Reza Ghadami as Masood Assadi in Raised By Refugees which is out now on Prime and Neon.
Reza Ghadami as Masood Assadi in Raised By Refugees which is out now on Prime and Neon.
Reza Ghadami had to stifle himself with a pillow so he wouldn't wake the neighbours when he checked his email at 2am to see a congratulations email.
He had won the role of Masood Assadi in stand-up comedy star Pax Assadi's new comedy, Raised by Refugees.
Auditioning after hearing about the show through the Iranian community, Reza, who was born in Iran but has called New Zealand home since 1986, almost didn't complete the audition after his son teased him about his acting ability.
The Assadi family in Pax Assadi's autobiographical comedy Raised By Refugees.
Getting his son, Jahan, to help him film his audition, the filming was taking a while and Reza was making a few mistakes.
"It was funny because when my son was filming me, he was in a hurry to get going.
"I did a few lines, made a few mistakes, and he didn't want to continue on.
"He said, 'Dad I think there are better actors than you,' and I just looked at him and said 'carry on'."
When he saw the email about getting the part, Reza wanted to send it straight through to his son, but decided to let him sleep, and forwarded the email to him later that morning, around 6am.
"I got the email about 2am in the morning and as soon as I saw 'congratulations' I had to put a pillow over my face to stop myself from screaming.
"It was 2 o'clock in the morning, I didn't want to wake up the neighbours."
Previously owning the Mediterranean Food Warehouse in Kāpiti and working in hospitality for more than 20 years, Reza has always had a passion for acting.
However, while he's performed in plays for children at the Little Theatre in Lower Hutt and done a few other bits and pieces, you're more likely to have seen him serving you pizza.
"This has been my passion from childhood, but it is my first time on the screen."
Enjoying the whole experience, Reza spent six weeks in Auckland filming for the show which is a comedy about 12-year-old Pax growing up the son of Iranian-Pakistani parents in Kiwi suburbia.
The series is Pax Assadi's autobiographical comedy, with Reza playing Pax's grandfather Masood Assadi.
The series is focused on Pax and his family who came to New Zealand in the late 1980s as refugees.
With three generations in the same home, Pax is a typical kid of the early 2000s but finds his family only seem to be focused on him getting good grades at school. However, all Pax wants to do is fit in.
With the first episode of Raised by Refugees ending with the family watching pictures of the 9/11 attacks, fitting in has just become even harder for Pax.
"My character, Pax's grandfather, has a good but slightly dry sense of humour.
"He's quite straightforward, but wise and sees the details, like myself.
"I found that I fell quickly into character."
Relishing the filming process, Reza enjoyed the experience on set, his curious personality leading him to ask lots of questions and show up on set just to watch the others in action.
"I wanted to gain experience and learn the A-Z of filming, like the lighting and the sound and so on – I'm a curious person."
When he saw the finished result, six episodes which are currently showing on Prime and Neon, Reza was happy with his performance.
"I was very happy with my performance and feel I could have had even more lines.
"The story is around Pax, who is the core, so I'm one of the other more minor characters."
Being Reza's first time on screen, the experience has given him the confidence to take on more roles.
"This has given me confidence. I now believe that I could take on different roles and be in other shows."
The second episode aired on Prime last night, with four more episodes yet to air.
Raised by Refugees is on Prime from Thursday, February 24, 8.45pm for six weeks. It also repeats on Prime on Saturdays at 7.30pm and is streaming on Neon from February 26.
