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Draft:Amir Talai

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    This draft is a draft on a subtopic of an existing article, Hazbin Hotel. Discussion as to whether a separate article for the subtopic is warranted should be on the talk page of the parent article, Talk:Hazbin Hotel.
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Amir Talai
Amir at GalaxyCon Richmond in 2024
Born (1977-06-24) June 24, 1977 (age 47)
NationalityAmerican
EducationUniversity of California, Berkeley
Occupation(s)Actor, singer, voice artist, writer, activist
SpouseNina Manni (married 2011-present)

Amir Talai (born June 24, 1977) is an Iranian-American actor, singer, voice artist, writer, and activist. He is well known for playing a variety of characters in movies and television shows.[1] he is best known for voicing Alastor in the Amazon Prime Video Adult animated musical series Hazbin Hotel.[2][3]

Early Life and Education

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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.

Personal Life

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

Acting Career

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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,[4] 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.

Singing

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Talai has performed in musicals since high school, and has performed on stage regionally including at the Hollywood Bowl in Guys and Dolls [5]and Annie and at the Paris Las Vegas Resort in the Queen jukebox musical We Will Rock You.

Activism

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Talai has been outspoken on social media[6] 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.[7]

Writing

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Talai has written about depictions of Middle Eastern people for Vulture[8] and BuzzFeed News,[9] 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.[10][11][12]

Filmography

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Year Title Role Notes
2003 Legally Blonde 2: Red, White & Blonde Associate
2004 November George
Homeland Security Babir Alkazar TV movie
Uncredited
2006 More, Patience Hypochondriac TV movie
The Pursuit of Happyness Clerk
2007 Fighting Words Ralphie
2008 The Onion Movie Ahman
Harold & Kumar Escape from Guantanamo Bay Raza
2010 Fractalus Lee
2011 Best Player Wendell TV movie
2012 What to Expect When You're Expecting Patel
2013 Redemption Kevin Uncredited
2014 10 Cent Pistol Amir
2015 Grandma (2015) Omid
2017 The Circle Matt
2017 Killing Gunther Izzat "Crusher" Bukhari

Television

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Year Title Role Notes
2001 Nash Bridges Khalid Dib 1 episode
2002 Plugged In Customer Short
Hum Simon Gould Short
MADtv Indian 1 episode
2003 10-8: Officers on Duty Gang Member 1 episode
2003-2004 The Tonight Show with Jay Leno Various Characters
2004 The Florist Masood Short
Jimmy Kimmel Live! Iraqi Simon Cowell 1 episode
Adventures in Homeschooling Baliotis Short
NCIS Simi 1 episode
Nip/Tuck Dr. Hamir Gindi 1 episode
Jihad Mohammad Short
One Night Stand Up Mahesh Suresh Short
2005 Gilmore Girls Patel Chandrasekhar 2 episodes
The Comeback Greg Narayan 2 episodes
Curb Your Enthusiasm Waiter 1 episode
Cold Case Malvinder Khatani - 1999, 2005 1 episode
Love, Inc. Patrick 2 episodes
2005-2025 Family Guy Hindu Man / Wedding Priest

Additional Voice

Voice
2006 The Minor Accomplishments of Jackie Woodman Kai 1 episode
Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip Fred 2 episode
Hannah Montana Sanjay 1 episode
2006-2007 Campus Ladies Abdul 20 episodes
2007 The Winner Richard 5 episodes
2008 Hollywood Residential IRS Agent Tom Scully Voice
1 episode
Uncredited
2009 How I Met Your Mother Richard Greenleaf 1 episode
Wizards of Waverly Place Alien 1 episode
2010 Zeke and Luther Dex Bratner Episode: A Very Hairy Problem
Svetlana Farhad Golastani 1 episode
2008-2024 American Dad! Achmed / Crowd Member / John Leguizamo / Various Characters Voice
2010 Modern Family Dale Episode: Halloween
2011 The Paul Reiser Show Amir 1 episode
Love Bites Aram 1 episode
Fanboy & Chum Chum Brizwald 1 episode
2008-2011 The Ex List Cyrus 13 episodes
2011-2016 Kung Fu Panda: Legends of Awesomeness Crane Voice
Replacing David Cross
2012 Touch Sami 1 episdoes
Castle Sam Spear 1 episodes
Partners Buck 2 episodes
Guys with Kids Gabe Episode: Thanksgiving
2013 Don't Trust the B---- In Apartment 23 Mitchell 1 episodes
2 Broke Girls Amir Episode: And the psychic Shakedown
Major Crimes Pete Episode: All in
2013-2016 Turbo FAST Skidmark, Tito Voice
Replacing Ben Schwartz and Michael Peña
2014 Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D Schneider Episode: A Hen in the Wolf House
About a Boy Orlando 1 episodes
2015 Bones Hamid Vaziri Episode: The Murder in the Middle East
20 Seconds to Live Man 1 episodes
2016 Frank off the Boat Frank 1 episodes
American Horror Story Mitch Episode: Be Our Guest
2017 I'm Sorry Maz 1 episodes
Scorpion Vadat Episode: Sci hard
2018 LA to Vegas Alan 14 episodes
2019 The Lion Guard Tupp Episode: Journey of Memories
Amphibia Brown Overalls Frog / Various Characters 2 episodes
2020 Bosch Detective Klein 3 episodes
Where's Waldo Additional Voice 2 episodes
2021 Puppy Place Maz 1 episodes
The Shrink Next Door Joe 3 episodes
2022 We Baby Bears Chad / Additional Voice 2 episodes
Tuca & Bertie Additional Voice 2 episodes
Ghosts Director Daniel Episode: Dumb Deaths
2023 My Dad the Bounty Hunter Additional Voice 2 episodes
Hailey's On it! Uncle Naveed / Additional Voice 3 episodes
2024 Hazbin Hotel Alastor Voice
Replacing Edward Bosco
2025 Wizard Beyond Waverly Place Alistair Goodspeed 1 episodes
High Potential Mark Willson Episode: Chutes and Murders
Krapopolis Timon 1 episodes

Video games

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Year Title Role Notes
2001 The Sims Hot Date Sim Voice
2006 Full Spectrum Warrior: Ten Hammers Voice
Titan Quest Voice
Company of Heroes Voice
Splinter Cell: Double Agent Additional Characters Voice
The Sopranos: Road to Respect Additional Characters Voice
2007 Titan Quest: Immortal Throne Voice
2011 Kung Fu Panda 2 Crane Voice
Replacing Drew Massey
2012 Assassin's Creed lll: Liberation Additional Characters Voice
2014 Far Cry 4 Additional Characters Voice

References

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  1. ^ "Amir Talai - Biography". movies.nytimes.com. 21 January 2012. Retrieved 21 January 2012.
  2. ^ redbroadwell (2024-05-27). "Interview: Amir Talai on Playing the Most Enigmatic Demon in 'Hazbin Hotel'". Awards Radar. Retrieved 2024-08-05.
  3. ^ "Voice Actor Amir Talai On Bringing the Demonic Alastor To Life in 'Hazbin Hotel'". Awardsdaily. Retrieved 2024-08-05.
  4. ^ "Amir Talai". IMDb. Retrieved 2024-02-04.
  5. ^ "amir-talai".
  6. ^ "twitter-amirtalai".
  7. ^ "The Role of Race in Race Roles: Amir Talai in An Octoroon". Cal Alumni Association. Retrieved 2024-08-05.
  8. ^ "Hollywood after 911". 13 September 2018.
  9. ^ "Hollywood after 911". BuzzFeed News. Archived from the original on 2024-02-04. Retrieved 2024-02-04.
  10. ^ Talai, Amir (2018-09-13). "17 Years After 9/11, I'm Still a Terrorist in Hollywood's Eyes". Vulture. Retrieved 2024-08-05.
  11. ^ Robb, David (2021-01-14). "Amir Talai Hosts Forum On Challenges Facing Actors During Pandemic". Deadline. Retrieved 2024-08-05.
  12. ^ "Only 1 percent of TV actors are Middle Eastern, North African, reveals first ever study of its kind". 2018-09-10. Retrieved 2024-08-05.
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