Max Amini (born September 20, 1981) is an Iranian-American comedian, actor, producer and director. Max is known primarily as a world touring stand-up comedian, and has appeared on shows such as

NBC The National Broadcasting Company (NBC) is an American commercial broadcast television and radio network serving as the flagship property of the NBC Entertainment division of NBCUniversal, a subsidiary of Comcast. It is one of NBCUniversal's ...

's ''

Heroes Heroes or Héroes may refer to: * Hero, one who displays courage and self-sacrifice for the greater good Film * ''Heroes'' (1977 film), an American drama * ''Heroes'' (2008 film), an Indian Hindi film Gaming * ''Heroes of Might and Magic'' ...

'',

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 ...

's ''

Real Rob ''Real Rob'' (stylized onscreen as ''REⱯL ROB'') is an American television sitcom created by Rob Schneider. It premiered on December 1, 2015, on Netflix, and follows the everyday life of Schneider, including his real-life wife Patricia and daug ...

'' with

Rob Schneider Robert Michael Schneider ( ; born October 31, 1963) is an American actor and comedian. He rose to prominence as a cast member on NBC's ''Saturday Night Live'' (1990–1994), where he earned three Primetime Emmy Award nominations. Following ...

, and

Comedy Central Comedy Central is an American Cable television in the United States, cable television channel, channel owned by Paramount Global through its Paramount Media Networks, network division's Paramount Media Networks#MTV Entertainment Group, MTV Ente ...

's ''

Mind of Mencia ''Mind of Mencia'' is an American comedy television series on the cable channel Comedy Central. Hosted by comedian Carlos Mencia, it aired over the course of four seasons from July 6, 2005 to July 23, 2008. History The first season of ''Min ...

.'' Los Angeles Times comedy critic Ford Hopkins described Amini as a “JV Andrew Schultz” and named him to the list of “Best Comedy on a Budget” in 2024. On an episode of ''Spike's Car Radio Podcast'',

Jerry Seinfeld Jerome Allen Seinfeld ( ; born April 29, 1954) is an American stand-up comedian, actor, writer, and producer. As a stand-up comedian, Seinfeld specializes in observational comedy. Seinfeld gained stardom playing a semi-fictionalized version ...

named Max Amini one of the top comedians to watch. Max established his production company, Abstraction Media in 2010, and has sold projects to networks such as Voice Of America, Discovery, and more. Other projects include directing a Netflix original stand-up special, ''Enissa Amani: Ehrenwort'', and the feature film, ''James The Second'', set to release in 2022.

Early life and education

Max Amini was born in Tucson, Arizona, to Iranian parents who immigrated after the

1979 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 ...

. He went to high school in

Washington, D.C. Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly known as Washington or D.C., is the capital city and federal district of the United States. The city is on the Potomac River, across from Virginia, and shares land borders with ...

, and then moved to

California California () is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States that lies on the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. It borders Oregon to the north, Nevada and Arizona to the east, and shares Mexico–United States border, an ...

and graduated from the School of Theater, Film and Television at

UCLA The University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) is a public land-grant research university in Los Angeles, California, United States. Its academic roots were established in 1881 as a normal school then known as the southern branch of the C ...

in 2004. Amini's father was an ethnic

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 ...

from

Isfahan Isfahan or Esfahan ( ) is a city in the Central District (Isfahan County), Central District of Isfahan County, Isfahan province, Iran. It is the capital of the province, the county, and the district. It is located south of Tehran. The city ...

and his mother is an Iranian Azerbaijani from

Tabriz Tabriz (; ) is a city in the Central District (Tabriz County), Central District of Tabriz County, in the East Azerbaijan province, East Azerbaijan province of northwestern Iran. It serves as capital of the province, the county, and the distric ...

Stand-up comedy

Amini began his stand-up comedy career in 2002 at the LA Improv, where he developed a stand-up comedy tour named "Exotic Imports", and has since performed worldwide. Amini has multiple hour-long comedy specials and continues to tour, performing regularly at the Hollywood Laugh Factory. He currently performs in his own shows worldwide, with tours spanning Europe, the Middle East and Asia. In 2015, he released 2-hour stand-up comedy special on DVD called "Max Amini: Authentically Absurd," directed by

Acting

Amini is an actor with film and TV credits including

's ''

'',

's ''

'' with Rob Schneider,

's ''

'', and his leading role in the movie ''Beer Pong Saved My Life'', released in 2010.

Select filmography

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Amini, Max 21st-century American comedians American stand-up comedians American comedians of Iranian descent American people of Iranian-Azerbaijani descent American male television actors American male film actors UCLA Film School alumni Male actors from Tucson, Arizona 1981 births Living people Comedians from Arizona