Although Season 2 fans of The Pitt will recognize Sepideh Moafi‘s name, she was faced with changing it early in her career.
The actress, whose parents came to the US as Iranian refugees before she was born, opened up about the “complicated” decision for actors after her first agent tried to convince her to change her name.
“When I graduated from grad school, my first agent wanted me to change my name and I immediately said, f*ck no,” she told People.
“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,” said Moafi, adding: “I don’t think there’s anything wrong with people who decide to do it.”
Currently starring as Dr. Baran Al-Hashimi on HBO Max’s The Pitt, Moafi has previously appeared on shows like Blue Bloods, Nurse Jackie, The Good Wife, The Blacklist, Elementary, The Deuce and The L Word: Generation Q.
“It felt like they needed me to be someone different in order to work or to sell something,” she explained. “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.”
Moafi continued, “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.”