Iranian actor Amirali Danaei shot to fame for his starring role in a state-sponsored historical drama criticizing the monarchy that was toppled by the Islamic Revolution in 1979, which ushered in the country's current clerical rulers.
Now, Danaei has fled his homeland and abandoned his career in Iran. The breaking point for the 45-year-old was not the years of state pressure and harassment he said he endured but the deadliest state crackdown on protesters in Iran's modern history.
"I have no interest in returning [to Iran] as long as this [political] system is in place," Danaei told RFE/RL's Radio Farda in a telephone interview, describing the country as a dictatorship. "The issue of Iran is no longer about politics. It's about human lives, and human lives are not up for negotiation."
SEE ALSO: Azadi Tower: Architect Watches From Exile As Beloved Iranian Landmark Coopted By RegimeThe authorities killed at least 7,000 people in January as they crushed mass protests calling for an end to clerical rule, according to human rights groups, although the real death toll is believed to be significantly higher.
The weekslong demonstrations erupted in late December 2025 over economic grievances but soon snowballed into the biggest threat to the Islamic republic in years.
'Political Literacy'
Danaei left Iran in January, during the peak of the brutal state crackdown. He requested that his current location not be revealed for security reasons.
In his interview with RFE/RL, he said he regretted his involvement in state-sponsored films. That includes his role as lead actor in Pahlavi Hat, a television series that criticized the first Pahlavi monarch, Reza Shah, and his secular policies. The series, which ran from 2012 to 2014, launched Danaei's career.
"I was a 24-year-old actor then, without the political literacy I have today," Danaei said of his role. "If I had my current insight, I would never have played in any project that was even slightly against [the monarchy]."
SEE ALSO: Iranian Students Reignite Anti-Government Protests In TehranDanaei now praises the autocratic monarchy, under which many Iranians enjoyed greater social freedoms although they had few political rights. He said Mohammad Reza Pahlavi, the last shah of Iran, and his father, Reza Khan, were "150 to 200 years ahead of their time."
During the nationwide protests in January, some protesters chanted the name of exiled former Crown Prince Reza Pahlavi, who is based in the United States.
'Militarization' Of Iranian Cinema
Actors and filmmakers working in Iran are often subjected to state pressure and strict censorship. They must follow tight rules that forbid showing unveiled women, physical contact between men and women, and criticism of Islamic principles. The strict restrictions limit the topics that can be discussed in movies.
Scores of cultural figures have been arrested in recent years for their political activism and their support for anti-government protests. Some have fled the country for fear of their lives.
Danaei criticized the "militarization" of Iranian cinema, specifically the rise of the Owj Arts and Media Organization, an entity widely recognized as the media arm of Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps, which is blacklisted by both the United States and the European Union.
"Silence in the face of suffering caused by oppression is not neutrality," he said. "It's complicity."