Sepideh Moafi is comfortable with her name. So when a suggestion was brought to her to change it to get roles in Hollywood, she expectedly flatly refused
It happened in her early days of Hollywood, and the person who advised her regarding her name was her first agent.
“When I graduated from grad school, my first agent wanted me to change my name, and I immediately said, ‘F*** no’,” she tells People.
Moafi gave the example of actors, particularly people of colour, who faced similar pressure but refused to give in.
She continues, “I know actors who have changed their names, and there’s no judgement there. And I know a lot of actors, specifically people of colour, who have been expected to change their names and haven’t.”
Moafi then adds her own experience to the mix, stating that she refused to budge despite pressure, and it paid off.
“It felt like they needed me to be someone different in order to work or to sell something. I refused. I continued, and I ended up booking my first job and then my second and third, having a beautiful varied career as a result.”
However, the star does add that changing name is a personal choice, explaining, “I hope anyone who makes that choice makes it for themselves and not because they feel like they need to change who they are in order to be more universally palatable.”
It is worth noting that in The Pitt, Moafi portrays Dr. Baran Al-Hashimi.
