# Pej Vahdat

Pejman "Pej" Vahdat (/ˈpɛdʒ vəˈdɑːt/ PEJ və-DAHT) is an Iranian-American actor known for his role of Arastoo Vaziri in Bones from 2009 to 2017.

## Career

Before his acting career he attended San Diego State University, where he was a member of the San Diego State Aztecs men's tennis team. He also played Kash during the first season of the Showtime series Shameless.
In 2018, he appeared in the Farmers Insurance Group commercial "Parking Splat."
In 2022, Vahdat was cast as Dex Dexter for the fifth season of the CW reboot series Dynasty.
Since 2022 Vahdat has appeared as the young 'Faraz Hamzad', a family man turned Afghan war lord played by Navid Negahban, in the FX series The Old Man.

## Personal Life

Vahdat was born in Tehran during the Iranian revolution to Nina Emami and Dr. Amoo, one of the Shah of Iran's physiciens, who he often refers to as "the greatest man he has ever known" they lived in Germany for a 8 months before moving to California. Vahdat has a sister, Parastoo Emami, a parenting coach known for her work with highly sensitive children and her Instagram account 'Parenting Advice' and a brother, Paiman. He has been married to Narsis Attar for over 21 years, she is a medical doctor and Heme-Onc fellow at Dana Farber and MGH Cancer Center.

## Filmography
### Films

| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
| 2006 | The Butcher | Chip | |
| 2008 | A Separate Tribe | Stranger | Short film |
| 2008 | Juan Frances: Live | Amir | |
| 2010 | Groupie | Clerk | |
| 2013 | Blood Shot | Ruhmeo | |
| 2014 | A Girl Walks Home Alone at Night | DJ Porno | |
| 2018 | Hope Springs Eternal | Mr Garner | |
| 2019 | The Day Shall Come | Nura | |

### Television

| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
| 2004 | Finding the Endzone | Bobby | TV short |
| 2005 | The Flight That Fought Back | Ziad Jarrah | TV movie |
| 2005 | Sleeper Cell | David | Episode: "Al-Faitha" |
| 2005–2009 | General Hospital | Kia / Dr. Dylan Litz | 2 episodes |
| 2006 | Arrested Development | Iraqi Guard | Episode: "Exit Strategy" |
| 2006 | Windfall | Cop / Tony Larma | Episode: "Priceless" |
| 2006 | NCIS | Dead Motorcyclist Balash Sassnio | Episode: "Shalom" |
| 2006 | Everybody Hates Chris | Dr. with Leg | Episode: "Everybody Hates Kris" |
| 2006–2007 | Mind of Mencia | Henchman / Ravi | 3 episodes |
| 2007 | House | Hamid | Episode: "Airborne" |
| 2008 | Valentine | Sameer Patel | Episode: "Daddy's Home" |
| 2008 | The Unit | Zafar Khalid | Episode: "Inquisition" |
| 2008 | Caught in the Action | Ahmad | TV film |
| 2009 | Lie to Me | Jason Kashani | Episode: "Life Is Priceless" |
| 2009–2017 | Bones | Arastoo Vaziri | Recurring role, 31 episodes |
| 2010 | Hawthorne | Salim Amara | Episode: "Final Curtain" |
| 2011 | NCIS: Los Angeles | Rameesh Nayam-Singh | Episode: "Tin Soldiers" |
| 2011 | Grey's Anatomy | Tarik Amin | Episode: "This Is How We Do It" |
| 2011–2012 | Shameless | Kash | 8 episodes |
| 2012 | Harry's Law | Alden Mills | Episode: "And the Band Played On" |
| 2012 | Single Ladies | Kaseem | Episode: "Finally" |
| 2013 | Hot in Cleveland | Ravi | Episode: "Cleveland Indians" |
| 2014 | The Mysteries of Laura | Kasib Al Wazir | Episode: "The Mystery of the Dysfunctional Dynasty" |
| 2014 | Dallas | Nasir Ali | 3 episodes |
| 2015 | Perception | Vice Consul Rashid Prasad | Episode: "Mirror" |
| 2016 | Sneaky Pete | Raj Kumar Mukherjee | 5 episodes |
| 2017 | Lucifer | Josh Hamid | Episode: "They're Back, Aren't They?" |
| 2017 | The Good Doctor | Dr. Avi Mehta | Episode: "Intangibles" |
| 2017–2018 | Arrow | Sam Armand | 4 episodes |
| 2018–2020 | Empire | Kelly Patel | 13 episodes |
| 2018 | NCIS | Nigel Hakim | 2 episodes |
| 2018 | Elementary | Tim Darsha | Episode: “You’ve Come A Long Way, Baby” |
| 2022 | Dynasty | Dex Dexter | Recurring role |
| 2022 | City on a Hill | Agent Ramin Milani | 6 episodes |
| 2022–2024 | The Old Man | Young Faraz Hamzad | Recurring role |

### Video Games

| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
| 2023 | Dead Space Remake | Dr. Terrence Kyne | Facial, motion capture & voice acting |