TEHRAN – Siamak Atlasi, the actor of the popular 1990s Iranian TV series “The Patriarch”, died from COVID-19 at a Tehran hospital on Sunday. He was at 85.

Speaking to the Persian service of ISNA, his daughter Sahar said that he had most likely been infected while working for “Epidemic”, a TV series on Iranian health workers’ efforts during the early days of the coronavirus pandemic.

She said she had seen that the health protocols for the pandemic were not observed on the project as she was in company with her father.

Sahar said that her father died of the disease while he had earlier received two doses of a COVID-19 vaccine.

His death also left his role unfinished in “Salman Farsi”, director Davud Mirbaqeri’s TV series about the life story of Salman Farsi, the Iranian companion of the Prophet of Islam (S).

Atlasi made his debut in 1972 in director Saber Rahbar’s thriller, “The Cruel Men”.

He later worked in over 40 movies, including “Maybe Some Other Time” by Bahram Beizai, “Beyond the Fire” by Kianush Ayyari and “The Fateful Day” by Shahram Asadi.

The 38th Fajr International Film Festival opened this year with a screening of a restored copy of the 1987 classic, “Beyond the Fire”. Attending the screening, he called it the best film he has ever played a role in.  

Atlasi also tried his hand at directing with the thriller “Fist” in 1984. His second film was the comedy “The Eventful Journey” (1996) starring Ferdows Kaviania and Mehraneh Mahintorabi. His third and last directorial film was the thriller “Secret of the Rainy Night”, which was directed in 2000.

He also played roles in about 40 TV series. “The Patriarch” directed by Akbar Khajui in the early 2000s earned him national fame.

In this series, he portrayed Mostafa, the brother of Asdolla Khan, the leading character played by Mohammad-Ali Keshvarz.

Additionally, he brilliantly played Hussein ibn Nomair, a commander of Yazid, in Mirbaqeri’s series “Mokhtarnameh” about the tragedy of Ashura.

He also lent his voice to leading characters in numerous films, including “Django Unchained”, “Need for Speed”, “Braveheart”, “The Birdman of Alcatraz” and “The Massage”.

Photo: Actor Siamak Atlasi in an undated photo. 

MMS/YAW