Maz Jobrani

Maziyar Jobrani (Persian: مازیار جبرانی; born February 26, 1972), better known as Maz Jobrani, is an American comedian and actor who was 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, Dragonfly, and Jimmy Vestvood: Amerikan Hero. He appeared as a regular character on the 2017 CBS sitcom Superior Donuts. He had been an advisory board member of the National Iranian American Council (NIAC).

Maz Jobrani
Jobrani in December 2017
Birth nameMaziyar Jobrani
Born (1972-02-26) February 26, 1972
Tehran, Imperial Iran
Medium
EducationRedwood High School
Years active1990s–present
Genres
Subject(s)
Spouse
Preetha Jobrani
​
(m. 2006)​
Children2
Websitemazjobrani.com

Early life and education

Jobrani was born in Tehran, Iran.[1] He and his parents moved to California when he was six years old.[2] He was raised in Tiburon in the San Francisco Bay area. He attended Redwood High School in Larkspur, and was inducted into the Redwood distinguished alumni class of 2017.[3] Jobrani studied political science and Italian at UC Berkeley, where he received a B.A. degree. He was enrolled in a PhD program at UCLA when he decided to pursue his childhood dream of acting and performing comedy.[4]

Maz Jobrani in a show in Amsterdam, May 2014

Career

Television and radio

Jobrani 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, Whitney, 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, on an episode of Cedric the Entertainer Presents, on an episode of Malcolm in the Middle as Robber #2 and on an episode of The West Wing as a Saudi prince. He also made appearances in 13 Going on 30 and Bug. 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: Amerikan Hero.[5]

Jobrani makes occasional appearances on NPR's news quiz show Wait Wait... Don't Tell Me! and American Public Media's Wits. He appeared on episode 118, October 28, 2010, of WTF with Marc Maron. Additionally, Jobrani co-hosts his own podcast on the All Things Comedy podcasting network with fellow comedians Al Madrigal, Chris Spencer, and Aaron Aryanpur.[6] Titled Minivan Men, the podcast chronicles the lives and experiences of the hosts with particular focus on fatherhood.[7]

He played Jafar in the 2015 musical fantasy television film Descendants.

In 2015, Jobrani released a memoir entitled I'm Not a Terrorist, But I've Played One On TV.[8]

Standup style

Jobrani's jokes focus on race and the misunderstanding of Middle Easterners in America. He also talks about his family.

Social and political activities

Jobrani had been a board member of the National Iranian American Council (NIAC).[9][10][11][12]. In 2015, he stepped down after discovering NIAC's alleged ties to the Iranian government. He also sits on the board of the Persian American Cancer Institute (PACI.org) and also works with International Society for Children with Cancer (ISCC-Charity.org).

Personal life

In 2006, Jobrani married an Indian-American attorney named Pretha. They have a son and daughter and reside in California.[2]

Mr. Jobrani has two younger brothers and an older sister. His youngest brother is A. Joseph "Joey" Jobrani. After that is Mr. Kashi Jobrani (b. 1977 - d. 2014) who died when he was 36. His older sister, Director/Producer Mariam Jobrani (b. 1969 - d. 2017) died at the age of 47 from metastatic breast cancer.

Stand up specials
  • 2007 Axis of Evil Comedy Special
  • 2009 Brown & Friendly
  • 2013 I Come in Peace
  • 2015 I'm Not a Terrorist, But I've Played One On TV
  • 2017 Immigrant
  • 2023 The Birds & The Bees

Books
  • Maz Jobrani (2015). I'm Not a Terrorist, But I've Played One On TV: Memoirs of a Middle Eastern Funny Man. Simon & Schuster. ISBN 978-1476749983.

See also

References
  1. Rezaian, Jason (September 8, 2007). "Talking with Maz Jobrani". The San Francisco Chronicle. Retrieved January 22, 2009.
  2. Maz Jobrani Comedy Central Special
  3. Schten, Rachel (March 15, 2017). "Avenue of Giants inductees hail from diverse fields". Redwood Bark. Retrieved March 16, 2017.
  4. Subramaniam, Gourishankar (2007). "ABC's The Knights of Prosperity bio". ABC. Retrieved November 7, 2007.
  5. Downs, Gordon (2011). "Interview With Comedian Maz Jobrani". SanDiego.com. Archived from the original on February 16, 2011. Retrieved February 14, 2011.
  6. Martin, Amy (February 12, 2014). "Aaron Aryanpur: Funny Guy, Lucky Man". Amy Martin. Retrieved September 23, 2021.
  7. "Minivan Men". All Things Comedy. Retrieved August 28, 2021.
  8. Mechanic, Michael (February 3, 2015). "Bombs Sometimes, Kills Often, But Maz Jobrani Swears He Isn't a Terrorist". Mother Jones.
  9. "NIAC | National Iranian American Council - SWIPA" (PDF). NIAC. Archived from the original (PDF) on January 26, 2020. Retrieved January 26, 2020.
  10. NIAC | National Iranian American Council - The Impact of Iranian-American Voices, archived from the original on December 21, 2021, retrieved January 26, 2020
  11. "NIAC | National Iranian American Council - Letter to Obama" (PDF). NIAC. Archived from the original (PDF) on January 26, 2020. Retrieved January 26, 2020.
  12. NIAC 2016 Leadership Conference | Who's Afraid of Hyphenated Americans?, retrieved September 26, 2022
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