Ayad Akhtar

Ayad Akhtar
Akhtar at the 2012 Texas Book Festival.
Born	(1970-10-28) October 28, 1970 (age 46) Staten Island, New York, U.S.
Occupation	Actor, writer
Years active	2002–present
Website	ayadakhtar.com

Ayad Akhtar (born October 28, 1970) is a Pakistani American playwright, novelist, screenwriter and actor who is best known for his play, Disgraced. The play received the 2013 Pulitzer Prize for Drama, was nominated for a Tony Award for Best Play, and was named the most produced play in America for the 2015-16 Season. Akhtar's work covers various themes including the human condition, love, responsibility, relationships, the American-Muslim experience, economics, immigration, identity, and aspects of culture.

Akhtar was born in Staten Island, New York City and raised in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. Akhtar's interest in writing was initially sparked in high school, when a teacher introduced him to European Modernism. Akhtar graduated from Brookfield Central High School in 1988 and later attended Brown University where he majored in theater and began acting in student plays. After graduation he moved to Italy and studied acting with Jerzy Grotowski for a year, eventually becoming his assistant. Upon returning to the United States, Akhtar taught acting classes with Andre Gregory and earned his Master of Fine Arts degree in film directing from Columbia University School of the Arts.

While at Columbia he and classmates Tom Glynn and Joseph Castelo formed the idea for The War Within, a 2005 film about an ordinary man radicalized into becoming a terrorist. Akhtar starred in the film playing Hassan, the would-be terrorist. In 2011 he played Neel Kashkari in the HBO film Too Big to Fail.