Ace Mahbaz

Ace Mahbaz
Mahbaz, 2014
Born (1986-06-25) 25 June 1986 (age 40)
Tehran, Iran
OccupationsActor, writer, filmmaker

Ace Mahbaz (born 25 June 1986) is a Deaf actor, writer and filmmaker. Born in Tehran and raised in Europe, he is well known as an artist in the Deaf community across Europe, with a long career in theatre performed in several sign languages. More recently he has become known as a screen actor, appearing in the BBC One drama Reunion (2025), and as a filmmaker. He divides his time between London and Berlin, and is fluent in six sign languages.

Career

As a teenager, Ace Mahbaz discovered his passion for performing on stage, which led him to create and perform plays in several European countries during time spent in Germany, Italy and France. He became known for his skill in Visual Vernacular (VV), a visual form of storytelling rooted in Deaf culture that uses the body, facial expression, rhythm and perspective to build a narrative without spoken language. He has used VV to tell stories that are both emotionally powerful and visually striking.

Ace Mahbaz performing Visual Vernacular, 2016

He has since appeared as an actor and performer in various sign languages, including DGS, BSL, LIS, Svenska TS and LSF, at festivals such as Clin d'œil[1] in Reims, France. Ace has won first place in the poetry slam competition (BÄÄM! Der Deaf Slam[2] and Poetry Slam vs. Gebärden Slam) in Berlin twice. He has also acted in various short films and played the roles of Oberon and Theseus in a production of A Midsummer Night's Dream at Shakespeare's Globe.

Screen work

Mahbaz started out in various short films, and has also worked as a sign language and Deaf consultant on film and theatre projects about Deaf people, and on visual work aimed at wider audiences. He later moved into leading mainstream screen roles.

In 2024 Mahbaz was cast in the BBC One series Reunion, a four-part British Sign Language thriller written by William Mager and produced by Warp Films for BBC One and BBC iPlayer.[3] He played Ray Mokhtar; the series was broadcast in April 2025 and is one of the first mainstream dramas to be led by a predominantly Deaf cast and to use sign language throughout.

He is also part of the all-Deaf lead cast of Retreat, a British thriller written and directed by Ted Evans, which premiered at the 2025 Toronto International Film Festival.[4]

Filmmaking

He is a co-creator and actor in the sitcom Small World, and has worked on the television programme Sehen statt Hören, a long-running German television magazine programme for Deaf and hard-of-hearing viewers broadcast by Bayerischer Rundfunk, contributing as a writer, director and presenter.

Mahbaz's debut short film as writer and director, A Familiar Stranger (2025), screened at international film festivals, including the London Short Film Festival[5] and Encounters in Bristol.[6]

Theatre

Filmography

Film
Year Title Type Role Notes
2025 Retreat Film Actor All-Deaf lead cast; premiered at the 2025 Toronto International Film Festival. Variety
2025 Reunion TV series Ray Mokhtar Four-part BSL thriller for BBC One / BBC iPlayer.
2021 One Letter Shortfilm Actor Nominated for The British Short Film Awards 2022
2016 Small World TV series Writer, actor World's first sitcom series in sign language, performed entirely in British Sign Language (BSL). IMDb
2015 Love Is Blind Shortfilm Actor Nominated for Best Short Film at Cannes Film Festival 2015. IMDb
2014 Battle Lines Shortfilm Actor IMDb
2011 Red little Riding Hood Shortfilm Actor IMDb
  1. ^ "Home". Clin d'Oeil.
  2. ^ "Das WIR gewinnt". www.aktion-mensch.de. Retrieved 2014-09-05.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: deprecated archival service (link)
  3. ^ Yossman, K.J. (May 15, 2024). "'Bad Sisters' Star Anne-Marie Duff Joins Matthew Gurney in BBC Thriller 'Reunion'". Variety. Retrieved 16 May 2024.
  4. ^ Ritman, Alex (October 29, 2024). "Ted Evans Sets All-Deaf Lead Cast for 'Retreat,' XYZ Launching Groundbreaking Thriller". Variety. Retrieved 9 August 2026.
  5. ^ "My Eye Is My Ear". Rich Mix. Retrieved 9 August 2026.
  6. ^ "A Familiar Stranger". Encounters Film Festival. Retrieved 9 August 2026.
  7. ^ "Deafinitely Theatre | A Midsummer Night's Dream". Archived from the original on 2015-09-23. Retrieved 2014-09-03.
  8. ^ "Deafinitely Theatre | 4Play 2013". Archived from the original on 2015-09-23. Retrieved 2014-09-03.
  9. ^ "Compagnie ON OFF". www.cie-onoff.com.

reflist (authorship)

References

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