Ben Croll For writers of hardboiled fiction, the private eye could act as a conduit, an unmoored guide moving freely across social ranks and situations.
For director Nima Javidi – whose new series “The Actor” is the first Iranian production to premiere in competition at Series Mania – the thespian might play a similar role. “Shakespeare said that all the world’s a stage,” Javidi tells Variety. “And that all the men and women are merely players, assuming different roles depending on their situations and what they want to achieve.
I thought it was fascinating [to put performers in those private detective roles and have them], overcome obstacles, solve problems, and save themselves and others from difficulties by using their acting abilities.” Led by Venice best actor winner Navid Mohammadzadeh (who recently anchored Saeed Roustayi’s Cannes-acclaimed “Leila’s Brothers”), “The Actor” follows Ali (Mohammadzadeh) and Morteza (Ahmad Mehranfar), two down-and-out performers with little to their names but a derelict theater for which they can barely make rent.
Still looking to practice their chosen trade, the performing pair stage elaborate, costumed pranks, mostly paid for by Teheran’s rich-kid set.
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