Iranian-born, Emmy and Tony-nominated actor, and co-founder of Waterwell, an award-winning community organizing art and education company.
For over 20 years, Waterwell has created civic-minded productions including A Good Day, 7 Minutes, The Courtroom, The Flores Exhibits, Hamlet, Blueprint Specials, to name a few. Waterwell Education is in residence at several New York City public schools, leading world-class theater education built on the ethos of “Artist as Citizen,” of which Arian has been a faculty member, teaching courses including Artist as Citizen and Senior Capstone.
As a writer/director, Arian has created the Emmy-nominated six-hour thriller, The Accidental Wolf (trailer), and wrote/produced The Courtroom (trailer) which premiered at the Tribeca Film Festival, after the critically acclaimed Waterwell performances inside New York City courtrooms. Current writing/directing projects This Country,28 Mordad, The Great Fire of ‘33, This Island Made Me, Brother Love, and an autobiography about his family’s escape from Iran after the 1979 Islamic Revolution.
Notable acting credits: Amy Herzog’s A Doll’s House (Tony nomination), Broadway's The Humans (Drama Desk Award), Bengal Tiger at the Baghdad Zoo (Tony nomination), Guards at the Taj (Obie Award), Succession (Emmy nomination), Love Life (NAACP nomination), Spiderman: No Way Home (Marvel), Inventing Anna (Netflix), Ms. Marvel (Disney+), and You Hurt My Feelings (A24). Upcoming: House of Spoils (Blumhouse), Guy Ritchie’s Fountain of Youth (Apple), Shell (opposite Elizabeth Moss), and he continues to play Agent Cleary in the Marvel Cinematic Universe.
