Maz Jobrani

Jobrani was born in Tehran, Iran. He and his parents moved to California when he was six years old. He was raised in Tiburon in the San Francisco Bay area. He attended Redwood High School in Larkspur, and was inducted into the Redwood distinguished alumni class of 2017. Jobrani studied political science and Italian at UC Berkeley, where he received a B.A. degree. He was enrolled in a Ph.D. program at UCLA when he decided to pursue his childhood dream of acting and performing comedy.

He played Jafar in the 2015 musical fantasy television film Descendants.

In 2015, Jobrani released a memoir entitled I'm Not a Terrorist, But I've Played One On TV.

Jobrani makes occasional appearances on NPR's news quiz show Wait Wait... Don't Tell Me! and American Public Media's Wits. He appeared on episode 118, October 28, 2010 of WTF with Marc Maron. Additionally, Jobrani co-hosts his own podcast on the All Things Comedy podcasting network with fellow comedians Al Madrigal and Chris Spencer. Titled Minivan Men, the podcast chronicles the lives and experiences of the three hosts with particular focus on fatherhood.

In 2006, Jobrani married an Indian-American attorney named Preetha. They have a son and daughter and reside in California.

Maziyar Jobrani (Persian: مازیار جبرانی ‎; born February 26, 1972) is an Iranian-American comedian and actor who is part of the "Axis of Evil" comedy group. The group appeared on a comedy special on Comedy Central. Jobrani has also appeared in numerous films, television shows, including Better Off Ted, on radio, and in comedy clubs. His filmography includes roles in The Interpreter, Friday After Next, Dragonfly, and Jimmy Vestvood: Amerikan Hero. He appeared as a regular character on the 2017 CBS sitcom Superior Donuts. He had been a board member of the National Iranian American Council (NIAC).