...

at the University of Newcastle, before taking time out to try acting. She did a three-year full-time acting course at the

Australian Academy of Dramatic Art Australian(s) may refer to: Australia * Australia, a country * Australians, citizens of the Commonwealth of Australia ** European Australians ** Anglo-Celtic Australians, Australians descended principally from British colonists ** Aboriginal Aus ...

(AADA) in

Sydney Sydney is the capital city of the States and territories of Australia, state of New South Wales and the List of cities in Australia by population, most populous city in Australia. Located on Australia's east coast, the metropolis surrounds Syd ...

, graduating in 2006. Since then she has also done various other courses in acting and the dramatic arts in Australia and the United States, including at the 16th Street Actors Studio in

Melbourne Melbourne ( , ; Boonwurrung language, Boonwurrung/ or ) is the List of Australian capital cities, capital and List of cities in Australia by population, most populous city of the States and territories of Australia, Australian state of Victori ...

, the

Upright Citizens Brigade The Upright Citizens Brigade (UCB) is an improvisational and sketch comedy group that emerged from Chicago's ImprovOlympic in 1990. The original incarnation of the group consisted of Amy Poehler, Matthew Walsh, Matt Besser, Ian Roberts, ...

(2016) and Anthony Meindl's Actor Workshop (2018), both in

Los Angeles Los Angeles, often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, most populous city in the U.S. state of California, and the commercial, Financial District, Los Angeles, financial, and Culture of Los Angeles, ...

Career

Screen

Geransar moved to

, and featured in the lead guest roles first in the

Network 10 Network 10 (commonly known as the 10 Network, Channel 10 or simply 10) is an Australian commercial television network. It is a wholly-owned subsidiary of Paramount Global's UK & Australia division and is one of the five national free-to-a ...

police drama series '' Rush'', and then in the TV drama series ''

Winners & Losers ''Winners & Losers'' is an Australian television drama series first broadcast on the Seven Network on 22 March 2011. It was created by the producers of ''Packed to the Rafters'' and is aired in the show's former time slot. ''Winners & Losers'' ...

''. She won accolades for her portrayal of an Iranian woman who finds herself in a bad situation after fleeing as a refugee, in the 2013 short film ''Wish''. She has since appeared in many roles on the big screen as well as television. In 2014, she moved to the U.S. to pursue her acting career, and lived in

for almost five years. After playing a number of dramatic roles, she was cast in the comedy feature ''Izzy Gets the Fuck Across Town'' alongside

Mackenzie Davis Mackenzie Rio Davis (born April 1, 1987) is a Canadian actress. She made her feature film debut in the drama film '' Smashed'' (2012). In 2013, she appeared in the film '' The F Word'', for which she received a Canadian Screen Award nomination ...

. Directed by Christian Papierniak, the film premiered at the 2017

LA Film Festival The LA Film Festival was an annual film festival that was held in Los Angeles, California, and usually took place in June. It showcased independent, international, feature, documentary and short films, as well as web series, music videos, episodi ...

, and the 2019 sci-fi thriller ''The Mandela Effect''. She played Detective Majano in the

Netflix Netflix is an American subscription video on-demand over-the-top streaming service. The service primarily distributes original and acquired films and television shows from various genres, and it is available internationally in multiple lang ...

series ''Clickbait'' (2021) and Anousha in the ABC series ''Mystery Road: Origin'' (2022) for which she along with the rest of the cast received the 2023 Equity Ensemble Award for Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble in a Drama Series.

Stage

While studying at AADA, Geransar performed on stage many times at the Pilgrim Theatre, and has had a few roles on stage since, including in

Steven Berkoff Steven Berkoff (born Leslie Steven Berks; 3 August 1937) is an English actor, author, playwright, theatre practitioner and theatre director. As a theatre maker he is recognised for staging work with a heightened performance style known as "Be ...

's ''Decadence'' (2008, 2009) and

Neil Simon Marvin Neil Simon (July 4, 1927 – August 26, 2018) was an American playwright, screenwriter and author. He wrote more than 30 plays and nearly the same number of movie screenplays, mostly film adaptations of his plays. He received three ...

's '' California Suite'' in 2018. She starred in the 2024

's production of the Pulitzer prize-winning play ''English'', which met with excellent reviews when it played in Melbourne and

Canberra Canberra ( ; ) is the capital city of Australia. Founded following the Federation of Australia, federation of the colonies of Australia as the seat of government for the new nation, it is Australia's list of cities in Australia, largest in ...

. The production was nominated for Outstanding Ensemble and Outstanding Production at the 2025

Green Room Awards The Green Room Awards are Australian peer awards which recognise excellence in cabaret, dance, theatre companies, independent theatre, musical theatre, contemporary and experimental performance, and opera. The awards, which were established in ...

Personal life

Geransar is fluent in English,

Persian Persian may refer to: * People and things from Iran, historically called ''Persia'' in the English language ** Persians, the majority ethnic group in Iran, not to be conflated with the Iranic peoples ** Persian language, an Iranian language of the ...

, and

Spanish Spanish might refer to: * Items from or related to Spain: **Spaniards are a nation and ethnic group indigenous to Spain **Spanish language, spoken in Spain and many countries in the Americas **Spanish cuisine **Spanish history **Spanish culture ...

. Since late 2023, she has been pursuing her passion for art, with her work featured in the Melbourne Eclectic Art Show by the Fitzroy Art Collective in 2024, Black Cat Fitzroy in 2024, and Untether Gallery, Geelong in 2025. Salme Geransar is a rising martial artist. She has trained in Muay Thai and Aikido. She has demonstrated skills in weapon fighting such as the use of bo staff, jo and

bokken A ''bokken'' (, , 'wood', and ''ken'', '(double-edged) sword') or ''bokutō'' (, , 'wood', and ''tō'', '(single-edged) sword') is a Japanese wooden sword used for training in kenjutsu. It is usually the size and shape of a ''katana'', but is so ...

. Salme has her Shodan black belt in Iwama Ryu Aikido.

Filmography

Film

Television

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Geransar, Salme Living people Year of birth missing (living people) Actresses from Tehran Iranian emigrants to Australia 21st-century Australian actresses University of Newcastle (Australia) alumni Australian film actresses Australian television actresses