Jamshid Mashayekhi Turns 82

The 82nd birthday if the Iranian veteran actor Jamshid Mashayekhi was held at Imam Ali (AS) Religious Arts Museum in Tehran on Tuesday, December 6.

“Some say that an artist’s private life has nothing to do with people; this is not correct as people are concerned with an artist’s personal life. An artist should serve as a role model for society and not consider himself more important than others,” Mashayekhi said in reply to the felicitations.

“If I walk down the street with Master Shafiei Kadkani, people recognize me more than him while I wish I could spend just five minutes with him and the likes of him to learn from them,” he added. He was referring to Mohammad Reza Shafiei Kadkani, 77, well-known Persian writer, poet, translator and literary critic.

Speaking about Mashayekhi, the veteran actor and director Behzad Farahani, 71, said, “Jamshid Mashayekhi is an epitome of integrity, wisdom and virtue. He has always stated that he is at people’s service and has shown it in action as well,” ISNA reported.

Director and screenwriter Masoud Forutan, actor and director Gholamhossein Lotfi, filmmaker Kamran Qadakchian, film director Yadollah Samadi and Mahmoud Salahi, head of Tehran Municipality Art and Cultural Organization - which organized the event – were among the other speakers who talked about the virtues of Mashayekhi and their experiences with him.

Born in Tehran, Mashayekhi began professional acting on stage in 1957. His first feature film role was ‘Brick and Mirror’ (1965, directed by Ebrahim Golestan).

Since then he has acted in over 100 films and 50 TV series. One of his most important TV performances was in the series ‘Hezar Dastan’ (1978-1987, directed by Ali Hatami); and his notable movies include ‘The Cow’ (1969, Darius Mehrjui), ‘Qeysar’ (1969, Masoud Kimiai), ‘Kamalolmolk’ (1983, Ali Hatami), ‘The Fateful Day’ (1994, Shahram Asadi), ‘A House Built on Water’ (2001, Bahman Farmanara) and ‘A Teensy Kiss’ (2005, Bahman Farmanara).

In recent years, he has often appeared as an elderly grandfather.