Actor and Cal State Fullerton alumnus Omid Abtahi remembers when he was first bitten by the acting bug, long before his starring role as Dr. Penn Pershing in Disney+’s “The Mandalorian.”
Originally from Iran, Abtahi and his family moved to Paris, France, and then Houston, Texas, before settling in Irvine when he was in the third grade.
As a freshman at University High School in Irvine, he aspired to play professional soccer. With those dreams cut short by an injury, Abtahi took an acting class his junior year and enjoyed the experience more than he expected. Most of all, he felt seen.
“It was the first time in my life I felt like I belonged to a group because I never really felt like I belonged to the jocks,” Abtahi said.
But it was during his time as a Titan that Abtahi’s interest in acting turned into a true passion and a career pathway.
Abtahi, a 2002 graduate, landed at CSUF with the intent of pursuing a degree in advertising. Familiar with the stage from his time in high school, he enrolled in an acting class for nonmajors as part of CSUF’s general education requirements. The class coincided with Abtahi’s first real break-up, and acting became a much-needed outlet for what he was experiencing.
“I found (acting) to be a very therapeutic, cathartic tool to work on these emotions that I didn’t know what to do with,” Abtahi said. “I realized that I wanted it, and I needed it. In high school it was fun, but it hit different in college.”
Acting had his heart, and while he remained in advertising, Abtahi added the second major to his degree plan so he could take as many acting, voice and movement courses as possible. And he had the full support of the CSUF Department of Theatre and Dance, including professors Madonna Young Magee, Jim Taulli, Svetlana Efremova-Reed and Joe Arnold, all of whom were influential in challenging him to look at life through new perspectives.
“What I love most about what I do in this profession is that it requires you to sample different kinds of life experiences that wouldn’t necessarily be your own,” Abtahi said. “It kind of opens your eyes to what is in the world … and you experience life in a much fuller way.”
After graduation, Abtahi won a three-week scholarship to the Sundance Institute Theatre Labs, where he worked with the “who’s who” of New York theater and secured his first stage role in a regional production.
At the same time, he worked for the late casting director Mali Finn. It was there that Abtahi learned the art of auditioning, a skill that helped him land his first television guest starring roles in popular shows such as “JAG” and “24.”
But it was his recurring role as Salim in “American Gods” that he credits with leading him to the role of a lifetime.
“It wasn’t until I did ‘American Gods’ in 2017 that you got to see me act,” Abtahi said. “It was a popular show, and it really put me on the map with the industry. Then I got ‘The Mandalorian’ offer.
Abtahi admittedly had not seen much of the “Star Wars” franchise before he was offered the role of Imperial cloning scientist Dr. Pershing. He did his due diligence, watching the entire catalog of movies to prepare, but seeing the “Star Wars” storylines through the eyes of his now 8-year-old son brought the experience to life for him.
Abtahi was given significant time in season 3 of “The Mandalorian” to develop the role and story of Dr. Pershing, a character that rides a morally gray line between good and evil. It’s an aspect of acting that draws him specifically to television work.
“I love to grow with the character … and where I thrive is when I bring who I am into a character,” Abtahi said. “With the help of the writers, that character grows and grows over the seasons. … That’s my favorite kind of acting.”
The nearly four-month American actors union SAG-AFTRA strike earlier this year put the future of Dr. Pershing and other opportunities for Abtahi on hold, but he is looking forward to getting back to work at the start of the new year on several new projects.
While this career path is far from what he envisioned as a teen, Abtahi credits much of his success to his time at Cal State Fullerton. To him, being a Titan means being proud of his work, and he knows he would not be the actor he is today without the training he received while at CSUF.
“What impacted me more than anything was the friends I made there, the people I met and the quality of relationships,” Abtahi said. “I have taken that with me into my professional life, and I have sought not quantity but quality in relationships. I don’t know if I would be the same without that experience.”
