Who is Sepideh Moafi, Iranian actress and Dr Al-Hashimi in The Pitt season two?

As the Emmy-winning series The Pitt returns for its highly anticipated second season, its already diverse ensemble expands with the arrival of a new attending physician: Dr Baran Al-Hashimi.

Played by Iranian-American actor Sepideh Moafi, the role marks the show’s first Middle Eastern character. Al-Hashimi, like Moafi, embraces her heritage openly – speaking Farsi with colleagues in the season’s early episodes.

Joining the established series was “unbelievably overwhelming and exciting", Moafi tells The National.

Moafi, whose credits include Black Bird, The Deuce and Scavengers Reign, is also a vocal supporter of the International Rescue Committee and held a fundraiser for the humanitarian organisation alongside HBO in 2019.

The Emmy-winning series is one of the most diverse shows on American television. Photo: HBO Max

“I was born in a refugee camp in Regensburg, Germany, after my parents and sister were forced to flee the oppressive regime and war in Iran in the years following the Islamic Revolution [in 1979],” she previously told People. “After spending two years in Turkey, then Germany, where they sought political asylum, we were finally granted visas to come to the US.”

Coming into the series at this stage, Moafi says, meant stepping into an already established rhythm – and doing so at the top of the hospital hierarchy. In the show, Al-Hashimi is an attending physician at Pittsburgh Trauma Medical Centre’s emergency room, placing her on equal professional footing with the show’s lead, Dr Michael “Robby” Robinavitch, played by Noah Wyle.

The most immediate challenge, Moafi explains, was the sheer volume of medical jargon she needed to master to approach the role with confidence. “As an attending physician, you’re working at a senior level,” she says. “And I had never held a scalpel.”

While the cast undergoes an intense two-week medical boot camp, Moafi chose to immerse herself further. “The medical boot camp was invaluable,” she says. “I read as much as I could, talked to as many doctors and friends as I could, listened to as many podcasts – I just absorbed as much as I could.”

Moafi, right, is of Iranian descent. Photo: HBO Max

At the same time, she was clear about what anchored the performance. “I knew they didn’t hire me for my medical expertise,” she says. “I think the reason I was hired was because of her heart – because of who she is at her core. So I anchored into that.”

The environment on set helped ease the transition. Set over a single 15-hour period and shot in a continuous, chronological style, The Pitt demands sustained focus from its cast.

“Everybody welcomed me with open arms,” she says.