Arian Moayed

Early life

Arian Moayed was born in Tehran, Iran. His father is a banker by profession. His parents emigrated from Iran in 1986. The family settled in Glenview, Illinois, a suburb of Chicago, when Moayed was five years old. He grew up in a family that he has described as "Muslim, practicing Muslims." He speaks Persian.

Moayed graduated from Glenbrook South High School in 1998. He then received a bachelor's degree from Indiana University in 2002. During college, he appeared in plays by Samuel Beckett, Carlo Goldoni and William Shakespeare.

Career

Moayed moved to Manhattan after college. In 2002, Moayed and director Tom Ridgely, who was Moayed's roommate at Indiana University, co-founded the Waterwell, a theater, education and film company based out of New York. Waterwell has produced more than a dozen stage productions and shows since the theater was established.

He portrayed the character of Musa in Rajiv Joseph's Bengal Tiger at the Baghdad Zoo, where Moayed appeared opposite Robin Williams. Moayed received a Tony Award nomination for Best Featured Actor in a Play for his portrayal of Musa at the 65th Tony Awards in 2011. He also received a Drama League Award nomination for Distinguished Performance and received a Theater World Award.

As a writer/director, Moayed wrote and directed his first short Overdue, which premiered at the Cinequest Film Festival and was released on The Business of Being Born website. His second film, Day Ten, stars Omar Metwally and is about the days after September 11, 2001, premiering at the Tribeca Film Festival.

In 2016, he starred as Babur, one of two characters in Guards at the Taj, a play written by Rajiv Joseph, alongside Omar Metwally as Humayun. For his performance, he received a 2016 Obie Award presented by the American Theatre Wing and The Village Voice.

In 2017, Moayed starred as Richard Saad in Stephen Karam's The Humans, which performed at the Roundabout Theater off-Broadway, Helen Hayes Theater and Gerald Schoenfeld Theater on Broadway as well as the Hampstead Theater in London, United Kingdom. The production, directed by Joe Mantello and produced by Scott Rudin, won a Tony Award for Best Play at the 70th Tony Awards, and garnered Moayed a Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Ensemble.

From 2018 to 2023, Moayed starred as Stewy Hosseini in HBO's Succession, for which he received nominations for a Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Guest Actor in a Drama Series in 2022 and 2023.

Waterwell

Waterwell focuses on socially conscious and civic minded approach to theater, education, and film. Waterwell mission states, "empower its audience to change their lives and the world in which they live."

As the co-founder of Waterwell, Moayed has helped devise over a dozen original productions including most recently a dual-language Hamlet (played the title role) to critical acclaim. Also with Waterwell, Moayed produced a forgotten war musical called Blueprint Specials, produced on board of the Intrepid with a cast of veterans.

With Waterwell Films, he has written and directed the Emmy nominated and Webby nominated The Accidental Wolf, a premium short form series starring Kelli O'Hara, Laurie Metcalf, Denis O'Hare, Brandon Dirden, Ben McKenzie, Judith Ivey, Reed Birney, Marsha Stephanie Blake and a cast of over 70 Tony nominees on its own platform, theaccidentalwolf.com.

Personal life

Moayed lives in New York City with his wife, Krissy Shields, and two daughters.

In October 2023, Moayed signed the Artists4Ceasefire open letter to Joe Biden, President of the United States, calling for a ceasefire of the Israeli bombardment of Gaza in response to the October 7 attacks. In September 2025, he signed an open pledge with Film Workers for Palestine pledging not to work with Israeli film institutions "that are implicated in genocide and apartheid against the Palestinian people."

Acting credits

Film

Television

Theatre

Accolades

References

References

1. Kennedy, Mark. (2011-06-03). "Arian Moayed loving life thanks to 'Bengal Tiger'". [[San Francisco Chronicle]].
2. Ryzik, Melena. (2011-05-01). "From Starry-Eyed to Star: Arian Moayed Is Acclaimed for 'Bengal Tiger' and Waterwell". [[The New York Times]].
3. "Arian Moayed". imdb.com.
4. Gostin, Nicki. (11 March 2023). "Arian Moayed ‘hates’ that ‘A Doll’s House’ resonates so much with present day".
5. Lacher, Irene. (2009-05-29). "Arian Moayed aims to show the world the true face of Middle Easterners". [[Los Angeles Times]].
6. Cox, Gordon. (2016-05-24). "2016 Obie Awards: ‘The Humans,’ ‘Eclipsed’ Score; ‘Guards at the Taj’ Wins Play Prize (FULL LIST)".
7. Schneider, Michael. (2022-07-12). "Emmys 2022: The Complete Nominations List".
8. Schneider, Michael. (2023-07-12). "Emmys 2023: The Complete Nominations List".
9. "Blueprint Specials".
10. "The Accidental Wolf".
11. "Artists4Ceasefire".
12. "Film Workers Pledge to End Complicity".
13. "Arian Moayed – Broadway Cast & Staff IBDb".
14. (2023-04-25). "2023 Drama League Award Nominees Announced".
15. "Hollywood Critics Association's Creative Arts Category Nominations for the 2023 HCA TV Awards – Hollywood Critics Association".
16. "26th Annual TV Awards (2021-22) – Online Film & Television Association".
17. Buchanan, David. (August 3, 2022). "Emmy nominee profile: Arian Moayed ('Succession') finally earns recognition for his hilarious, shrewd Stewy".
18. "Outstanding Guest Actor In A Drama Series Nominees / Winners 2023".
19. (January 10, 2024). "Nominations Announced for the 30th Annual Screen Actors Guild Awards®". [[Screen Actors Guild]].
20. (May 3, 2011). "Tony Awards: Complete list of nominees". [[The Washington Post]].
21. (May 2, 2023). "Tony Awards Nominations 2023: Updating List".