David Diaan
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David Diaan, also known as Fariborz Davoodian, is a Los Angeles–based actor, writer, producer, and entrepreneur. He is best known for his satirical plays and his hilarious approach to issues surrounding the
Iranian American Iranian-Americans, also known as Persian-Americans, are Americans, United States citizens or nationals who are of Iranian peoples, Iranian ancestry, or who hold Iranian Multiple citizenship, citizenship. Most Iranian-Americans arrived in the U ...
community in the United States. He is an avid humanitarian and activist, especially in respect to the struggles of the freedom seeking citizens of his homeland, Iran.


Early life

He was born Fariborz Davoodian in
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 ...
during the era of
Shah Mohammad Reza Pahlavi Mohammad Reza Pahlavi (26 October 1919 – 27 July 1980) was the last Shah of Iran, ruling from 1941 to 1979. He succeeded his father Reza Shah and ruled the Imperial State of Iran until he was overthrown by the Iranian Revolution, which ...
. His father, Elias Davoodian, was a textile distributor who had built a reputation as a trustworthy businessman. As a hobby, David's father Elias, would produce and act in community theater productions and was quite popular in his small town in Iran. His mother, Eshrat Moluk, was born into a family of prominent physicians. As a young girl, she possessed a gift for singing, but her strict parents never allowed her to perform professionally. His parents' appreciation of performing arts were an early influence on Diaan's aspirations in the entertainment industry.


Education and career

At the age of 16, Diaan left Iran and moved to
Columbia, Missouri Columbia is a city in Missouri, United States. It was founded in 1821 as the county seat of Boone County, Missouri, Boone County and had a population of 126,254 as recorded in the 2020 United States census, making it the List of cities in Misso ...
in the Midwestern United States to continue his education. There, he attended
David H. Hickman High School David Henry Hickman High School (commonly Hickman or HHS) is a Public high school, public secondary school in Columbia, Missouri, United States, serving students in Educational stages, grades Ninth grade, 9–Twelfth grade, 12. Built in 1927, it ...
. Afterwards, he went on the study Radio, Television and Journalism at the prestigious
University of Missouri The University of Missouri (Mizzou or MU) is a public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Columbia, Missouri, United States. It is Missouri's largest university and the flagship of the four-campus Univers ...
. However, David's ambitions of returning to his homeland to become a famous talk show host were postponed due to the sudden changes in the social and political climate of his country after the
Iranian Revolution The Iranian Revolution (, ), also known as the 1979 Revolution, or the Islamic Revolution of 1979 (, ) was a series of events that culminated in the overthrow of the Pahlavi dynasty in 1979. The revolution led to the replacement of the Impe ...
. Iran and the United States had at this point become enemies. Left virtually stranded away from home, David took a job as a marketing agent for a national houseware wholesaler to earn his tuition money. Prior to finishing college, David had already established himself as successful young entrepreneur. Soon after, he moved to Los Angeles, California and co-founded The Express Group, Inc. which later transformed int
deliverLA.com
Among his other entrepreneurial endeavors is his partnership i
SOGOLI, Inc
, a company which designs and manufactures high end custom jewelry in the United States and exports to various countries.


Artistic career

Diaan's experience in the entertainment industry began when he started "Liquid Productions" in Los Angeles, California together with other talents such as now well-known comedian
Maz Jobrani Maziyar Jobrani (; born February 26, 1972), better known as Maz Jobrani, is an American comedian and actor who was part of the " Axis of Evil" comedy group. The group appeared on a comedy special on Comedy Central. Jobrani has also appeared in n ...
. This young group wrote and produced the first Iranian/American play in English which became an instant hit amongst the younger generation.His popular theater company which produced successful shows such as ''The Belind Date'', ''The 99 Cent Family'' and ''Death Comedy'' has toured across the United States and Canada. Since then, Diaan has written and produced multiple theatrical plays, hosted his own popular radio show o
KIRN 670 AM
and produced and hosted a television show for channel one TV named “It's a mad mad mad mad world". His television show reached millions of Iranians worldwide through satellite and internet. Despite the risks attached to this journey, Diaan returned to his homeland after 24 years in the summer of 2000, to direct and produce the touching and informative documentary ''Iran is My Home''. This film was an official selection at th
IFP Los Angeles Film Festival
In 2004 he took his first stab at screenplay writing for a feature film entitled ''The Apology.'' The screenplay won first prize at the
Slamdance Film Festival The Slamdance Film Festival is an annual film festival focused on emerging artists. The annual week-long festival is held in Los Angeles in late February and is the main event organized by the year-round Slamdance organization. The organization ...
's screenplay competition. Diaan's production company
Sublime Entertainment
has produced independent feature films such as ''Otis E.'' starring
Kevin Durand Kevin Serge Durand (born January 14, 1974) is a Canadian actor. He is known for his work in numerous film and television roles, including portraying Vasiliy Fet in ''The Strain'', Joshua in '' Dark Angel'', Martin Keamy in '' Lost'', Fred J. D ...
and Peter Storemare, ''America So Beautiful'' and ''The Dogwalker''. Diaan's dramatic performance alongside Academy Award nominee,
Shohreh Aghdashloo Shohreh Aghdashloo (, ; born Vaziri-Tabar, May 11, 1952) is an Iranian and American actress. She has received various accolades, including a Primetime Emmy Award and a Satellite Award, in addition to a nomination for an Academy Award. Followin ...
in '' The Stoning of Soraya M.'', earned him high praise and excellent reviews. In 2012, his performance as prime minister Mossadegh, in a film by the same title, earned him the best actor prize at the
San Antonio Film Festival The San Antonio Film Festival (SAFILM) was founded in 1994 by Adam Rocha as a video festival. It was later renamed the San Antonio Underground Film Festival and then finally the San Antonio Film Festival. It is now the biggest film festival in So ...
.


Personal life

Diaan resides in Los Angeles, California with his family. He travels with his theater group to different cities and communities across the United States and Canada. He also contributes much of his time and talent to various charitable organizations.


Filmography


Television


References


External links

* /Https://www.mrsublime.com Sublimeentertainment.com* {{DEFAULTSORT:Diaan, David Year of birth missing (living people) American male actors American male writers Film producers from Missouri Iranian emigrants to the United States University of Missouri alumni Writers from Columbia, Missouri Living people American writers of Iranian descent Actors from Columbia, Missouri Businesspeople from Columbia, Missouri