Pej Vahdat

Pejman "Pej" Vahdat ( ) is an Iranian-American actor known for his role of Arastoo Vaziri in ''Bones'' from 2009 to 2017.

Early life

Vahdat was born in Tehran during the Iranian revolution to Nina Emami and Dr. Amoo, one of the Shah of Iran's physicians. Vahdat has a sister, Parastoo Emami, a parenting coach and a brother, Paiman.

While he was a baby his family moved to Germany for 8 months before moving to San Jose, California.

Acting was not his first career path. Vahdat originally aimed to be a professional tennis player. Vahdat attended San Diego State University, where he was a member of the San Diego State Aztecs men's tennis team

Career

Before playing in ''Bones'' Vahdat has appeared in numerous television shows including ''House'', ''The Unit'', Arrested Development and ''Lie to Me.''

Early in his acting career, Pej Vahdat often auditioned for stereotypical Middle Eastern roles, such as terrorists, stow owners, or taxi drivers. He found it frustrating that these limited portrayals were the majority of what was available to actors like him. Things changed for Vahdat when he landed the role of Arastoo Vaziri on ''Bones'' in 2009. He was proud to play a brilliant Muslim scientist helping solve crimes instead of committing them, which he saw as a meaningful challenge to typical Hollywood depictions of Muslims.

In 2009 Vahdat started playing Arastoo Vaziri on the ''Bones'' a character who is an Iranian lab assistant working alongside forensic anthropologists. Initially portrayed with an Iranian accent, Arastoo is later revealed to actually have an American accent, a twist that surprised both the audience and Vahdat himself. This choice was intended to challenge stereotypes and offer a more nuanced portrayal of Middle Eastern characters on television. On the show, Arastoo becomes romantically involved with his boss, Dr. Camille Saroyan, played by Tamara Taylor—another development Vahdat didn’t anticipate.The show ended in 2017.

In 2010 he played Kash, a store owner, during the first season of the Showtime series '' Shameless.''

In 2016 Vahdat joined the Amazon drama series ''Sneaky Pete'' in a recurring role alongside Giovanni Ribisi. Vahdat played Raj Kumar Mukherjee, an educated man who enjoys gambling and frequently participates in high-stakes card games at secret events hosted by a character named Vine.

Between 2018 and 2020 Vahdat had a recurring role as Kelly Patel, a millionare and the empire owner on Fox's ''Empire''

In 2022, Vahdat was cast as Dex Dexter a charming and a fund manager in the fifth season of the CW reboot series ''Dynasty''.

Between 2022 and 2024 Vahdat has appeared as the young Faraz Hamzad, an Afghan family man played by Navid Negahban, in the FX series '' The Old Man''.

In 2025 Vahdat has joined the cast of '' Tracker'' Season 2 on CBS in a recurring role. He plays Leonard Sharf, a powerful and demanding client of Reenie (Fiona Rene).

He will also star in the upcoming comedy ''Pickleheads'' and appear in the next season of Peacock’s '' Poker Face''.

Personal life

In 2003 he started dating Narsis Attar a medical doctor and Heme- Onc fellow at Dana Farber and MGH Cancer Center.

Vahdat is an Iranian-American Muslim who immigrated to the U.S. as a baby. The Trump administration’s travel ban targeting several Muslim-majority countries, including Iran, hit home for him and pushed him in 2017 to speak out. Though not usually political, he began using his Twitter account to express his views and raise awareness.

Filmography

Films

Television

Video Games

References

External links

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{{DEFAULTSORT:Vahdat, Pej
American people of Iranian descent
Living people
American male film actors
American male television actors
American male video game actors
American male voice actors
Year of birth missing (living people)
Male actors from San Jose, California
Muslims from California
21st-century American male actors