The monthly Film magazine conducted a poll last summer asking 53 film critics and writers to choose the best actors and actresses of the Iranian cinema and the more memorable parts of 2000s. In that decade, young actors made their debut in the Iranian cinema many of them did not simply rely on handsome faces. They were characterized by high education, perseverance and, at times, past experience on the stage which they used to good effect in front of the camera. Older actors also became more experienced in that period. It was also a time for appearance of powerful directors such as Asghar Farhadi, Reza Mir-Karimi, Abdolreza Kahani, and Hamid Ne’matollah. Many private and free acting institutes also emerged in those years and attracted many pupils some of whom turned into famous actors of later years. That decade was also marked by the number of prizes won from international events. The Iranian cinema bagged about 120 international prizes the most important of which were two silver bears of the 61st Berlin Film Festival for the best actor and actress which were won by Asghar Farhadi’s Nader and Simin: A Separation. The decade also saw emergence of a new generation of comedians who mistook lewdness for comedy and used any means to make their audience laugh.

The results of the poll were as follows:

Best actors:
1. Shahab Hosseini (36 votes)
2. Taraneh Alidousti (34 votes)
3. Parviz Parastui (33 votes)
4. Golshifteh Farahani (32 votes)
5. Leila Hatami (31 votes)
6. Reza Kianian (27 votes)
7. Hamid Farrokhnejad (26 votes)
8. Khosrow Shakibai and Hedyeh Tehrani (26 votes each)
9. Negar Javaherian (20 votes)
10. Fatemeh Mo’tamed Arya, Mohammad Reza Foroutan, and Hamed Behdad (17 votes each)

The best parts:
1. Naneh Gilaneh (acted by Fatemeh Mo’tamed Arya) in Gilaneh (Rakhshan Bani-Etemad, 2004); Taraneh (acted by Taraneh Alidousti) in I, Taraneh, Am 15 (Rasoul Sadr Ameli, 2001); Hamed Ahmadzadeh (acted by Mohammad Reza Foroutan) in The Yalda Night (Kioumars Pourahmad, 2001)/ 25 votes
2. Reza Mesqali (acted by Parviz Parastui) in The Lizard (Kamal Tabrizi, 2003) / 22 votes
3. Mojdeh (acted by Hedyeh Tehrani) in Fireworks Wednesday (Asghar Farhadi, 2005) / 15.5 votes
4. Sepideh (acted by Golshifteh Farahani) in About Elli (Asghar Farhadi, 2009) / 14.5 votes
5. Ali Bolourchi (acted by Bahram Radan) in Santouri (Dariush Mehrjui, 2006) / 13 votes
6. Nader Siah-Darreh (acted by Mehdi Hashemi) in Nothing (Abdolreza Kahani, 2010) / 12 votes
7. Mahmoud Alem (acted by Massoud Rayegan) in So Far, So Close (Seyed Reza Mirkarimi, 2005) and Effat (acted by Golab Adineh) in Mom’s Guest (Dariush Mehrjui, 2003) / 11 votes
8. Zahra Sadat (acted by Negar Javaherian) in Gold and Copper (Homayoun As’adian, 2010) / 10 votes
9. Rahim (acted by Khosrow Shakibai) in The Night Bus (Kioumars Pourahmad, 2006); Dr. Sepidbakht (acted by Reza Kianian) in The House Built on Water (Bahman Farmanara, 2001); and Tahereh (acted by Hengameh Qaziyani) in As Simple as This (Seyed Reza Mir-Karimi, 2008) / 9 votes
10. Eti (acted by Golshifteh Farahani) in Boutique (Hamid Ne’matollah, 2002); Siamak (acted by Alireza Aqakhani) in We only Live Twice (Behnam Behzadi, 2008); and Seyed Hassan (acted by Hossein Parastar) for Under the Moonlight (Seyed Reza Mir-Karimi, 2001) / 8 votes

About top actors & parts:

... To Be Continued