November 08-2013
Payman Maadi, who starred in the Oscar-winning film “The Separation,” has been signed for a major role in a seven-hour American television miniseries that James Gandolfini was developing just before his death.
The details of Maadi’s role in “Criminal Justice” have not yet been publicized. He was listed as one of the five major figures signed for the miniseries to be broadcast starting next March.
Maadi will have no problem working in the United States since he is an American citizen by birth. He was born in New York City in 1972. But shortly before the revolution erupted, his father, a lawyer, took the family back to Iran when Payman was five years old.
He graduated from Karaj Azad University with a degree in metallurgical engineering, but eventually migrated to screenwriting for Persian films.
His first acting role was in 2009 in the film “About Elly,” which was directed by Asghar Farhadi. Then Farhadi recruited him for the role of the husband, Nader, in “A Separation.” Maadi won the Silver Bear award for best actor in that film at the Berlin Film Festival.
Maadi is now established as a writer, actor and screenwriter. Last month, a Persian-language film he directed, “Snow on Pines,” was voted the audience favorite of 35 films screened at the Noor Film Festival in Los Angeles. (See last week’s Iran Times, page seven.)
The role in “Criminal Justice” will give him an exposure in English language film work.
Gandolfini achieved stardom in the popular TV series. “The Sopranos,” about the mafia in New Jersey. He was developing the miniseries “Criminal Justice” for HBO when he died suddenly in June while visiting Italy.
HBO debated whether to abandon the miniseries, but announced recently that it would keep the project with Robert De Niro signed to take over Gan-dolfini’s star role and Gandolfini still listed in the credits as executive producer.
Besides De Niro and Maadi, the others signed for major roles are Riz Ahmed, Poorna Jagannathan and Bill Camp.
The story centers on an ambulance-chasing New York City attorney (De Niro), who gets in over his head when he takes on the case of a Pakistani (Ahmed) accused of murdering a girl.