Wrestler Actor's Father Arrested By Iranian Police
Iran continues to dislike Hollywood, it would seem. Actor Armin Amiri, who briefly appeared in the Iranian-flag-ripping movie The Wrestler, recently learned that his father was arrested in Tehran.
Amiri, also a former club owner, got a call from his hysterical mother saying that his father had been arrested on suspicion of helping his son escape Iran 20 years ago, only so said son could go and blaspheme the nation terribly:
They came and picked him up at 7:30 in the morning, and basically they were asking about me because of my role in The Wrestler. They were saying I was a traitor, and also because of my playing a gay character [in Factory Girl], the F-word got thrown around a couple times.
He was eventually released unharmed.
I don't know if it's more scary that Iran gives such a shit about what happens in the make-believe land we cobble together over here, or if it's more heartening that American independent cinema is being seen in places as far-flung as Persia.