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Nazanin Boniadi at an event for The 67th Primetime Emmy Awards (2015)

Claire Danes, Maury Sterling, and Nazanin Boniadi in Homeland (2011)

Tracy Letts, Laila Robins, Maury Sterling, and Nazanin Boniadi in Homeland (2011)

Neil Patrick Harris and Nazanin Boniadi in How I Met Your Mother (2005)

Still of Jack Huston and Nazanin Boniadi in Ben-Hur

Nazanin Boniadi and Ismael Cruz Cordova in Partings (2022)

Rob Brownstein and Nazanin Boniadi in Grey's Anatomy (2005)

Nazanin Boniadi and Ismael Cruz Cordova in The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power (2022)

Nazanin Boniadi in The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power (2022)

Tyroe Muhafidin, Nazanin Boniadi, and Ismael Cruz Cordova in Partings (2022)

Nazanin Boniadi and Sara Serraiocco in Counterpart (2017)

Nazanin Boniadi and Denise Tantucci in Ben-Hur (2016)

Tracy Letts, Numan Acar, and Nazanin Boniadi in Homeland (2011)

Khandi Alexander and Nazanin Boniadi in Scandal (2012)

Riley Smith and Nazanin Boniadi in Shirin in Love (2014)

Maz Jobrani and Nazanin Boniadi in Shirin in Love (2014)

Maury Sterling and Nazanin Boniadi in Homeland (2011)

Neil Patrick Harris, Kal Penn, Cobie Smulders, and Nazanin Boniadi in How I Met Your Mother (2005)

Neil Patrick Harris, Jerry Minor, Kal Penn, Cobie Smulders, and Nazanin Boniadi in How I Met Your Mother (2005)

Neil Patrick Harris, Alyson Hannigan, Kal Penn, Jason Segel, Josh Radnor, and Nazanin Boniadi in How I Met Your Mother (2005)

Neil Patrick Harris, Wayne Brady, and Nazanin Boniadi in How I Met Your Mother (2005)

Cobie Smulders, Nazanin Boniadi, and Ellen D. Williams in How I Met Your Mother (2005)

Neil Patrick Harris, Nazanin Boniadi, and Ellen D. Williams in How I Met Your Mother (2005)

Anil Kapoor, Assaf Cohen, and Nazanin Boniadi in 24 (2001)

Tyroe Muhafidin, Nazanin Boniadi, Ismael Cruz Cordova, and Charlie Vickers in The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power (2022)

Nazanin Boniadi's film and television credits are a testament to her versatility, spanning a breadth of genres including drama, comedy, sci-fi, fantasy and action. She recently starred as Bronwyn in the first season of Amazon's global hit series adaptation The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power (2022), she also starred alongside J.K. Simmons in the critically acclaimed Starz series Counterpart (2017), created and produced by Justin Marks. She was the female lead of the Thunder Road / Bleecker Street feature Hotel Mumbai (2018) from director Anthony Maras, in which she starred opposite Dev Patel and was nominated for an Australian Academy of Cinema and Television Award (AACTA), as well as had a supporting role in the Jay Roach and Charles Randolph's Roger Ailes film BOMBSHELL for Lionsgate and BRON opposite Charlize Theron, Nicole Kidman, and Margot Robbie. She also portrayed Ester in the 2016 major motion picture Ben-Hur (2016), and had a supporting role in Jon Favreau's Iron Man (2008).

Among her many television credits, Boniadi earned an outstanding drama ensemble SAG nomination for her work on Showtime's hit series Homeland (2011) in which she played CIA analyst Fara Sherazi. She portrayed Nora, a relatively longstanding love interest to Neil Patrick Harris's Barney Stinson, in seasons six and seven of How I Met Your Mother (2005). She also appeared as the notorious Adnan Salif in season three of Shonda Rhimes' hit political drama Scandal (2012).

 Born in Tehran in the direct aftermath of the Iranian Revolution, Boniadi's parents relocated to London, England, shortly thereafter, where she was raised with an emphasis on education. While she was involved in theatre early in life, Boniadi later decided she wanted to become a physician. She moved to the United States at the age of 19 to attend the University of California, Irvine, where she received her Bachelor's Degree, with Honors (Dean's Academic Achievement and Service Award) in Biological Sciences, and won the "Chang Pin Chun" Undergraduate Research Award for her work in heart-transplant rejection and cancer research.

Switching gears to pursue her first love, Boniadi then decided to study acting, which included training in Contemporary Drama at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Arts in London under the supervision of dramaturge Lloyd Trott.

Boniadi is fluent in both English and Persian. She is also a longtime, renowned human rights activist, with a focus on her homeland Iran. Among her numerous recognitions she is the 2023 Sydney Peace Prize laureate. She has served as an ambassador for Amnesty International UK since 2020, and has been a member of the board of directors of the Abdorrahman Boroumand Center for Human Rights in Iran since 2023. She is a lifetime member of the Council on Foreign Relations.

Nazanin Boniadi at Elle Women in Television event 

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Nazanin Boniadi

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