Bijan Daneshmand
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Bijan Daneshmand (, born 16 August 1958) is an Iranian actor and artist based in
London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...
, England.


Early life and education

Bijan Daneshmand was born on 16 August 1958 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 Iran, officially the Islamic Republic of Iran (IRI) and also known as Persia, is a country in West Asia. It borders Iraq to the west, Turkey, Azerbaijan, and Armenia to the northwest, the Caspian Sea to the north, Turkmenistan to the nort ...
. At the age of 10, he moved to
England England is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is located on the island of Great Britain, of which it covers about 62%, and List of islands of England, more than 100 smaller adjacent islands. It ...
to receive his early education. After graduating from
King's College London King's College London (informally King's or KCL) is a public university, public research university in London, England. King's was established by royal charter in 1829 under the patronage of George IV of the United Kingdom, King George IV ...
, he attended the London Centre for Theatre Studies and the
Philippe Gaulier Philippe Gaulier is a French master clown, pedagogue, and professor of theatre. He is the founder of École Philippe Gaulier, a French theatre school in Étampes, outside Paris. He studied under Jacques Lecoq in the mid-1960s and was an instr ...
School in
Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, largest city of France. With an estimated population of 2,048,472 residents in January 2025 in an area of more than , Paris is the List of ci ...
to develop his acting skills. Later, he obtained an MA from
Chelsea College of Arts Chelsea College of Arts is a Colleges of the University of the Arts London, constituent college of the University of the Arts London, a public art and design university in London, England. It offers further education, further and higher educ ...
.


Career

In 2004, Daneshmand produced and acted in ''20 Fingers'', a feature film, directed and acted by Mania Akbari. In seven scenes shot by Touraj Aslani with a DV camera in a variety of long takes, the director and producer play a couple or potentially several couples who debate and argue about their relationship. The film tackles taboo subjects, including
homosexuality Homosexuality is romantic attraction, sexual attraction, or Human sexual activity, sexual behavior between people of the same sex or gender. As a sexual orientation, homosexuality is "an enduring pattern of emotional, romantic, and/or sexu ...
and
divorce Divorce (also known as dissolution of marriage) is the process of terminating a marriage or marital union. Divorce usually entails the canceling or reorganising of the legal duties and responsibilities of marriage, thus dissolving the M ...
. It premiered at the
61st Venice International Film Festival The 61st annual Venice International Film Festival, was held from 1 and 11 September 2004, at Venice Lido in Italy. British filmmaker John Boorman was the jury president for the main competition. The Golden Lion was awarded to ''Vera Drake'' ...
in 2004, where it won the Best Digital Film, Venezia Digitale. In 2006, Daneshmand wrote and directed the avant-garde film, ''A Snake's Tail''. The
Bare Bones International Film Festival The Bare Bones International Film and Music Festival was founded in 1999 by the Darkwood Film Arts Institute in the city of Muskogee, Oklahoma, United States to showcase independent motion picture projects with budgets of less than 1 million dolla ...
in
Oklahoma Oklahoma ( ; Choctaw language, Choctaw: , ) is a landlocked U.S. state, state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States. It borders Texas to the south and west, Kansas to the north, Missouri to the northea ...
, United States, named this film the Best International Feature, and it was also included at the Festival Do Rio and the Frankfurt International Film Festival. In 2009, Daneshmand starred in a film, ''Women Without Men'', directed by
Shirin Neshat Shirin Neshat (; born March 26, 1957) is an Iranian photographer and visual artist who lives in New York City, known primarily for her work in film, video and photography. Her artwork centers on the contrasts between Islam and the West, femininit ...
and Shoja Azari, and is based on the 1990 novel by Shahrnush Parsipur. Gender-related issues in Islam and the Muslim world are discussed in the film. It received the 2009 Venice Film Festival's Silver Lion for best director. In 2011, Daneshmand acted in a short film '' Two & Two'' as a male teacher, which was directed by Babak Anvari, co-produced by Kit Fraser, and written by Babak Anvari and Gavin Cullen. The 8-minute film follows Daneshmand's character, a male teacher, as he introduces the statement 2 + 2 = 5 to his young pupils. In 2011, at the
British Academy of Film and Television Arts The British Academy of Film and Television Arts (BAFTA, ) is an independent trade association and charity that supports, develops, and promotes the arts of film, television and video games in the United Kingdom. In addition to its annual awa ...
, BAFTA, it was nominated for Best Short Film. In 2016, Daneshmand plays the role of university director in '' Under the Shadow'', a 2016 Persian-language psychological horror film directed by Babak Anvari. A mother and daughter had terrifying supernatural encounters in Tehran during the Iran-Iraq War of the 1980s. The film's world debut took place at the
Sundance Film Festival The Sundance Film Festival is an annual film festival organized by the Sundance Institute. It is the largest independent film festival in the United States, with 423,234 combined in-person and online viewership in 2023. The festival has acted ...
in 2016. In 2017, it was awarded with the BAFTA for Outstanding Debut. In 2021, Daneshmand wrote and directed a Persian-language web series, ''The Bahramis''. In 2022, Daneshmand was cast as a AliReza Jamshidpour, one of the leading characters in Maryam Keshavarz's film '' The Persian Version''. The film was premiered at the
2023 Sundance Film Festival The 2023 Sundance Film Festival took place from January 19 to 29, 2023. The first lineup of competition films was announced on December 7, 2022. Films U.S. Dramatic Competition * '' The Accidental Getaway Driver'', directed by Sing J. Lee ...
in January 2023 as part of the U.S. Dramatic competition. It took home the Waldo for Best Screenplay as well as the Audience Award. Daneshmand, parallel with his acting, is engaged with his
fine art In European academic traditions, fine art (or, fine arts) is made primarily for aesthetics or creative expression, distinguishing it from popular art, decorative art or applied art, which also either serve some practical function (such as ...
practice. His artwork has been exhibited and reviewed internationally at
art galleries An art gallery is a room or a building in which visual art is displayed. In Western cultures from the mid-15th century, a gallery was any long, narrow covered passage along a wall, first used in the sense of a place for art in the 1590s. The long ...
,
exhibition An exhibition, in the most general sense, is an organized presentation and display of a selection of items. In practice, exhibitions usually occur within a cultural or educational setting such as a museum, art gallery, park, library, exhibiti ...
s, and publications. In 1996, Daneshmand founded and launched The Leonard, an award winning boutique hotel in central London. The hotel was popular with musicians and film people.
William Orbit William Mark Wainwright (born 15 December 1956),"William Orbit." ''Contemporary Musicians''. Vol. 30. Farmington Hills, MI: Gale, 2000. Retrieved via ''Biography in Context'' database, 7 May 2017. Available onlinvia ''Encyclopedia.com'' known ...
made various recordings there including works involving U2, Madonna, Pink. In 2003, Daneshmand sold his family interest in the business, to focus entirely on his art and acting. In 2020, continuing with his fine art practice and interest in the concept of repetition, he commenced his Damavand series; a collection of over 150 works, an exploration on the theme of repetition and difference. In 2024, Daneshmand performed as the voice character of King Darius, in ''Prince of Persia: The Lost Crown'' video game by
Ubisoft Ubisoft Entertainment SA (; ; formerly Ubi Soft Entertainment SA) is a French video game publisher headquartered in Saint-Mandé with development studios across the world. Its video game franchises include '' Anno'', '' Assassin's Creed'', ' ...
.


Selected filmography


Film


Television


Radio


Awards and recognition

* 2004: Best Film Venezia Cinema Digitale at the
Venice Film Festival The Venice Film Festival or Venice International Film Festival (, "International Exhibition of Cinematographic Art of the Venice Biennale") is an annual film festival held in Venice, Italy. It is the world's oldest film festival and one of the ...
, for '' 20 Fingers'', produced by Daneshmand * 2006: Winner, Best International Feature at the
Bare Bones International Film Festival The Bare Bones International Film and Music Festival was founded in 1999 by the Darkwood Film Arts Institute in the city of Muskogee, Oklahoma, United States to showcase independent motion picture projects with budgets of less than 1 million dolla ...
, for ''A Snake's Tail'', written and directed by Daneshmand * 2021: Award of Merit Best Web Series and Award of Excellence Lead Actor at the IndieFEST Film Awards, for ''The Bahramis'', directed by Daneshmand * 2021: Best Actor at the BUEIFF Web Series Film Festival, for ''The Bahramis''


References


External links

*
Bijan Daneshmand's interview with Lisa PollmanBijan Daneshmand on iranian.com
{{DEFAULTSORT:Daneshmand, Bijan Living people 1958 births 21st-century Iranian male actors Alumni of King's College London 21st-century British male actors Iranian artists Iranian emigrants to the United Kingdom Iranian male film actors Iranian male television actors English male film actors People educated at Eastbourne College Male actors from London Male actors from Tehran Iranian diaspora film people