The Actor

The Actor (originally titled Honarpisheh in Persian) is a 1993 Iranian film written and directed by Mohsen Makhmalbaf. Blending drama and comedy, it stars Akbar Abdi as Akbar, a sought-after comedy film actor, with Fatemeh Motamed-Arya as his wife Simin and Mahaya Petrosian as a gypsy girl; Hamideh Kheirabadi also appears in the cast.

The film portrays Akbar's struggle to be taken seriously as an artist rather than a mere clown, delving into his inner conflicts. It deliberately merges fiction with reality: the leading character shares the same name and profession as the actor playing him, even though the events depicted are entirely fictional. The film became the top-grossing release of the year in Tehran and ranked second nationwide at the box office, making it Makhmalbaf's most widely seen work.