Tala Ashe

Tala Ashe
Ashe in 2022
Born
Talayeh Ashrafi

Tehran, Iran
EducationBoston University (BFA)
OccupationActress
Years active2008–present
SpouseRaffi Barsoumian
Websitewww.instagram.com/talaashe/?hl=en
Signature

Talayeh Ashrafi (Persian: طلایه اشرفی;[1]), known professionally as Tala Ashe, is an Iranian-American actress. Known for her roles on the television series Smash, American Odyssey, and As the World Turns, as well as her regular role as Zari Tomaz and Zari Tarazi on The CW superhero series Legends of Tomorrow.

Ashe acted in severals musical and play productions, including Broadway's original production of The Who & the What and English, for which she received nominations at the Tony Award for Best Featured Actress in a Play and at the Drama League Award for Distinguished Performance.

Early life and education

Ashe was born in Tehran, Iran.[2] She immigrated to the United States when she was nine months old.[3] Ashe grew up in Powell, Ohio, just outside of the state capital Columbus.[4][5] She participated in her high school theatre productions as both an actress and director.[4]

Ashe received a BFA from Boston University's School of Theatre.[6] She also trained at the London Academy of Music and Dramatic Art and the Upright Citizens Brigade Theatre in New York City.[7][8]

Career

Ashe has performed in numerous regional and Off-Broadway stage productions.[4] Ashe's first screen credit is for her role as Nadia in the 2008 film Waiting in Beijing.[9] She was credited as Tala Ashrafi, but is credited as Tala Ashe in all subsequent roles. She has made guest appearances on the series Law & Order, Law & Order: Criminal Intent, 30 Rock, and Covert Affairs.[2][4][10] Ashe has also had recurring roles on Smash and American Odyssey.[11] She was also a cast member on As the World Turns.[9]

In 2017, Ashe joined the main cast of Legends of Tomorrow as Zari Tomaz.[12][11] She took the lead for a bottle episode titled "Here I Go Again" and drew praise from critics and fans alike for her performance.[13][14][15][16]

In 2022 Ashe was cast for the lead role of Elham on Off-Broadway debout musical English at the Linda Gross Theatre.[17] After playing the role in a number of theatres in the US, the musical debuted on Broadway at the Roundabout Theatre Company's Todd Haimes Theatre in January 2025.[18] He performance gave her a Tony Award nomination for Best Featured Actress in a Play and a Drama League Award for Distinguished Performance.

Personal life

Ashe is Iranian-American and holds dual citizenship.[2][10] Her name, Talayeh, means "pioneer" in Persian and comes from the Shahnameh.[1] In addition to English, she speaks fluent Persian. Along with her fellow Arrowverse actresses, Ashe is a founding member of Shethority, a project aimed at inspiring and uplifting women (inclusively defined).[19][20]

Filmography

Television and film roles
Year Title Role Notes
2008 Waiting in Beijing Nadia Film; credited as Tala Ashrafi
2008 Law & Order Madison Episode: "Angelgrove"
2008 As the World Turns Ameera Ali Aziz Recurring role, 26 episodes
2011 Law & Order: Criminal Intent Rebecca Landon Episode: "Boots on the Ground"
2012 Smash R.J. Quigley Recurring role (season 1), 6 episodes
2015 American Odyssey Anna Stone Recurring role, 7 episodes
2017–2022 Legends of Tomorrow Zari Tomaz and Zari Tarazi Main role (season 3–7), 74 episodes
2024 The Girls on the Bus Althea Abdi Recurring role
2025 Adults Hilary Episode: "Roast Chicken."

Stage

In addition to the following, Ashe has also performed in productions of Love's Labour's Lost (as Tala Ashrafi; Huntington Theatre Company), Age of Innocence (New York Arena), Autophagy (Drama League Director's Project), Twelfth Night (Actors' Shakespeare Project), and Pearls from Salt (Olney Theatre), among others.[7][6][21][8][22]

Broadway productions

Year Title Role Notes Ref.
2014 The Who & the What Mahwish Claire Tow Theater [23][24]
2025 English Elham Roundabout Theatre Company [25]

Off-Broadway productions

Year Title Role Notes Ref.
2011 Urge for Going Jamila The Public Theater [26][27]
2016 Troilus and Cressida Helen, Andromache Delacorte Theater [28][29][30]
2017 The Profane Emina Playwrights Horizons [31][32]
2020; 2022 The Vagrant Trilogy Abir The Public Theater [33]
2023 Lunch Bunch Cast performer The Play Company Theater
2024 Breaking the Story Nikki Tony Kiser Theater [34]

Other productions

Year Title Role Notes Ref.
2009 Aftermath Naimah Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum, New York City [6][35]
2010 Welcome to Arroyo's Lelly Santiago Old Globe Theatre, San Diego, California [36][6]
2011 Again and Against Dahlia LAByrinth Summer Intensive, New York [6][7][37]
2012 Troilus and Cressida Cressida, Cassandra Oregon Shakespeare Festival, Ashland, Oregon [38][39]
2015 Head over Heels Philoclea Oregon Shakespeare Festival, Ashland, Oregon [40][10]
The Happiest Song Plays Last Shar Oregon Shakespeare Festival, Ashland, Oregon [41][42]

Awards and nominations

Award Year Category Nominee Result Ref.
Drama Desk Award 2023 Outstanding Actress in a Play English Nominated
Drama League Awards 2025 Outstanding Distinguished Performance English Nominated [43]
Obie Awards 2022 Special Citation English Won
Tony Awards 2025 Best Performance by an Actress in a Featured Role in a Play English Nominated [44]

References

  1. ^ a b Ashe, Tala [@talaashe] (October 17, 2020). "#MyNameIs Talayeh. It means 'pioneer' in Persian & comes from the Shahnameh. I have felt my share of Othering & racism by people like @sendavidperdue. I will be voting for @JoeBiden & @KamalaHarris because I know we are a nation of immigrants & I am proud to be one" (Tweet). Retrieved June 9, 2025 – via Twitter.
  2. ^ a b c Malek, Parastoo (June 8, 2017). "Iranian-American Tala Ashe Will Be Starring In 'DC's Legends of Tomorrow'". The Iranian.
  3. ^ Video on YouTube
  4. ^ a b c d Grossberg, Michael (April 23, 2012). "Ohio actress a reporter on 'Smash'". The Columbus Dispatch. Retrieved May 10, 2022.
  5. ^ de Souza, Alison (October 13, 2017). "Legends of Tomorrow's new hero is female and Muslim". The Straits Times.
  6. ^ a b c d e "Ensemble Member, Tala Ashe at The Public..." Barefoot Theatre. March 27, 2011.
  7. ^ a b c "Tala Ashe". Oregon Shakespeare Festival.
  8. ^ a b "Tala Ashe". Lincoln Center Theater.
  9. ^ a b Berman, Nat (November 23, 2017). "Five Things You Didn't Know about Tala Ashe". TVOvermind.
  10. ^ a b c Wagmeister, Elizabeth (June 6, 2016). "'DC's Legends of Tomorrow' Adds Muslim-American Superhero for Season 3". Variety.
  11. ^ a b Pedersen, Erik (June 6, 2017). "Tala Ashe Joins 'DC's Legends of Tomorrow' As Muslim-American Hacktivist-Superhero". Deadline Hollywood.
  12. ^ Abrams, Natalie (October 23, 2017). "Legends of Tomorrow's Tala Ashe previews new addition to team". Entertainment Weekly.
  13. ^ Agard, Chancellor (February 23, 2018). "Superhero Insider: Tala Ashe shines in Legends of Tomorrow time loop episode". Entertainment Weekly.
  14. ^ Sava, Oliver (February 19, 2018). "Legends of Tomorrow channels "Hedgehog Day" for an excellent time loop story". The A.V. Club.
  15. ^ Hicks, Aimee (March 11, 2018). "Performers of the Month – February Voting *Results*". SpoilerTV.
  16. ^ Hicks, Aimee (March 31, 2018). "Performers of the Month – Reader's Choice Performer of February – Tala Ashe". SpoilerTV.
  17. ^ Evans, Greg (November 26, 2024). "Broadway Production Of Sanaz Toossi's 'English' To Feature Acclaimed Original Off Broadway Cast". Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved May 6, 2025.
  18. ^ Nordstrom, Leigh (March 14, 2025). "Tala Ashe Reflects on Broadway's 'English' and Its Impact". Women's Wear Daily. Retrieved May 5, 2025.
  19. ^ Drum, Nicole (November 18, 2017). "Arrowverse Actresses Launch "Shethority" Charity Campaign". ComicBook. Retrieved May 10, 2022.
  20. ^ "What Is Shethority?". Shethority.com.
  21. ^ Millward, Tom (March 27, 2014). "Full Casting for Ayad Akhtar's 'The Who and The What'". New York Theatre Guide.
  22. ^ "Pulitzer Prize Winner Ayad Akhtar's The Who & The What to Have New York Premiere at LCT". Broadway.com. March 26, 2014.
  23. ^ Stewart, Zachary (June 16, 2014). "The Who & the What". TheaterMania.
  24. ^ Isherwood, Charles (June 16, 2014). "The Shadow of the Patriarch". The New York Times.
  25. ^ Tran, Diep (January 7, 2025). "'We Should Be Here': Sanaz Toossi on Bringing English, With Its Middle Eastern Cast, to Broadway". Playbill.
  26. ^ Propst, Andy (April 10, 2011). "Urge for Going". TheaterMania.
  27. ^ Hetrick, Adam (April 10, 2011). "Mona Mansour's Urge for Going Opens Off-Broadway April 10". Playbill.
  28. ^ Stewart, Zachary (August 9, 2016). "Troilus and Cressida". TheaterMania.
  29. ^ BWW News Desk (July 21, 2016). "Photo Flash: First Look at Troilus and Cressida at Shakespeare in the Park". BroadwayWorld.
  30. ^ "Troilus and Cressida". PublicTheatre.org. Archived from the original on April 1, 2018. Retrieved April 1, 2018.
  31. ^ Zednick, Jason (February 15, 2017). "Zayd Dohrn, Kip Fagan, Tala Ashe, and Cast of The Profane Meet the Press". TheaterMania.
  32. ^ Collins-Hughes, Laura (April 10, 2017). "Review: Zayd Dohrn Plumbs Muslim-American Rifts in 'The Profane'". The New York Times. Retrieved May 10, 2022.
  33. ^ Putnam, Leah (March 31, 2022). "The Public Extends Long-Awaited The Vagrant Trilogy by Mona Mansour". Playbill. Archived from the original on December 7, 2024. Retrieved June 9, 2025.
  34. ^ Hall, Margaret (January 22, 2025). "Tala Ashe, Geneva Carr, Julie Halston, Louis Ozawa, More to Star in Breaking the Story Off-Broadway". Playbill. Archived from the original on January 22, 2025. Retrieved May 6, 2025.
  35. ^ New York Theatre Workshop, Aftermath, a Sneak Preview (DVD video). Works and Process at the Guggenheim. 2009. OCLC 427393956.
  36. ^ "Old Globe Theatre – Welcome to Arroyo's: Press Highlights / Reviews" (PDF). Press Archive. Old Globe Theatre. October 2010.
  37. ^ Shamieh, Betty (2011). "Plays: Again and Against". BettyShamieh.com.
  38. ^ Kent, Roberta (April 4, 2012). "Troilus and Cressida". Ashland Daily Tidings. Archived from the original on April 1, 2018. Retrieved April 1, 2018.
  39. ^ Crowder, Marcus (July 15, 2012). "Theater reviews: OSF's 'Troilus and Cressida,' 'Henry V', 'Very Merry Wives,' 'Party People,' 'As You Like It'". The Sacramento Bee. Archived from the original on July 29, 2012.
  40. ^ Kent, Roberta (June 15, 2015). "Party atmosphere sets a Go-Go's pace for 'Head Over Heels'". Ashland Daily Tidings. Archived from the original on April 1, 2018. Retrieved April 1, 2018.
  41. ^ Varble, Bill (July 11, 2015). "Review: OSF's 'The Happiest Song Plays Last' wraps Iraq vet's story". Mail Tribune. Archived from the original on April 1, 2018. Retrieved April 1, 2018.
  42. ^ "The Happiest Song Plays Last". Oregon Shakespeare Festival.
  43. ^ Culwell-Block, Logan (April 22, 2025). "2025 Drama League Awards Nominations Are Out; Read the Full List". Playbill. Retrieved April 22, 2025.
  44. ^ "2025 Tony Award Nominations". May 1, 2025. Retrieved May 1, 2025.
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