Mani Soleymanlou
Mani Soleymanlou (born 1982) is a Canadian actor and playwright based in Montreal, Quebec.[1] He is most noted for his regular role as police officer Robert "Coco" Bédard in the television series Happily Married (C'est comme ça que je t'aime),[2] and his role as the current artistic director of the French theatre program at the National Arts Centre.[3]
Born in Tehran, Iran, he moved with his family to France in childhood before they moved again to Toronto, Ontario, when he was nine.[1] He was educated at the University of Ottawa and the National Theatre School of Canada,[4] and founded his own Montreal-based theatre company, Orange Noyée, in 2011.[1] He first became known for Un/One, Deux/Two and Trois/Three, a series of plays about immigrant identity;[5] initially staged individually, he later presented a version which saw all three plays performed as a continuous trilogy,[6] as well as the solo performance ZÉRO on related themes.[1]
He was appointed artistic director of the NAC French theatre in 2020.[3] In the same year he was one of the hosts of the 22nd Quebec Cinema Awards, which were presented as a webcast due to the COVID-19 pandemic.[7]
Filmography
Film
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2010 | Gerry | Cameraman | |
| 2011 | Les Photos de Marie | Martin | |
| 2011 | Boucherie Halal | Hedi | |
| 2013 | The Little Queen (La petite reine) | Agent Wada | |
| 2014 | Nouvelles, nouvelles | Priest | |
| 2014 | Take Me (Prends-moi) | Mani | |
| 2015 | Rabid Dogs (Enragés) | Man in accident | |
| 2015 | Les brigands de l'hôtel bleu | Mike | |
| 2018 | Malek | Réza | |
| 2018 | For Those Who Don't Read Me (À tous ceux qui ne me lisent pas) | Martin | |
| 2019 | A Brother's Love (La Femme de mon frère) | Jasmin | |
| 2023 | The Skates (Les Patins) | Father | |
| 2024 | Universal Language (Une langue universelle) | Iraj Bilodeau | |
| 2024 | Miss Boots (Mlle Bottine) | Paul | |
| 2025 | Two Women (Deux Femmes en or) |
Television
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2009 | Les hauts et les bas de Sophie Paquin | Policeman | |
| 2010 | Les Rescapés | Fabrice | |
| 2015–2018 | Marche à l'ombre | Ahmed Fhougali | |
| 2016 | Connexion en cours | Mani | |
| 2016–2020 | Madame Lebrun | Père Fabien | |
| 2016 | O' | Dr. Nazem | |
| 2017 | En famille | Karim | |
| 2018 | Hubert et Fanny | Yaniss | |
| 2018 | Lâcher prise | Hakim | |
| 2019 | La Faille | Dave Bélanger | |
| 2020–2022 | Happily Married (C'est comme ça que je t'aime) | Robert « Coco » Bédard | |
| 2020 | Can You Hear Me? (M'entends-tu?) | Frank | |
| 2020 | Épidémie | Dr. Quentin Buis | |
| 2021 | Survivre à ses enfants | Kamyar | |
| 2021 | Virage | Tristan | |
| 2023 | Avant le crash | Patrick | |
| 2024 | In Memoriam | Victor |
Theatre
| Year | Title | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| 2012 | Un/One | |
| 2013 | Deux/Two | |
| 2014 | Trois/Three | |
| 2015 | Ils étaient quatre | |
| 2015 | Cinq à sept | |
| 2016 | Les lettres arabes 2 | |
| 2017 | Huit | |
| 2017 | Le Wild West Show de Gabriel Dumont | |
| 2018 | Neuf (titre provisoire) | |
| 2018 | Dix | |
| 2019 | Zéro | |
| 2021 | 2042 | |
| 2022 | Un. Deux. Trois. |
References
- ^ a b c d Gail Johnson, "For Mani Soleymanlou, the search for identity is back to ZÉRO". Stir, February 4, 2022.
- ^ Norimitsu Onishi, "A Cop Called Coco, an Actor Named Mani, a Quebecer Exploring Quebec". The New York Times, December 30, 2022.
- ^ a b Brad Wheeler, "Mani Soleymanlou named new artistic director of National Arts Centre’s French Theatre". The Globe and Mail, August 18, 2020.
- ^ Peter Hum, "Mani Soleymanlou appointed next artistic director of NAC French theatre". Ottawa Citizen, August 18, 2020.
- ^ Allan Woods, "Quebec en scene: Mani Soleymanlou and the Quebecois quest for identity". Toronto Star, September 12, 2014.
- ^ Gail Johnson, "With Un.Deux.Trois, Mani Soleymanlou brings the largest production to date in the history of Franco-Canadian theatre to Vancouver". Stir, November 4, 2022.
- ^ Demers, Maxime (May 21, 2020). "Un Gala Québec Cinéma en mode confinement". Le Journal de Montréal (in French). Retrieved May 21, 2020.