Arman

Arman — Biography

Arman was one of the standout Armenian-Iranian actors of 1950s and 1960s Iranian cinema; his birth name was Aramais Vardani Hovsepian. He was best known for playing wealthy men who had gone bankrupt or faced serious trouble. Besides acting, he worked as a director, producer and writer. He died in Barcelona, Spain, in 1980 and was buried in the Armenian Christian cemetery in Tehran.

He first appeared on stage in school theatre, and moved into amateur theatre in 1940 with a major role in the play Namus. In 1954 he settled in Tehran, joined the theatre group of the Ararat Club and worked with figures such as Joseph Vaezian, Samuel Khachikian and Aramais Aghamalian. His first screen role was in Khachikian's debut film Return (1953); with the same director he went on to appear in Crossroad of Events, Khoon va Sharaf, Storm in Our Town and Anxiety, and A Girl from Shiraz also dates from this period. He also acted in Aghamalian's The Humans and in several films by Esmail Riahi.

In 1965 he moved into directing and producing with The Bride of the Sea, and his work in that role reached five films in all. The Tenant (1972) was a film he directed, produced and acted in. He also acted in and produced two films by Mohammad Deljou and Amir Mojahed. For Crossroad of Events he won best actor at Iran's first film festival. Over a career of about twenty-five years he appeared in nearly fifty-five films. His son, Lorik Minassian, is also known in the arts.