Comedian and former Great Neck resident Dan Ahdoot said he is happy to be starring in “Bajillion Dollar Propertie$,” an NBC comedy set to debut March 17.
But, Ahdoot said, he wanted to give a more accurate portrayal of his Persian heritage than mainstream television’s depictions.
“I’ve played a lot of stereotypical Middle-Eastern roles on television and I think Persians aren’t portrayed in the best light on shows like ‘Shahs of Sunset,’” Ahdoot said. “I’m hoping this is a show that can bring pride to Great Neck and the community for just doing great comedy without being at the expense of my culture.”
Adhoot was born and raised in Great Neck Estates, where he said his family were among “the ground-breaking Persians” — the first Iranian families to arrive on the peninsula.
After attending Saddle Rock Elementary School, Ahdoot went to Great Neck South Middle School and then Great Neck South High School. He said his comedy career was kick-started in his freshman year when the school’s theater director, Alan Lehrman, started an improvisational theater, or improv, troupe during his freshmen year.
“It was kind of exactly what the doctor ordered for a socially awkward loser,” Ahdoot said. “I really found my home there and I found my voice.”
After graduating from Great Neck South High, he studied pre-med at Johns Hopkins University.
But rather than continue his studies in medical school, Ahdoot ventured into the entertainment world, seeking success in comedy and acting.
He found his feet, opening up for several notable comedians such as Lewis Black and Jay Mohr and being featured on various Comedy Central, Disney Channel and Adult Swim programs.
Ahdoot said of all his efforts, his most memorable moment was performing on NBC’s The Tonight Show.
“That was both the scariest and most enjoyable four minutes of my life,” he said. “I’ll compare it with the scariest, most exciting one minute of my life, which is when I lost my virginity.”
On “Bajillion Dollar Propertie$,” a semi-scripted reality show spoof about real estate in Los Angeles, Ahdoot plays Amir Yaghoob, a first-generation Iranian-American real estate agent.
“He’s a very insecure person who hides his insecurities under gold Rolexes and cologne,” he said. “Literally, like any Persian Jew.”
Although the role did not call for him to play a Persian man, Ahdoot said, he still auditioned as one.
“I said ‘you need to have a shady Persian broker,’” he said. “It was an impression of all my shady cousins all at once and it worked.”
Ahdoot called playing in “Bajillion Dollar Propertie$” a “dream job.”
“These are some of the most talented people I’ve ever worked with,” he said. “The whole show is improvised in scripted scenarios and it’s literally the funniest thing I’ve ever been a part of and one of the funniest things I’ve ever watched.”
The show is debuting March 17 on NBC’s new streaming service Seeso, which Ahdoot called “NBC’s version of Hulu.”
While work has forced him to move to Los Angeles, he said, he always tries to come back to his hometown of Great Neck.
Ahdoot said he recently performed stand-up at the North Shore Hebrew Academy.
“It was bizarre because there was a bunch of people I went to high school with and they all had three kids already,” he said. “I’m like ‘yeah, I just got a new couch, so that’s new in my life.’”
