Actor Arvin Kananian grew up in Stockholm, Sweden and in Yokohama, Japan. In his late teenage years he moved to the UK to study law, but instead found his calling for acting and began studying Sanford Meisner and Lee Strasberg’s methods at acting schools in London and Stockholm. Kananian quickly made a name for himself in the Swedish film and TV business, starring in numerous hit series and feature films. 

 

2018 saw the premiere of Aniara wherein Kananian played the role of Chefone. Aniara received fantastic reviews and was a great festival success, winning among else ‘Best Direction’ at the Guldbagge Awards and the Cineuropa Award at Les Arcs European Film Festival. In 2020, Kananian starred in the acclaimed and daring TV series Caliphate as chief of police Nadir. Caliphate immediately generated a lot of buzz and was a big hit among critics and viewers alike. 

 

Kananian has most recently starred in Ylva Forner’s heightened and bold feature The Schoolmaster Games (2022) and in Ruben Östlund’s Triangle of Sadness (2022) which was awarded the prestigious Palme d’Or in Cannes. His upcoming acting projects include Andreas Öhman’s One Day All of This Will Be Yours/En dag kommer allt det här bli ditt and Milad Alami’s Opponent/Motståndaren. 

 

Furthermore, Kananian debuted as a filmmaker in 2017 with his short film Affect. The following years saw the premieres of his short films Tomorrow the Birds will Sing (2018) and I, Julia (2020). The latter was among else selected for the prestigious Telluride Film Festival.