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…
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