Amir Talai

Talai was born and raised in San Francisco, CA and is the first child of Iranian immigrants, Mohammad and Sima Talai. He speaks English, Persian, and French. Talai attended a French immersion school through 8th grade, after which he attended Lowell High School. He received a degree from UC Berkeley with a major in Mass Communications and a minor in Dramatic Arts.

Talai lives in Los Angeles, CA with his wife Nina Manni, who he married in 2011.

Talai began working as an actor in San Francisco after graduating from UC Berkeley. He later moved to Los Angeles, where he enrolled in The Groundlings, eventually joining the Groundlings Sunday Company. His two big breaks were The Comeback and Campus Ladies, both cult shows with poor ratings but a substantial number of fans in Hollywood. Talai has more than 125 film, TV, and voice-over credits,[2] making him arguably the most prolific Iranian-American actor of his generation. Notable credits include What To Expect When You’re Expecting, Harold and Kumar Escape From Guantanamo Bay, LA to Vegas, How I Met Your Mother, Bones, American Horror Story, and The Shrink Next Door.

Talai has performed in musicals since high school, and has performed on stage regionally including at the Hollywood Bowl in Guys and Dolls [3]and Annie and at the Paris Las Vegas Resort in the Queen jukebox musical We Will Rock You.

Talai has been outspoken on social media[4] in regard to racism, misogyny, gun control, worker’s rights, and other issues. He has volunteered with numerous Democratic campaigns since 2004. At the 2017 Women’s March, Talai carried a sign that read “I’ll see you nice white ladies at the next #BlackLivesMatter march, right?” A photo of the sign went viral and was subsequently featured in numerous books, textbooks, and articles.

Talai has written about depictions of Middle Eastern people for Vulture[5] and Buzzfeed News,[6] calling attention to the whitewashing of Middle Eastern actors and the dearth of opportunities for Middle Eastern actors to play roles that don’t involve terrorism or Islam.

• Official website
• Amir Talai on IMDb