# Arian Moayed
**Arian Moayed** (آرین مؤید; born 1980) is an Iranian-born American actor, writer, and director known for stage work that earned two Tony Award nominations and for screen roles including Stewy Hosseini on HBO's *Succession* and Todd Spodek on Netflix's *Inventing Anna*.[1](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm1573892/) • [2](https://www.vanityfair.com/hollywood/2022/02/arian-moayed-is-the-king-of-new-york) He is also the co-founder of the New York nonprofit theater and education company Waterwell.[3](https://www.waterwell.org/history)
| Key fact | Detail |
|---|---|
| Born | 1980, Tehran, Iran; raised in the Chicago area after his family immigrated to the United States[1](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm1573892/) • [4](https://www.backstage.com/magazine/article/arian-moayed-succession-inventing-anna-interview-74742/) |
| Training | Studied theater and drama at Indiana University, graduating in 2002[5](https://www.paaia.org/CMS/paaia-interviews-tony-award-nominee-arian-moayed) |
| Breakthrough stage role | Musa, an Iraqi gardener and translator, in Rajiv Joseph's *Bengal Tiger at the Baghdad Zoo* on Broadway, Tony-nominated in 2011 opposite Robin Williams[2](https://www.vanityfair.com/hollywood/2022/02/arian-moayed-is-the-king-of-new-york) |
| Signature TV role | Stewy Hosseini on *Succession* (2018–2023, 25 episodes), twice nominated for Outstanding Guest Actor in a Drama Series[1](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm1573892/) • [6](https://www.televisionacademy.com/bios/arian-moayed) |
| Other honors | Obie Award for *Guards at the Taj*; Drama Desk Award for Broadway's *The Humans*; second Tony nomination for *A Doll's House* (2023)[7](https://www.steppenwolf.org/people/arian-moayed) • [8](https://www.marieclaire.com/culture/tv-shows/arian-moayed-nobody-wants-this-2025-interview/) |
| Company | Co-founded Waterwell in 2002 with Tom Ridgley; its education program serves more than 250 students a year at the Professional Performing Arts School, free of charge[3](https://www.waterwell.org/history) • [9](https://www.waterwell.org/faculty/arian-moayed) |
| Marvel roles | Agent P. Cleary in *Spider-Man: No Way Home* (2021), *Ms. Marvel* (2022), and *Wonder Man*[1](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm1573892/) |
## Early life
Moayed was born in Iran in 1980 and moved to the United States at age five; his family settled in the Chicago area, where he grew up in what he describes as an immigrant neighborhood.[5](https://www.paaia.org/CMS/paaia-interviews-tony-award-nominee-arian-moayed) • [2](https://www.vanityfair.com/hollywood/2022/02/arian-moayed-is-the-king-of-new-york) He has described the household's immigrant hustle directly: as a child he was put in charge of writing checks and filling out immigration paperwork, and an error on a citizenship form, discovered when he was 18 and about to leave for [Indiana University](https://www.edgepedia.org/indiana-university) to study acting, forced him to restart the naturalization process, wait five years, and reapply.[8](https://www.marieclaire.com/culture/tv-shows/arian-moayed-nobody-wants-this-2025-interview/)
After graduating from Indiana University's theater and drama program, he moved to New York City in 2002 with his classmate Tom Ridgley; Moayed has said he moved to the city on September 11, 2002.[5](https://www.paaia.org/CMS/paaia-interviews-tony-award-nominee-arian-moayed) • [2](https://www.vanityfair.com/hollywood/2022/02/arian-moayed-is-the-king-of-new-york)
## Theater career
Moayed built his career on stage before turning to television. Eight months after co-founding Waterwell, he was cast in his first major play, a [Steppenwolf Theatre Company](https://www.edgepedia.org/steppenwolf-theatre-company) production of [Tony Kushner](https://www.edgepedia.org/tony-kushner)'s *Homebody/Kabul*.[8](https://www.marieclaire.com/culture/tv-shows/arian-moayed-nobody-wants-this-2025-interview/) His Broadway breakthrough came in Rajiv Joseph's *Bengal Tiger at the Baghdad Zoo*, in which he played Musa, an Iraqi gardener who made topiary animals for [Uday Hussein](https://www.edgepedia.org/uday-hussein)'s palace and becomes a translator for American troops after the fall of Baghdad in 2003; the cast included Robin Williams, and Moayed received a 2011 Tony Award nomination for Best Featured Actor in a Play.[10](https://www.latimes.com/entertainment/arts/la-et-arian-moayed29-2009may29-story.html) • [2](https://www.vanityfair.com/hollywood/2022/02/arian-moayed-is-the-king-of-new-york) He is the first Iranian-born actor to receive a Tony acting nomination.[11](https://apnews.com/article/f7d07906800cd635e2aab75961cf856c)
He won an Obie Award for his performance in Rajiv Joseph's *Guards at the Taj* opposite [Omar Metwally](https://www.edgepedia.org/omar-metwally), and appeared in the Tony Award-winning Broadway production of *The Humans*, for which he received a Drama Desk Award.[7](https://www.steppenwolf.org/people/arian-moayed) • [9](https://www.waterwell.org/faculty/arian-moayed) In 2023 he returned to Broadway as Torvald Helmer opposite [Jessica Chastain](https://www.edgepedia.org/jessica-chastain) in [Jamie Lloyd](https://www.edgepedia.org/jamie-lloyd)'s stripped-back production of Ibsen's *A Doll's House* at the Hudson Theatre, a staging with no set and no props, and earned his second Tony nomination.[8](https://www.marieclaire.com/culture/tv-shows/arian-moayed-nobody-wants-this-2025-interview/) • [12](https://www.thestage.co.uk/features/successions-arian-moayed-enters-a-dolls-house-theres-no-set-no-props--its-radical)
## Choosing roles
Early in his career Moayed refused to play terrorists, a boundary he set because he did not want his young daughter to see him reduced to a stereotype, and he has said the refusal largely kept him outside Hollywood for years.[10](https://www.latimes.com/entertainment/arts/la-et-arian-moayed29-2009may29-story.html) He has described the available roles of that period as terrorists or victims, mostly small parts not in English, and said he stayed in theater as a result.[4](https://www.backstage.com/magazine/article/arian-moayed-succession-inventing-anna-interview-74742/) His stated aim as an artist has been a world in which Middle Easterners are seen as ordinary people rather than caricatures.[10](https://www.latimes.com/entertainment/arts/la-et-arian-moayed29-2009may29-story.html)
## Waterwell
In 2002 Moayed and Tom Ridgley founded Waterwell, a civic-minded, socially conscious nonprofit theater and education company whose stated goal was to "actively try to better the world."[3](https://www.waterwell.org/history) Its first production, *Lost in Yemen, or The Bizarre Bazaar*, had a $500 budget and ran for one sold-out night.[8](https://www.marieclaire.com/culture/tv-shows/arian-moayed-nobody-wants-this-2025-interview/) The company later partnered with New York City public schools to create and co-run the Professional Performing Arts School for students in grades 6 through 12, where Moayed has taught acting; its education program serves more than 250 students a year at no charge.[8](https://www.marieclaire.com/culture/tv-shows/arian-moayed-nobody-wants-this-2025-interview/) • [9](https://www.waterwell.org/faculty/arian-moayed)
Waterwell's productions include a dual-language *Hamlet* set in Persia in the early twentieth century, in which Moayed played the title role, and *The Courtroom*, a 2019 reenactment of one woman's deportation proceedings that The New York Times named Best Theater of 2019.[7](https://www.steppenwolf.org/people/arian-moayed) • [9](https://www.waterwell.org/faculty/arian-moayed)
## Screen career
Moayed's early television work consisted largely of guest roles on New York-based dramas, including *Law & Order*, *Law & Order: Special Victims Unit*, *White Collar*, and *Elementary*.[13](https://www.tvinsider.com/people/arian-moayed/) • [14](https://www.gq.com/story/arian-moayed-interview-inventing-anna-succession-love-life-spider-man-no-way-home) He broke out in 2018 as Stewy Hosseini, a private equity investor and frenemy of Kendall Roy on HBO's *Succession*; the part was originally a two-episode gig and grew into a main-cast role across 25 episodes through the series' 2023 finale.[14](https://www.gq.com/story/arian-moayed-interview-inventing-anna-succession-love-life-spider-man-no-way-home) • [4](https://www.backstage.com/magazine/article/arian-moayed-succession-inventing-anna-interview-74742/) • [1](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm1573892/) He received Primetime Emmy nominations for Outstanding Guest Actor in a Drama Series in 2022, for the episode "Retired Janitors of Idaho," and in 2023, for "Honeymoon States."[6](https://www.televisionacademy.com/bios/arian-moayed)
In 2022 he played Todd Spodek, the criminal defense attorney of fraudster Anna Delvey, in [Shonda Rhimes](https://www.edgepedia.org/shonda-rhimes)'s Netflix series *Inventing Anna*, preparing for the role with grand jury duty experience in the Manhattan courts and transcripts from Delvey's trial.[2](https://www.vanityfair.com/hollywood/2022/02/arian-moayed-is-the-king-of-new-york) The same year he entered the [Marvel Cinematic Universe](https://www.edgepedia.org/marvel-cinematic-universe) as Department of Damage Control Agent P. Cleary in *Spider-Man: No Way Home*, reprising the role in the Disney+ series *Ms. Marvel* (2022) and *Wonder Man*.[1](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm1573892/) His other screen work includes the films *[You Hurt My Feelings](https://www.edgepedia.org/you-hurt-my-feelings-2023-film)* (2023) and *Retribution* (2023), a starring role as Dr. Andy in the Netflix romantic comedy *Nobody Wants This*, and the 2025 film *Fountain of Youth* as Inspector Jamal Abbas.[1](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm1573892/)
## Writing and directing
Through Waterwell Films, Moayed wrote and directed *The Accidental Wolf*, a thriller streaming series starring [Kelli O'Hara](https://www.edgepedia.org/kelli-ohara) and [Laurie Metcalf](https://www.edgepedia.org/laurie-metcalf) that began as a web series, received an Emmy nomination for O'Hara, and was acquired by Topic Studios.[9](https://www.waterwell.org/faculty/arian-moayed) • [4](https://www.backstage.com/magazine/article/arian-moayed-succession-inventing-anna-interview-74742/) His writing projects have included *28 Mordad* and a film version of *The Courtroom*.[9](https://www.waterwell.org/faculty/arian-moayed)
## Personal life
Moayed married Krissy Shields on the stage of the Steppenwolf Theatre in a Persian ceremony, after their daughters Ivy Shireen and Olive Joon walked them down the aisle.[8](https://www.marieclaire.com/culture/tv-shows/arian-moayed-nobody-wants-this-2025-interview/) He co-owns Pebble Bar in midtown Manhattan with his *Succession* co-star [Nicholas Braun](https://www.edgepedia.org/nicholas-braun).[8](https://www.marieclaire.com/culture/tv-shows/arian-moayed-nobody-wants-this-2025-interview/)
## References
1. [Arian Moayed, IMDb](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm1573892/)
2. [Arian Moayed Is the King of New York, Vanity Fair (February 11, 2022)](https://www.vanityfair.com/hollywood/2022/02/arian-moayed-is-the-king-of-new-york)
3. [History, Waterwell](https://www.waterwell.org/history)
4. [Arian Moayed Is Everywhere Right Now—And He Hustled to Make That Happen, Backstage (February 17, 2022)](https://www.backstage.com/magazine/article/arian-moayed-succession-inventing-anna-interview-74742/)
5. [PAAIA Interviews Tony Award Nominee Arian Moayed, PAAIA](https://www.paaia.org/CMS/paaia-interviews-tony-award-nominee-arian-moayed)
6. [Arian Moayed, Emmy Awards and Nominations, Television Academy](https://www.televisionacademy.com/bios/arian-moayed)
7. [Arian Moayed, Steppenwolf Theatre](https://www.steppenwolf.org/people/arian-moayed)
8. [Things Are Getting Serious With Arian Moayed, Marie Claire (2025)](https://www.marieclaire.com/culture/tv-shows/arian-moayed-nobody-wants-this-2025-interview/)
9. [Arian Moayed, Waterwell](https://www.waterwell.org/faculty/arian-moayed)
10. [Arian Moayed aims to show the world the true face of Middle Easterners, Los Angeles Times (May 29, 2009)](https://www.latimes.com/entertainment/arts/la-et-arian-moayed29-2009may29-story.html)
11. [Tony Award nominee Marjan Neshat makes history in celebrated Broadway play 'English', AP News](https://apnews.com/article/f7d07906800cd635e2aab75961cf856c)
12. [Succession's Arian Moayed enters A Doll's House, The Stage (March 1, 2023)](https://www.thestage.co.uk/features/successions-arian-moayed-enters-a-dolls-house-theres-no-set-no-props--its-radical)
13. [Arian Moayed, TV Insider](https://www.tvinsider.com/people/arian-moayed/)
14. [From 'Succession' to 'Inventing Anna,' Arian Moayed Is Suddenly Everywhere, GQ](https://www.gq.com/story/arian-moayed-interview-inventing-anna-succession-love-life-spider-man-no-way-home)
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*Topic: Encyclopedia › Arts and culture › Screen and stage › Film and television › Screen people and creators › Screen actors of the Anglosphere and Europe › American actors: 2000s onward › Surnames Mo to Ne*
*Initially written Sep 17, 2026 · Reviewed: Sep 17, 2026; Oct 25, 2026 · Edited: Oct 12, 2026; Oct 25, 2026 · Last review: Oct 25, 2026*
*Copyright 2026 EdgeChat AI, a subsidiary of Biostate AI.*
License: Edgepedia Community License 1.0, https://www.edgepedia.org/edgepedia/license