Sepideh Moafi is comfortable with her name. So when a suggestion was made to her to change it up and get roles in Hollywood, she predictably flatly refused
It happened in her early days in Hollywood, and the person who advised her on her name was her first agent.
“When I graduated high school, my first agent wanted me to change my name, and I immediately said, ‘F*** no,’” she says People.
Moafi gave the example of actors, especially people of color, who faced the same pressures but refused to give in.
She continues, “I know actors who have changed their names, and there’s no judgment about that. And I know a lot of actors, especially people of color, who were expected to change their names and didn’t.”
Moafi then adds her own experience to the mix, stating that she refused to give in despite pressure, and it paid off.
“It felt like they needed me to be someone else in order to work or to sell something. I refused. I kept going and eventually booked my first job and then my second and third, resulting in a beautifully varied career.”
However, the star adds that changing names is a personal choice, explaining, “I hope that anyone who makes that choice makes it for themselves and not because they feel like they have to change who they are to be more universally palatable.”
It is worth noting that Moafi in The Pitt Dr. Baran Al-Hashimi portrays.
