Maziar “Maz” Jobrani (Persian: مازیار جبرانی; born February 26, 1972) is an Iranian-born American comedian who is part of the "Axis of Evil" comedy group. The group appeared on a comedy special on Comedy Central. Jobrani has also appeared in numerous films, television shows, including Better Off Ted, on radio and in comedy clubs. His filmography includes roles in The Interpreter, Friday After Next, and Dragonfly.
Born in Tehran, Iran, Jobrani and his parents moved to California when he was six years old. He was raised in Tiburon in the San Francisco Bay area. He attended Redwood High School in Larkspur. Jobrani studied political science and Italian at UC Berkeley, where he received a B.A. degree. He was enrolled in a Ph.D. program at UCLA when he decided to pursue his childhood dream of acting and performing comedy.
He has since made appearances on shows like The Colbert Report, The Tonight Show With Jay Leno, The Late Late Show with Craig Ferguson, Talkshow with Spike Feresten and regularly performs at top comedy clubs (in California and New York) such as The Comedy Store. He made an appearance as a dental patient on an episode of Still Standing, in the pilot episodes of Better Off Ted, The Knights of Prosperity and on an episode of Cedric the Entertainer Presents. Jobrani will play Mohammed Jazeyeri in the upcoming ABC sitcom Funny in Farsi, based on the book of the same name. He has toured with the Axis of Evil Comedy Tour. He provided the voice of Ahmed Farahnakian in the audiobook version of World War Z. Jobrani has written a movie with a friend called Jimmy Vestvood: American Hero
Jobrani's jokes focuses on race, while outwardly poking fun at his own ethnic group, Iranians.
He is married to an Indian-American woman, an attorney. They reside in California.
Jobrani has been a cultural ambassador with the Levantine Cultural Center in Los Angeles since 2005. He served as the presenter for a joint public program with the Levantine Cultural Center and PEN USA in September 2005, "Strange Times My Dear" which celebrated Iran and freedom of expression. In November 2009, Jobrani moderated a public forum for the Levantine Cultural Center, "Dismantling the Axis of Evil," which included on the panel comedian/actor Ahmed Ahmed, author and Islamic scholar Reza Aslan, actor and activist Shiva Rose, and author/attorney John Tehranian. On December 1, 2010, Jobrani performed at the Levantine Cultural Center's 9th Anniversary event, the East-West Awards, whereJodie Evans of CODEPINK: Women for Peace, Roxana Saberi and Bana Hilal all received awards.
In December 2010, he appeared on NPR's news quiz show Wait Wait... Don't Tell Me!
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