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Omid Abtahi
Abtahi speaking at the 2016 Wondercon in Los Angeles, California
Born	(1979-07-12) July 12, 1979 (age 45) Tehran, Iran
Alma mater	California State University Fullerton
Occupation	Actor
Years active	2005-present

Omid Abtahi (Persian: امید ابطحی; born July 12, 1979) is an Iranian-born American actor. He is best known for his roles as Salim, in the Starz Original American Gods, Penn Pershing in The Mandalorian, Saleem Ulman in NCIS, and Homes in the fourth installment of The Hunger Games film series, The Hunger Games: Mockingjay – Part 2 (2015). He is also known for his performances as Justin Yates in Ghost Whisperer, and as Detective Jerry Molbeck, in the American TV adaptation of Those Who Kill.

Early life and education

Omid Abtahi was born on July 12, 1979 in Tehran, Iran. At the age of five, he moved to Paris with his family, before again relocating to the United States, to Irvine, Orange County, California, when he was 10.

Abtahi graduated from University High School, Irvine, in 1997, and attended California State University, Fullerton. He began studying advertising, then picked up a second major in theater, graduating in 2002.

Career

Prior to appearing on television, Abtahi performed with several theater companies, starring in a stage production of Arthur Schnitzler's Fräulein Else at the Berkeley Repertory, McCarter Theatre and Long Wharf Theatre; Adoration of the Old Woman at the Sundance Theatre Lab; and Your Everyday Typical Romantic Comedy at the Kennedy Center.

After arriving in Los Angeles, Abtahi was a series regular on FX's Over There and Showtime's Sleeper Cell, both premiering in 2005.

He has also guest-starred on the television series JAG, Judging Amy, and 24. He played Justin Yates in Ghost Whisperer.

Abtahi made his New York City stage debut in Urge for Going by Mona Mansour in January 2016.

He has also been a voice actor in video games, playing the voice of Farid in Call of Duty: Black Ops II, and of Sergeant John Lugo in Spec Ops: The Line. He also voices Victor "Gator" Diallo in Call of Duty: Infinite Warfare.

Filmography

Film

Television

Video games

Short film

References

1. ^ "Alumnus Omid Abtahi cast in Hunger Games". 30 September 2014. Archived from the original on 8 January 2017. Retrieved 24 August 2023. Since graduating in 2002, Abtahi has been cast in more than 50 roles. The 35-year-old's latest role is Homes,
2. Omid Abtahi. "Thank you so much!! I feel incredibly lucky to be part of the Star Wars universe 💙". Twitter. Archived from the original on 2023-08-24. Retrieved 2023-08-24.
3. ^ "Omid Abtahi cast in Hunger Games". 30 September 2014. Archived from the original on 8 January 2017. Retrieved 23 November 2015. ocregister.com Accessed 2016-1-29
4. " Omid Abtahi Confirms as a Judge". Archived from the original on 2018-03-04. Retrieved 2016-01-29. noorfilmfestival.com Accessed 2016-1-28
5. Bettger, Ranae (2023-05-05). "Industry Speaker – unitheatrearts.org". Archived from the original on 2023-08-24. Retrieved 2024-09-08.
6. BWW News Desk. "Photo Flash: Public Theater's Urge For Going". BroadwayWorld.com. Archived from the original on 2016-01-05. Retrieved 2016-01-29.

External links

• Omid Abtahi at IMDb
• TITANS OF HOLLYWOOD: Tinsel Town's Spotlights Shine on CSUF Alumni by Cathi Douglas '80, California State University, Fullerton TITAN Magazine (calstate.fullerton.edu), 2011
• 'Mockingjay' casts Omid Abtahi as Homes by Andrew Sims (hypable.com), September 24, 2013
• Alumnus Omid Abtahi cast in Hunger Games by Ethan Hawke (ocregister.com), Sept. 17, 2014 (Updated: Sept. 30, 2014)
• Interviews with Young Iranians: Omid Abtahi, Actor by ParsArts.com - 24 Jan 2007

• 1979 births
• American male stage actors
• American male television actors
• Iranian emigrants to the United States
• Living people
• California State University, Fullerton alumni
• 21st-century American male actors
• Male actors from Tehran
• American male film actors
• Male actors from Orange County, California
• Iranian diaspora film people
• American male video game actors
• University High School (Irvine, California) alumni