Shohreh Aghdashloo : Biography
An Iranian actress whose strong political beliefs almost led her to a career as a journalist, Shohreh Aghdashloo decided instead that she could reach more people by working in film and theater -- and with her Oscar-nominated role in the tragedy House of Sand and Fog, she found an audience the size of which she never dreamed possible. Born in Tehran in 1952 to an intellectual, creative family, Aghdashloo was drawn to the theater at an early age, and by her twenties was performing in various cutting-edge performance groups, among them the acclaimed Drama Workshop of Tehran. Filmmakers often drew upon talent from the Workshop, and Aghdashloo was cast by directors Abbas Kiarostami and Ali Hatami -- two towering figures of the nascent Iranian New Wave -- to play starring roles in several of their formally adventurous, socially progressive productions, including 1977's Gozaresh and Sutedelan.
Shohreh Aghdashloo: Career
She began acting in theater but it wasn't long before her talent attracted the attention of a famous screenwriter. Her Iranian feature film debut was in Gozaresh, which premiered in 1977, although her second film, Shatranje bad (1976), was released first. After appearing in a third film, Sooteh-Delan (1978), One day, while she was watching the television show Oprah, a book called House of Sand and Fog was featured. She bought it and immediately identified with the character of Nadi, a wife and mother. Having appeared in several small budget independent films, she was called in to audition almost three years later and impressed the casting agents and director so much that they couldn't imagine anyone else in the role. Starring Ben Kingsley (as her husband) and Jennifer Connelly, House of Sand and Fog (2003) would be Aghdashloo's highest profile film to date. She not only won numerous awards for her performance, including a Los Angeles Film Critics Association award, New York Film Critics Circle award and an Online Film Critics Society award, but received her first Oscar nomination.
Shohreh Aghdashloo: Movies
The Lake House (2006), The Exorcism of Emily Rose (2005), House of Sand and Fog (2003), America So Beautiful (2001), Surviving Paradise (2000), Maryam (2000), Twenty Bucks (1993), Guests of Hotel Astoria (1989), Sooteh-Delan (1978), Gozaresh (1977), Shatranje bad (1976)
