Daniel Zolghadri (born February 9, 2000) is an American actor known for his roles in Eighth Grade, Low Tide, Funny Pages, and Hot Water. He attended the Orange County School of the Arts.
Career At age 13, Zolghadri made his debut in a television series in 2013, performing a guest role in Once Upon a Time in Wonderland as Mirza. Zolghadri played the role of Max Killas in the 2015 television film Evil Men directed by Gary Fleder.
In 2018, Zolghadri appeared in the coming-of-age comedy film Eighth Grade directed by Bo Burnham. On the same year, Zolghadri was part of the cast of the romantic comedy film Alex Strangelove opposite Daniel Doheny, Antonio Marziale and Madeline Weinstein, where he played the role of Dell, which was premiered at the San Francisco International Film Festival on April 14, 2018, and released on June 8, 2018, on Netflix.
Zolghadri co-starred Keean Johnson, Alex Neustaedter, Kristine Froseth and Jaeden Martell in the 2019 drama film Low Tide directed by Kevin McMullin, where he played the role of Smitty.
Zolghadri was cast in the sci-fi drama series Tales from the Loop opposite Rebecca Hall, Paul Schneider, Duncan Joiner and Jonathan Pryce. He played the role of Jakob.
Zolghadri played the lead role of Robert in the coming-of-age black comedy film Funny Pages directed by Owen Kline, which was premiered at the 2022 Cannes Film Festival on May 24, 2022, and was released on August 26, 2022, where it received positive reviews from critics. For his performance he was nominated for an Independent Spirit Award for Best Breakthrough Performance.
In 2026, Zolghadri co-starred with Lubna Azabal and Dale Dickey in the comedy-drama road film Hot Water, written and directed by Ramzi Bashour, which premiered at the 2026 Sundance Film Festival.
Filmography Film + Year Title Role Notes 2016 The Persian Connection Young Behrouz2018 Eighth Grade Riley Ready Player One High School Kid Alex Strangelove Dell Fahrenheit 451 Clifford 2019 Low Tide Smitty 2022 Funny Pages Robert 2024 Y2K CJ2025 If I Had Legs I'd Kick You Stephen Lurker Noah2026Hot Water Daniel Magazine
Television YearTitleRoleNotes2013Once Upon a Time in WonderlandMirzaEpisode: "Bad Blood"2014IntelligenceYoung BoyEpisode: "Red X"ScorpionYoung Walter O'Brien3 episodes2015Weird LonersFrankEpisode: "The Weirdfather"NCISLuke Harris3 episodesEvil MenMax KillasTelevision film2016SpeechlessCarterEpisode: "Pilot"2017No ActivityMason2 episodes2020Tales from the LoopJakob7 episodes2024American Horror StoriesDeclanEpisode: "Leprechaun"
References
External links
Career At age 13, Zolghadri made his debut in a television series in 2013, performing a guest role in Once Upon a Time in Wonderland as Mirza. Zolghadri played the role of Max Killas in the 2015 television film Evil Men directed by Gary Fleder.
In 2018, Zolghadri appeared in the coming-of-age comedy film Eighth Grade directed by Bo Burnham. On the same year, Zolghadri was part of the cast of the romantic comedy film Alex Strangelove opposite Daniel Doheny, Antonio Marziale and Madeline Weinstein, where he played the role of Dell, which was premiered at the San Francisco International Film Festival on April 14, 2018, and released on June 8, 2018, on Netflix.
Zolghadri co-starred Keean Johnson, Alex Neustaedter, Kristine Froseth and Jaeden Martell in the 2019 drama film Low Tide directed by Kevin McMullin, where he played the role of Smitty.
Zolghadri was cast in the sci-fi drama series Tales from the Loop opposite Rebecca Hall, Paul Schneider, Duncan Joiner and Jonathan Pryce. He played the role of Jakob.
Zolghadri played the lead role of Robert in the coming-of-age black comedy film Funny Pages directed by Owen Kline, which was premiered at the 2022 Cannes Film Festival on May 24, 2022, and was released on August 26, 2022, where it received positive reviews from critics. For his performance he was nominated for an Independent Spirit Award for Best Breakthrough Performance.
Filmography Film + Year Title Role Notes 2016 The Persian Connection Young Behrouz2018 Eighth Grade Riley Ready Player One High School Kid Alex Strangelove Dell Fahrenheit 451 Clifford 2019 Low Tide Smitty 2022 Funny Pages Robert 2024 Y2K CJ2025 If I Had Legs I'd Kick You Stephen Lurker Noah 2026 Hot Water Daniel
Television YearTitleRoleNotes2013Once Upon a Time in WonderlandMirzaEpisode: "Bad Blood"2014IntelligenceYoung BoyEpisode: "Red X"ScorpionYoung Walter O'Brien3 episodes2015Weird LonersFrankEpisode: "The Weirdfather"NCISLuke Harris3 episodesEvil MenMax KillasTelevision film2016SpeechlessCarterEpisode: "Pilot"2017No ActivityMason2 episodes2020Tales from the LoopJakob7 episodes2024American Horror StoriesDeclanEpisode: "Leprechaun"
References
External links