Hi, I’m Mohsen Ghaffari, a stage and screen actor, voiceover artist, and co-founder of Borderless Ensemble — a theatre company dedicated to creating work with truly no borders, crossing languages, cultures, and perspectives to tell stories that connect us all.
Born and raised in Tehran, I now work internationally. I perform fluently in Farsi, Dari, and English, and have working familiarity with Arabic, Pashto, and Kurdish (Sorani and Kurmanji). Since moving to the UK in 2010, my work has embraced multilingual and multicultural projects across theatre, film, television, and voice.
I began acting at the Karnameh School of Fine Arts in Tehran, and later trained professionally at The Poor School in London. I hold a BA in Drama and Theatre Studies from Royal Holloway, University of London, and a Master’s in Cinema and Audiovisual Studies (IMACS) from the University of St Andrews.
Most recently, I wrapped filming for a regular role in an upcoming major Swiss/French TV series called The Deal, and a BBC series (currently under NDA), both slated for release in 2025. I played an Iranian army officer in Flight 422, and a Priest in the 2023 Netflix docudrama about Carlos Ghosn. Other screen work includes We Hunt Together (BBC Studios/UKTV) alongside Eve Myles, Silent Witness (BBC) with Charlie Creed-Miles, and Civilised, a short directed by Alexander Mavor for Riff Raff Films.
On stage, I recently appeared in The Government Inspector, led by Tom Rosenthal, at The Chichester Festival Theatre, directed by Sir Gregory Doran. I also played the co-lead in Ostan at the Park Theatre, a multilingual production where I performed in five languages: English, Farsi, Arabic, Sorani, and Kurmanji Kurdish. Other highlights include Phaedra at the National Theatre, directed by Simon Stone, with Janet McTeer, Assaad Bouab, Mackenzie Davis, and Paul Chahidi; and The Words in Glasgow (A Play, A Pie and A Pint), where I played the lead role of Ashraf. At Kew Gardens, I performed Bottom and Egeus in A Midsummer Night’s Dream with the Australian Shakespeare Company. Previous work also includes 100 UnEarth with WildWorks in Cornwall, and The Treatment and Lovely Ugly City at the Almeida Theatre.
My work is often described as grounded, expressive, and linguistically rich. I’m passionate about collaboration and adapting across cultures, mediums, and genres. As reviewer Mark Aspen once wrote: “Mohsen Ghaffari steals the show… playing to the gallery with a barrel-load of gusto.”
Clients and collaborators include the National Theatre, the Globe, Almeida, Chichester Festival Theatre, Park Theatre, BBC Studios, Netflix, WildWorks, Rufus Norris, Australian Shakespeare Company, British Council, Lyndsey Turner, Gavin Stride of Farnham Maltings, Eve Myles — as well as commercial brands like Premier Inn, Burberry, McDonald’s, HSBC, Shelter, and Johnson & Johnson.
Every project I take on is a chance to connect, across language, place, or perspective, and I’m always drawn to work that values that kind of reach and resonance.
If you’re interested in collaborating or want to know more about my work, please feel free to get in touch. I’d love to hear from you.