{{Short description|Iranian actor (1947–2025)}} {{Use dmy dates|date=August 2022}} {{Infobox person | name = Homayoun Ershadi | image = Homayoun Ershadi 1.jpg | alt = | caption = Ershadi in 2015 | native_name = همایون ارشادی | birth_date = {{birth date|1947|03|26|df=y}} | birth_place = [[Isfahan]], Iran | death_date = {{death date and age|2025|11|11|1947|03|26|df=y}} | death_place = Iran | native_name_lang = Fa | other_names = | known_for = | children = 2 | alma_mater = [[Ca' Foscari University of Venice]] | occupation = Actor | years_active = 1995–2025 }}
'''Homayoun Ershadi''' (alternatively spelled '''Homayon Ershadi''', {{langx|fa|همایون ارشادی }}; 26 March 1947 – 11 November 2025) was an Iranian actor. He was known for his debut role in ''[[Taste of Cherry]]'' (1997), and several subsequent Iranian and other films, including European films like ''[[Agora (film)|Agora]]'' or Hollywood films like ''[[The Kite Runner (film)|The Kite Runner]]'' and ''[[Zero Dark Thirty]].''
== Early life and education == Homayoun Ershadi was born in [[Isfahan]] on 26 March 1947, and spent his adolescence in [[Karaj]] and [[Abadan, Iran|Abadan]].<ref>{{Cite web |last=حشمتی |first=محمدحسین |date=2025-11-12 |title=بیوگرافی همایون ارشادی و علت اصلی فوت او+ همسر، فرزندان و فیلم ها |url=https://setare.com/fa/news/762097/%d8%a8%db%8c%d9%88%da%af%d8%b1%d8%a7%d9%81%db%8c-%d9%87%d9%85%d8%a7%db%8c%d9%88%d9%86-%d8%a7%d8%b1%d8%b4%d8%a7%d8%af%db%8c/ |access-date=2025-11-21 |website=setare.com |language=fa-IR}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=Homayoun Ershadi |url=https://www.beirutfilmfestival.org/2014-14th-edition-jury/homayoun-ershadi/ |access-date=2025-05-06 |website=Beirut International Film Festival |language=en-US}}</ref> He moved to Italy to study architecture at the [[Ca' Foscari University of Venice]] in [[Venice]], graduating in 1970.
Ershadi initially worked in Iran as an architect, but relocated to Canada with his wife following the [[Iranian Revolution]]. He and his wife settled in [[Vancouver|Vancouver, British Columbia]], where he continued work as an architect. Ershadi returned to Iran in 1990 after he and his wife filed for divorce.<ref name="g&m">{{Cite news |date=2007-12-11 |title='He saw 6-foot-8 in my eyes' |url=https://www.theglobeandmail.com/arts/he-saw-6-foot-8-in-my-eyes/article699579/ |access-date=2025-05-06 |work=The Globe and Mail |language=en-CA}}</ref><ref name=":1">{{Cite web|url=http://www.mprnews.org/story/2007/12/20/ershadi|title=Homayoun Ershadi's strange trip to stardom|last=Kerr|first=Euan|date=2007-12-27|website=Minnesota Public Radio (MPR)|access-date=2016-04-01}}</ref>
== Career == Following Ershadi's return to Iran, he settled in [[Tehran]]. Ershadi was discovered by director [[Abbas Kiarostami]], while sitting in his car in traffic. Kiarostami approached him and requested him to play the leading role of his film, ''[[Taste of Cherry]]''.<ref name=":1" />
In 2007, he was cast in ''[[The Kite Runner (film)|The Kite Runner]]'', a film about two young boys growing up in [[Afghanistan]].<ref name=":1" />
==Personal life and death== Ershadi's two children live in Vancouver, a place he visited often to see his grandchildren.<ref name="g&m"/>
Ershadi died from cancer in Iran on 11 November 2025, at the age of 78.<ref>{{cite news |title=Iranian actor Ershadi dies at 78 after battle with cancer |url=https://english.alarabiya.net/life-style/entertainment/2025/11/11/iranian-actor-ershadi-dies-at-78-after-battle-with-cancer |access-date=11 November 2025 |publisher=Alarabiya English |date=11 November 2025}}</ref> He was buried at the [[Behesht-e Sakineh]] in [[Karaj]]. <ref>{{Cite web |date=2025-11-11 |title=همایون ارشادی بازیگر سینما و تلویزیون درگذشت + علت فوت و مکان تدفین |url=https://www.shahrekhabar.com/news/176285604051865 |access-date=2025-11-21 |website=شهر خبر}}</ref>
==Awards == Ershadi won the Sepanta Awards in 2017 for "Best Actor for Short Film" for his work in ''Blue Lantern'', from the 10th Annual Iranian Film Festival in [[San Francisco|San Francisco, California]].<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.payvand.com/news/17/oct/1012.html|title=Winners of 2017 'Sepanta Awards' at 10th Annual Iranian Film Festival in San Francisco announced|date=February 10, 2017|newspaper=Payvand.com|access-date=22 December 2017|archive-date=5 June 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180605080223/http://www.payvand.com/news/17/oct/1012.html|url-status=dead}}</ref>
==Cultural reference== The short story ''Seeing Ershadi'' by [[Nicole Krauss]] was published in ''[[The New Yorker]]'' on 5 March 2018. It is about a ballet dancer who watches a film featuring Ershadi and then becomes obsessed with his face.<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2018/03/05/seeing-ershadi|title="Seeing Ershadi"|last=Krauss|first=Nicole|magazine=The New Yorker|date=2018-02-26|access-date=2019-11-23|language=en|issn=0028-792X}}</ref>
==Filmography== {| class="wikitable sortable" !Year !Title !Role !Director !{{Tooltip|Ref.|Reference}} |- |1997 |''[[Taste of Cherry]]'' |Mr Badii |[[Abbas Kiarostami]] |<ref name=":0">{{Cite web|url=https://variety.com/2005/film/reviews/portrait-of-a-lady-far-away-1200524720/|title=Review: 'Portrait of a Lady Far Away'|date=2005-07-05|website=Variety Magazine|publisher=Penske Business Media LLC}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://archive.nytimes.com/www.nytimes.com/library/film/032098taste-film-review.html|title='Taste of Cherry': Simultaneously Epic and Precisely Minuscule|last=Holden|first=Stephen|date=March 20, 1998|website=The New York Times|access-date=2019-11-23}}</ref> |- |1998 |''[[The Pear Tree]]'' | |[[Dariush Mehrjui]] |<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.filmsufi.com/2013/02/the-pear-tree-dariush-mehrjui-1998.html|title=The Pear Tree|date=2013-02-28|website=The Film Sufi|access-date=2016-04-01}}</ref> |- |2002 |''Disturbant'' | |[[Sirus Alvand]] | |- |2005 |''[[Portrait of a Lady Far Away]]'' | |[[Ali Mosaffa]] |<ref name=":0" /> |- |2006 |''Color of Friend'' |Mr Jahangir |Bita Shafipour | |- |2007 |''[[The Kite Runner (film)|The Kite Runner]]'' |[[The Kite Runner#Characters|Baba]] |[[Marc Forster]] |<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2006/12/31/movies/31fren.html?pagewanted=2&ei=5088&en=ad87d27aa2736916&ex=1325221200&partner=rssnyt&emc=rss|title=Where to Shoot an Epic About Afghanistan? China, Where Else?|author=French, Howard W.|author-link=Howard W. French|date=31 December 2006|work=[[The New York Times]]|pages=(p. 2)|accessdate=2007-02-15}}</ref> |- |2008 |''Aal'' | |Bahram Bahramian | |- |2009 |''[[Agora (film)|Agora]]'' |Aspasius |[[Alejandro Amenábar]] |<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://variety.com/2008/scene/markets-festivals/homayoun-ershadi-1117981380/|title=Homayoun Ershadi|last=Perry|first=Byron|date=2008-02-24|website=Variety|language=en|access-date=2019-11-23}}</ref> |- |2011 |''[[Facing Mirrors]]'' |Pedar |Negar Azarbayjani |<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://variety.com/2011/film/reviews/facing-mirrors-1117945989/|title=Facing Mirrors|last=Scheib|first=Ronnie|date=2011-09-07|website=Variety|language=en|access-date=2019-11-23}}</ref> |- |2012 |''[[Zero Dark Thirty]]'' |[[Hassan Ghul]] |[[Kathryn Bigelow]] | |- | 2013 |''[[Good to Be Back (2013 film)|Good to Be Back]]'' | Merati | [[Dariush Mehrjui]] | |- |rowspan="2"| 2014 |''[[A Most Wanted Man (film)|A Most Wanted Man]]'' |Faisal Abdullah |[[Anton Corbijn]] | |- |''[[Ghosts (2014 film)|Ghosts]]'' | |[[Dariush Mehrjui]] | |- |2015 |''[[Utopia (2015 film)|Utopia]]'' | |[[Hassan Nazer]] | |- |rowspan="3"| 2016 |[[Ali and Nino (film)|''Ali and Nino'']] | |[[Asif Kapadia]] |<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://variety.com/2016/film/reviews/ali-and-nino-film-review-sundance-1201698450/|title=Sundance Film Review: 'Ali and Nino'|last=Debruge|first=Peter|date=2016-02-05|work=Variety Magazine|access-date=2016-04-01}}</ref> |- |''Blue Lantern'' | |Reza Yarkhalaji |<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://iranianfilmfestival.org/all-date-list/blue-lantern/|title=Blue Lantern|date=2017|website=Iranian Film Festival|access-date=2019-11-23}}</ref> |- |''[[The Last Inhabitant (film)|The Last Inhabitant]]'' |Ibrahim |[[Jivan Avetisyan]] |<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://ncca.am/en/producing/view/article/243|title=Film Production: The Last Inhabitant|website=National Cinema Center of Armenia (NCCA)|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160817121641/http://ncca.am/en/producing/view/article/243|archive-date=2016-08-17|access-date=2019-11-22}}</ref> |- |2017 |''Lina'' |father |Ramin Rasouli |<ref>{{Cite web|date=2017-09-20|title=Iran, Afghan Actors in 3-Nation Production|url=https://financialtribune.com/articles/art-and-culture/72758/iran-afghan-actors-in-3-nation-production|access-date=2021-11-16|website=Financial Tribune|language=En}}</ref> |- |2019–2020 |''[[Mannequin (TV series)|Mannequin]]'' |Jamshid |Hossein Soheilizadeh | |- |2020 |''[[No Choice]]'' | |[[Reza Dormishian]] | |- |2022 |''[[The Town (2022 film)|The Town]]'' | |Ali Hazrati | |}
==References== {{reflist}} {{Commons category|Homayoun Ershadi}}
==External links== * {{IMDb name|0259831|Homayon Ershadi}}
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Ershadi, Homayoun}} [[Category:1947 births]] [[Category:2025 deaths]] [[Category:20th-century Iranian male actors]] [[Category:21st-century Iranian male actors]] [[Category:Iranian male television actors]] [[Category:Iranian male film actors]] [[Category:Actors from Isfahan]] [[Category:Ca' Foscari University of Venice alumni]] [[Category:Deaths from cancer in Iran]]
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