The Untold Truth Of Eman Esfandi
Disney+ has been a blessing for fandoms. Original shows like "The Mandalorian" and "Obi-Wan Kenobi" have reintroduced an assortment of fan-favorite characters from the galaxy far, far away in all-new adventures and scenarios. Meanwhile, "Ahsoka" has given fans their first offering of live-action versions of some of the most cherished animated characters from shows like "Star Wars: The Clone Wars" and "Star Wars Rebels." Memorable cartoon originals like Sabine Wren (Natasha Liu Bordizzo), Hera Syndulla (Mary Elizabeth Winstead), and the villainous Grand Admiral Thrawn (Lars Mikkelsen) have all been brought to life thanks to "Ahsoka." But perhaps the character fans have been awaiting the most is the "Rebel" hero himself, Ezra Bridger.
After selflessly putting his life on the line in the series finale of "Star Wars Rebels," Bridger has been all but absent from the franchise's ongoing content. Finally, "Ahsoka" has given fans not only the return of the hero, but his first live-action manifestation.
Audiences seem to be embracing actor Eman Esfandi, who embodies the Bridger character. The actor has seemingly come out of the ether — like a gift with the perfect look for this key "Star Wars" role — raising the question of where he was before surfacing on Peridea. Keep reading to discover everything you need to know about Eman Esfandi, as he joins the "Star Wars" franchise.
Difficulty growing up in Texas
Esfandi grew up in the small southern Texas city of Laredo. Sharing a border with Mexico, Laredo is noted for having the highest proportion of Hispanic Americans of any city in the USA outside of Puerto Rico. Living in an urban landscape of low ethnic diversity proved challenging for Esfandi, who has a mixed background. While born in the USA, Esfandi's mother hails from Ecuador and his father from Iran.
"I was around zero Persian people my whole life, mostly around Mexican and Caucasian people," Esfandi explained to the Daily Texan in 2022. "Texas Caucasian people can be really rough, especially the years I was growing up. Very country, homophobic, Islamophobic, [and] brutal."
His multicultural lineage caused difficulty for the future "Ahsoka" actor, especially in the face of the Islamophobia that would rise across the country in the following the September 11th attacks. "[I] grew up with the repercussions of 9/11 all throughout my childhood," Esfandi said in a separate interview with Flaunt. "When I was younger it wasn't as noticeable, but by the time I was in high school, I could better see the micro-aggressions that my being half-Persian, or my father being from Iran, would incite." Esfandi would later use the racism he had encountered to inspire his career as an artist and actor.
He has a degree in Economics
The parents of the budding "Star Wars" actor have been business owners in Laredo for most of Esfandi's life. Spending a considerable amount of his youth in the family shop, Eman hoped to one day follow in their footsteps. First landing an Associate's degree from his hometown school of Laredo College, he later graduated from the University of Texas with a Bachelor's degree in Economics with the expectation of running a business similar to the store owned by his parents. Surprisingly, Esfandi changed his focus while attending school, discovering a passion for film and art.
Looking back now, the Ezra Bridger actor credits this period in life for giving him a new perspective and helping him discover a life of creative work.
"I wasn't taught how to express myself, didn't have any examples of how to become an artist. I'm grateful though, for it's the stark contrast of my upbringing to my current lifestyle," said Esfandi in a 2021 interview with Shoutout LA. "It's humbling and empowering to remind myself that I started from nothing and wasn't handed things on a silver platter."
He had a budding tennis career
Another completely different life trajectory for Esfandi once put him on a tennis court. Believe it or not, he was once considered to be something of a tennis prodigy.
Playing the racket sport from the age of 13, Esfandi spent his high school senior year studying and practicing at the John Newcombe Tennis Academy in New Braunfels, Texas. He would go on to reach the height of his sports career at the collegiate level, at one point ranking in the top five of the country while attending Laredo College. Perhaps even more impressive, Esfandi managed to balance athletics with academics at the highest level, reported to have maintained a 4.0 GPA and landing an impressive 1720 SAT score while in high school.
Esfandi remained in the sport for years, moving on to become a mentor and instructor for tennis prospects of all ages as recently as 2020. His tennis career came in handy in 2021 when he landed a supporting role in "King Richard," the Will Smith-led biographical drama about the father of sports superstars Venus and Serena Williams.
"I was a tennis pro for nine years. So, it means a lot to me to be a part of that tennis movie," Esfandi said in an interview with Collider. The actor is still "obsessed" with the sport to this day, sharing highlights of his recreational practices and matches on Instagram regularly.
A unique path to acting
With a sports background and a reputable post-secondary education, it was an unexpected turn for Eman Esfandi to find himself diving headfirst into acting. For many, those college years are the perfect opportunity to discover passions and purpose. With a deep curiosity for finding his own direction in life, Esfandi found his answer by taking a unique route.
"I had been conducting impromptu 'interviews' at coffee shops around Austin with anyone who was interested in starting up a conversation," Esfandi recalled to Voyage LA in 2019. "It was my way to research different life paths without having to experience them myself."
Hoping to interview a diverse group of interesting people, Esfandi was guided to take his project to a local acting workshop. "I did, in fact, meet people who had drastically changed their life paths, but another interesting thing also happened. I ended up volunteering to work through a couple of scenes." Impressing the operators of the workshop — casting directors Kimberley and Brad Burton — Esfandi was encouraged to find a manager and pursue a career in acting. He started taking acting workshops around Austin and landed some substantial roles in student projects and short films before fully committing to the occupation and moving to Los Angeles in 2018.
He got his start in commercials
Following in the footsteps of many big-name actors who got their start doing television commercials, Eman Esfandi has a few advertisement credits under his belt. Interestingly, although it can sometimes take actors years to accomplish, Esfandi landed his first nationally-televised commercial shortly after attending his first acting workshop. Even when his early commercial work didn't represent major roles, the young actor still found himself promoting some of the biggest brands out there.
Esfandi landed a whole slew of televised ads, some still airing today, including work for Amazon, Bose, and H&R Block. One commercial for the clothing apparel brand L.L. Bean (pictured above) features Esfandi sleeping on top of a ladder of hammocks as he wishes his camping mates a "good morning." More prominently, the actor was featured in Coca-Cola's "Food Feud" marketing campaign, appearing in at least three separate advertisements. The collection of nationwide commercials features different characters promoting different meals as the optimal accompaniment to watching football, including wings, brisket, and pizza. A young Esfandi is highlighted as the guy who chooses sub sandwiches as his meal of choice, delivering the catchphrase-worthy line, "Dude, subs."
He directed two short films
For many actors and actresses, it is a natural evolution to one day take the director's chair and try their hand at running the show behind the camera. Surprisingly, Eman Esfandi has already made this transition, becoming an award-winning director of short films. His first, and most notable stint as director came as a passion project alongside his childhood friend, Isaac Garza.
Studying film together, Garza approached Esfandi about helping him produce an absurdist comedy short titled "Pepito." With Garza writing and starring in the project, he invited Esfandi to become the director. Teaching himself by devouring a crash course of YouTube videos, Esfandi took the helm for the three-day shoot. To their surprise, "Pepito" went on to be selected as a winner of the Latinx Short Film Festival in 2019, earning the short film a nationwide distribution on HBO platforms.
"It's pretty crazy that something we got to make together, after knowing each other so long, is on a platform like HBO," recalled Esfandi in an interview for the film festival. "It's pretty exciting." The future "Star Wars" actor followed up his prize-winning project by directing another short film titled "120," which premiered at the Cannes Short Film Corner. However, Esfandi has all but abandoned the director's chair, choosing to spend the last few years focused on developing his acting career, among other creative pursuits.
He does slam poetry
The COVID-19 global pandemic had many people locked up in quarantine and left to their own devices. Esfandi decided to use the isolation to his advantage, choosing to turn his attention from filmmaking and acting to other artistic outlets. Locked away in his Los Angeles home, Esfandi discovered a love for slam poetry.
For those unaware, slam poetry involves an artist performing an original poem — without the assistance of costumes, props, or musical instruments — in front of an audience that is encouraged to participate with finger snaps or words of affirmation. The eccentric poetry style is fitting for a budding actor like Esfandi, as it is often treated as a highly emotional monologue carried by the performer's individual style and ability. The actor continues to practice his unique art form, earlier this year sharing an Instagram reel of him performing a rendition of his poem "I'm Tired" at Da Poetry Lounge in Los Angeles.
He is an established musician
It was a natural progression for Esfandi to take his passions for poetry and performing into developing a music career. Adopting the stage name DragonWulf, he spent much of his time in COVID-19 quarantine learning everything he could about producing his own songs. "I learned so much about music over the course of a year," said Esfandi to the Laredo Morning Times. "I realized I want to do this all the way and forever."
DragonWulf released his first EP in September 2020 but decided to make it no longer available after pushing himself further in the art. "I took a more professional approach to learning it all," he said. "Carving out my style and figuring out what it is I wanted to do with the music." As a result, Esfandi released a new single, "You're Perfect in Every Way," and has since followed it up with three new albums, "A DragonWulf Summer," "La Vie En Vert," and "La Sagrada Familia." As for his journey of releasing so much music in the last few years, Esfandi said: "It was a lot of self and inner work and discovery and expression. It broke through a bunch of barriers of fear, anxiety, and insecurity and eradicated all that."
He has had a few impressive film roles
Inarguably, finding himself in a project of the magnitude that is "Ahsoka" is certain to help Esfandi land himself some higher profile projects in the near future. But despite being relatively new to the acting game, he has already built himself a solid filmography, and a look at his credits indicates an upward trajectory.
The actor's credits only reach back to 2017, when he starred in an assortment of short films, including "FU Glory Days," "Death by Script," and "Mother of the Golds." By 2018, Esfandi had connected with veteran director Robert Rodriguez, a noted contributor to "Star Wars" projects like "The Mandalorian" and "The Book of Boba Fett." Esfandi was placed in the lead role of Rodriguez's low-budget short "Red 11," which had a world premiere at the 2019 SXSW Film Festival.
The actor subsequently made his silver screen debut in "King Richard" before taking a more substantial role in the full-length feature "The Inspection," taking on a deeply personal role involving a Muslim-American recruited into the Marines during the height of post-9/11 Islamophobia. Aside from "Ahsoka," it is uncertain what is in Esfandi's future.
He does not want to be cast based on ethnicity
As impressive as Eman Esfandi's rise through the Hollywood ranks looks, the actor has faced adversity when it comes to the type of roles he gets calls for. Living in Los Angeles and pursuing an acting career since 2018, Esfandi notes that he has had many auditions. Unfortunately, the actor has found that he generally gets the most calls for stereotypical — and frequently somewhat racist — roles that seem to be stuck on his Iranian family heritage.
"I'm not going to audition for something that's offensive. I'm not perfect for [a role] because I'm brown. I'm not perfect for that because I can play this side character," Esfandi said in 2022 while speaking with The Daily Texan. "I'm perfect for real characters because I'm a real person."
The actor was quick to note that his role in the 2022 drama "The Inspection" was a good example of his preferred work, as he was able to represent not just his Persian background, but also his Ecuadorian heritage. Meanwhile, the character allowed him to explore and confront much of the racism that he endured during his childhood.
He believes he manifested his fast career
It is difficult for even Eman Esfandi to ignore his rise as an actor, having snagged the part of a fan-favorite character in one of the world's most famous entertainment franchises. However, it does not come as a surprise to the young thespian. He credits the power of manifestation as a significant reason for his success. A huge influence on his music, the power of belief has assisted Esfandi in making his dreams a reality.
"I'm rapping from a place in the future that I'm adopting the feeling of and calling that into my life," explained Esfandi in his interview with Laredo Morning Times. "I dropped 'A DragonWulf Summer,' and it's very flex rap and extravagant. I'm flexing. And that's when I booked 'Star Wars.' It doesn't get more obvious that these concepts work."
Continuing with the thought, he added: "I know how the universe works on a spiritual level, and I know I can get a hold of it on a physical, tangible level ... if anything, at the end of this whole thing, I'll be living proof and these songs will be my retrospect."
He beat out another Disney actor for his Star Wars role
It is no secret that the "Star Wars" fandom can be quite finicky when new characters (or iterations thereof) enter the franchise. From the Ewoks to Jar-Jar, The Mods to The Hutts, and almost any feature film beyond the original trilogy, there's plenty of evidence that "Star Wars" fans can be difficult to please. Fans seem to be embracing Esfandi as the choice for beloved "Rebels" hero Ezra Bridger, however. Which makes it all the more surprising that Esfandi had some close competition.
Many actors expressed interest, but one of the leading names rumored for the live-action representation of Bridger was "Aladdin" actor Mena Massoud. The actor even quoted the "Star Wars" character in a social media post back in 2021, adding to fan speculation that he was close to nabbing the part. Linked so closely to the character, Massoud inevitably had to address the casting choice when it was announced that Esfandi won the part. In a now-deleted post (via The Direct) on social media platform X (formerly Twitter) Massoud said, "Glad the rumors will stop now. Never really had a fair shot at it, unfortunately (one self-tape months ago) but just wasn't meant for me, I guess. Can't deny the dude looks exactly like Ezra."
Regardless, Esfandi seems to be flourishing in the role, even leading to rumors that Ezra Bridger may get his own Disney+ series in the near future.