Sepideh Moafi, one of the key stars of the acclaimed medical drama The Pitt, recently revealed that her first agent had advised her to change her name in order to get more roles. Moafi was strictly against this idea and continued using her real name. She explained why she never felt the need to change her name or herself.
Sepideh Moafi reveals her first agent told her to change name
Sepideh Moafi, who plays Dr. Baran Al-Hashimi on The Pitt, opened up about her journey in Hollywood so far in an interview with PEOPLE. Moafi aimed to stay true to herself as she moved ahead in the industry, and this included the decision not to change her name.
The pivotal decision came when Moafi graduated from an MFA program at the University of California, Irvine in 2013. “When I graduated from grad school, my first agent wanted me to change my name, and I immediately said, f— no,” the actress said.
“I know actors who have changed their names, and there’s no judgment there. And I know a lot of actors, specifically people of color, who have been expected to change their name and haven’t,” she said. “I don’t think there’s anything wrong with people who decide to do it,” the actress added, saying that it was a “complicated” decision.
Speaking for herself and why she chose what she did, Moafi stated, “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, and having a beautiful varied career as a result.”
Further acknowledging that this was a personal choice, The Pitt actress noted, “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.”
Apart from The Pitt, Sepideh Moafi will also reportedly star in Wild Berries soon.
Originally reported by Sourav Chakraborty on ComingSoon.
