Payam Banifaz

RECENT BOOKINGS: CRIME 101, Marvel's WONDER MAN, GRAND CREW (Recurring Guest Star), EVERYTHING EVERYWHERE ALL AT ONCE

Payam Banifaz is an Iranian-American actor, comedian, and activist living in Los Angeles. Payam was born in Tehran, Iran and fled with his family to the US at the age of 8 in order to escape from the horrors of the war, that was raging in his home country at the time.

He studied with some of the great acting teachers in LA, Doug Warhit, Lewis Smith, Tom Todoroff, Howard Fine, Elizabeth Mestnick, Lyndsey, Crouse, and many others.

Peter is also an alumni and performer of over 13 years at the famed Upright Citizens Brigade (UCB) comedy and improv theater in Hollywood, CA.  He is a performer at the theater, and can be seen in monthly shows such as BENNETTON, QUEEN GEORGE, ELEFANTE, and BOO-BOOS, just to name a few.

Some of his TV credits include a recurring role on NBC’s Grand Crew, and three seasons recurring on the award-winning show SHAMELESS. Some of his guest-starring roles have been on shows like Marvel's WONDER MAN, BROOKLYN NINE-NINE, VEEP, SUPERSTORE, SILICON VALLEY, PERRY MASON, ONE DAY AT A TIME, BOSCH, LETHAL WEAPON and more.

His film work includes a role on the Oscar-winning hit EVERYTHING EVERYWHERE ALL AT ONCE, as well as Gus Van Santa’s DON'T WORRY HE WON'T GET FAR ON FOOT, and the Cohen brothers' HAIL CAESAR.

He also creates his own original comedic content for Instagram and TikTok under the Instagram handle @pbani. His videos have garnered over 17 million total views across both platforms. 

Payam resides in Sherman Oaks, California, he holds a bachelors in political science from Cal State University Northridge, and a masters in business administration from California Lutheran University in Thousand Oaks, CA. He loves dogs and he hates arugula.