David Diaan

**David Diaan** is an episodic actor on The CW's *Dynasty*, portraying the role of Samir Dexter in "Vicious Vendetta".

## Biography

### Early Life

Diaan was born Fariborz Davoodian in Iran during the era of Shah Mohammad Reza Pahlavi. His father, Elias Davoodian, was a textile distributor. As a hobby, Diaan's father would produce and act in community theater productions and was popular in his small town in Iran. Diaan's mother, Eshrat Moluk, was born into a family of prominent physicians.

At the age of 16, Diaan left Iran and moved to Columbia, Missouri in the Midwestern United States to continue his education. There, he attended David H. Hickman High School. Afterwards, he went on the study Radio, Television and Journalism at the University of Missouri. However, Diaan's plans of returning to Iran to become a famous talk show host were postponed due to the sudden changes in the social and political climate of his country after the Iranian Revolution. Left virtually stranded away from home, Diaan took a job as a marketing agent for a national houseware wholesaler to earn his tuition money. Prior to finishing college, Diaan had already established himself as an entrepreneur. Soon after, he moved to Los Angeles, California and co-founded The Express Group, Inc. which later transformed into deliverLA.com. Among his other entrepreneurial endeavors is his partnership in SOGOLI, Inc., a company which designs and manufactures high end custom jewelry in the United States and exports to various countries.

### Artistic Career

Diaan's experience in the entertainment industry began when he started Liquid Productions in Los Angeles, California together with other talents such as comedian Maz Jobrani. The group wrote and produced the first Iranian-American play in English, which was a success amongst the younger generation. His theater company, which produced successful shows such as *The Blind Date*, *The 99 Cent Family*, and *Death Comedy* has toured across the United States and Canada. Since then, Diaan has written and produced multiple theatrical plays, hosted his own popular radio show on KIRN 670 AM, and produced and hosted a television show for channel one TV named "It's a mad mad mad mad world". His television show reached millions of Iranians worldwide through satellite and Internet.

Despite the risks, Diaan returned to Iran after 24 years in the summer of 2000, to direct and produce the documentary *Iran is My Home*. This film was an official selection at the IFP Los Angeles Film Festival. In 2004, he wrote the screenplay for a feature film entitled *The Apology*. The screenplay won first prize at the Slamdance Film Festival's screenplay competition. Diaan's production company, Sublime Entertainment, has produced independent feature films such as *Otis E.* starring Kevin Durand and Peter Storemare, *America So Beautiful*, and *The Dogwalker*. Diaan's dramatic performance alongside Academy Award nominee, Shohreh Aghdashloo in *The Stoning of Soraya M.*, earned him high praise and excellent reviews. In 2012, his performance as Prime Minister Mossadegh, in a film by the same title, earned him the best actor prize at the San Antonio Film Festival.

In 2022, Diaan portrayed Samir Dexter in the one hundredth episode of The CW's *Dynasty*.