Mehrdad, an MIT graduate and patented inventor, began a parallel pursuit of acting alongside a successful corporate career. His classical violin training served as a foundation for his future endeavors. After numerous commercial and print projects, he started his film career with The Ketchup Conspiracy in 2001. This was followed by a series of starring roles in independent films, ultimately teaming up with Reno Wilson to produce and co-star in his first Hollywood feature, Fronterz, in 2004. The film, which starred Ted Danson, Henry Winkler, Reno Wilson, and Garth Belcon, secured international distribution and North American television distribution on Starz Encore.
Mehrdad's career continued to flourish as he was cast by the late Mike Nichols in Charlie Wilson's War in 2007 and by Ben Affleck in Argo in 2012. He then went on to host and produce a live, unscripted popular weekly television show on Andisheh International TV called "From East to West."
In 2016, Mehrdad collaborated with Rayka Zehtabchi, who won an Oscar in 2019 for her short documentary Period. End of Sentence. (2018),to executive produce and co-star in Madaran, a live action narrative short film based on a true story. The film qualified for Academy Consideration and garnered numerous awards during its successful festival run. Rayka and Mehrdad intend to create a feature version of this powerful human story.
Mehrdad's current multi-award winning live action short film, El Astronauta, is successfully making its way through the festival circuit, aiming for Oscar qualification in 2020. Additionally, he can be seen in a starring role in the web-series Recruited (2019),inspired by actual events, where he plays Staff Sgt. Lambert, a Marine Recruiter dealing with the challenges of recruiting marines in the age of social media.
Mehrdad is fluent in both English and Persian (Farsi) and is based in Los Angeles.
