Omid Abtahi | |
|---|---|
 Abtahi speaking at the 2016 Wondercon in Los Angeles, California | |
| Born | July 12, 1979 |
| Alma mater | California State University Fullerton (BA) |
| Occupation | Actor |
| Years active | 2005-present |
Omid Abtahi (Persian: امید ابطحی; born July 12, 1979)[1][2] is an Iranian-born American actor.[3] He is best known for his roles as Salim in Starz Original American Gods, Penn Pershing in The Mandalorian on Disney+, Saleem Ulman in NCIS on Paramount+, and Homes in the fourth installment of The Hunger Games film series, The Hunger Games: Mockingjay – Part 2. He is also known for his performances as Justin Yates in Ghost Whisperer on CBS and Detective Jerry Molbeck in the American TV adaptation of Those Who Kill on A&E.
Abtahi was born in Tehran, Iran. At the age of 5 he moved to Paris with his family and later they moved to the United States, finally moving to Irvine, Orange County, California when he was 10.[3][4]
Abtahi graduated from University High School in Irvine in 1997 and attended California State University, Fullerton. He began studying advertising, then picked up a second major in theater and graduated in 2002.[4][5]
Before acting on television, Abtahi performed on stage in many theatrical productions including Fraulein Else at the Berkeley Repertory, McCarter Theatre and Longwarf Theatre; Adoration of the Old Woman at the Sundance Theatre Lab and Your Everyday Typical Romantic Comedy at the Kennedy Centre. He has also guest starred on the television series JAG, Judging Amy and 24. He played Justin Yates in Ghost Whisperer.
After arriving in Los Angeles, Abtahi was a series regular on FX's Over There and Showtime's Sleeper Cell.
Abtahi made his New York stage debut in Urge for Going by Mona Mansour.[6] He is also the voice of Farid in Call of Duty: Black Ops II, and of Sergeant John Lugo in Spec Ops: The Line. He also voices Victor "Gator" Diallo in Call of Duty: Infinite Warfare.
| Year | Film | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2006 | Running with Scissors | Restaurant Manager | |
| 2008 | The Mysteries of Pittsburgh | Mohammed | |
| Ocean of Pearls | Amrit Singh | ||
| The Last Lullaby | Van | ||
| Space Chimps | Dr. Jagu (voice) | ||
| 2009 | Brothers | Yusuf | |
| 2010 | Space Chimps 2: Zartog Strikes Back | Dr. Jagu / Reporter #2 (voice) | Direct-to-video |
| 2012 | Argo | Reza | |
| 2014 | Boys of Abu Ghraib | Ghazi Hammoud | |
| 2015 | The Hunger Games: Mockingjay – Part 2 | Homes | |
| 2016 | Window Horses | Ramin (voice) | |
| 2021 | Justice Society: World War II | Hawkman (voice) | Direct-to-video |
| † | Denotes television programs that have not yet aired. |
| Year | Film | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2005 | JAG | Wahid | Episode: "Heart of Darkness" |
| Judging Amy | Reza Ajami | Episode: "The New Normal" | |
| Over There | Pfc. Tariq Nassiri | 12 episodes | |
| 2005–2009 | 24 | Safa / Jibraan Al-Zarian | 4 episodes |
| 2006 | Sleeper Cell | Salim | 7 episodes |
| 2007 | CSI: Crime Scene Investigation | Chandru 'Dru' Kambhatla | Episode: "The Good, the Bad and the Dominatrix" |
| The Unit | The Boss | Episode: "Play 16" | |
| 2007–2008 | Ghost Whisperer | Justin Yates | 3 episodes |
| 2008 | Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles | Sumner | Episode: "Gnothi Seauton" |
| Eli Stone | Amir Khan | Episode: "Should I Stay or Should I Go?" | |
| My Own Worst Enemy | Tony Nazari | 9 episodes | |
| 2009 | Can Openers | Ali | TV movie |
| Bones | Hal Shirazi | Episode: "The Bones That Foam" | |
| NCIS | Saleem Ulman | 2 episodes | |
| 2009–2010 | FlashForward | Ed Fiore | 2 episodes |
| Three Rivers | Dr. Yousef Khouri | 2 episodes | |
| 2010 | Pleading Guilty | Jonathan Ziven | TV movie |
| The Event | William | 2 episodes | |
| Nikita | Amir Komera | Episode: "Resistance" | |
| The Mentalist | Markham Shankar | Episode: "Red Hot" | |
| Grey's Anatomy | Aasif | Episode: "Something's Gotta Give" | |
| 2010–2013 | Star Wars: The Clone Wars | Cadet Amis (voice) | 2 episodes |
| 2011 | Fringe | Simon Phillips | Episode: "Concentrate and Ask Again" |
| Homeland | Raqim Faisel | 3 episodes | |
| Hide | Neil | TV movie | |
| 2012 | The Good Wife | Samir | Episode: "Live From Damascus" |
| Family Guy | Prince Faisal (voice) | Episode: "Leggo My Meg-O" | |
| Covert Affairs | Sayid al-Muqri | Episode: "Hello Stranger" | |
| 2012–2013 | Last Resort | Nigel | 5 episodes |
| 2013 | Family Guy | Mahmoud (voice) | Episode: "Turban Cowboy" |
| Castle | Waqas Rasheed | Episode: "Dreamworld" | |
| NCIS: Los Angeles | Ari Sayed | 2 episodes | |
| Revolution | Captain Riley | 2 episodes | |
| 2014 | Legends | Bashir Al-Kanazer | 2 episodes |
| Those Who Kill | Detective Jerry Molbeck | 10 episodes | |
| 2015 | Better Call Saul | Detective Abbasi | 3 episodes |
| 2016 | Damien | Amani Golker | 10 episodes |
| 2017 | Shameless | Sameer | Episode: "Frank's Northern Shuttle Express" |
| Hawaii Five-0 | Naser Salaam | Episode: "He ke'u na ka 'alae a Hina" | |
| 2017–2021 | American Gods | Salim | 21 episodes |
| 2018 | The Crossing | Jake | 2 episodes |
| We Bare Bears | Kale (voice) | Episode: "The Limo" | |
| 2019 | Love, Death & Robots | Wes (voice) | Episode: "Sonnie's Edge" |
| DuckTales | Faris D'jinn (voice) | 2 episodes | |
| 2019–2023 | The Mandalorian | Penn Pershing | 5 episodes |
| 2021–2022 | Fear the Walking Dead | Howard | 8 episodes |
| 2021 | The Lost Symbol | Inmate | Episode: "As Above, So Below" |
| 2022–2023 | Kung Fu Panda: The Dragon Knight | Alfie (voice) | 4 episodes |
| 2023 | Moon Girl and Devil Dinosaur | Ahmed (voice) | 4 episodes |
| City on Fire | Detective Ali Parsa | 8 episodes |
| Year | Film | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2012 | Diablo III | Additional Voices | |
| Unit 13 | Informant 1 | ||
| Spec Ops: The Line | Staff Sergeant John Lugo | ||
| Call of Duty: Black Ops II | Farid, Mujahideen Soldier | ||
| 2015 | Call of Duty: Black Ops III | Additional Voices | |
| 2016 | Titanfall 2 | Militia Captain | |
| 1979 Revolution: Black Friday | Babak Azadi | ||
| Mafia III | Additional Voices | ||
| Call of Duty: Infinite Warfare | Victor 'Gator' Diallo | ||
| 2018 | Thief of Thieves | Corbin "Chip" Tavistock | |
| 2019 | Metro Exodus | Cannibal, Child of the Forest | |
| Days Gone | Additional Voices | ||
| Rage 2 | Miscellaneous Voices | ||
| Call of Duty: Modern Warfare | Additional Voice | ||
| 2020 | Disintegration | Ox-eye, Outlaw, Redshirt | |
| 2021 | The Artful Escape | Talish, Hyperionite 3 |
| Year | Film | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2009 | Not Necessary | Larry Dallas | |
| Diplomacy | American Interpreter | ||
| Stars | The Pimp | ||
| 2010 | An Idle Dream | Pascal | |
| 2011 | The Perfect Meal | Social Worker (voice) | |
| 2018 | Goliath 22 | Omar |
