Michael Niavarani is an Austrian

Austria

Austria , officially the Republic of Austria , is a landlocked country of roughly 8.4 million people in Central Europe. It is bordered by the Czech Republic and Germany to the north, Slovakia and Hungary to the east, Slovenia and Italy to the south, and Switzerland and Liechtenstein to the...

-Persian

Persian people

The Persian people are part of the Iranian peoples who speak the modern Persian language and closely akin Iranian dialects and languages. The origin of the ethnic Iranian/Persian peoples are traced to the Ancient Iranian peoples, who were part of the ancient Indo-Iranians and themselves part of...

 stand-up comedian in the tradition of Austrian cabaret

Kabarett

Kabarett is a form of cabaret which developed in Germany from 1901, with the creation of the Überbrettl venue, and that by the Weimar era in the mid 1920s was characterized by political satire and gallows humor...

, an author and a TV and movie actor. Niavarani, whose comedic work often draws on his inter-cultural upbringing, is a central figure of the Austrian cabaret

Kabarett

Kabarett is a form of cabaret which developed in Germany from 1901, with the creation of the Überbrettl venue, and that by the Weimar era in the mid 1920s was characterized by political satire and gallows humor...

 scene. Since 1992, he has been director of the Kabarett Simpl, a famous Viennese cabaret that opened its doors in 1912. In 2010, Niavarani won the Austrian Kabarett Award.
He is also a three times winner of the Romy award

Romy (TV award)

The Romy TV award in honor of the actress Romy Schneider was created in 1990 by the Austrian newspaper Kurier – or rather their movie reviewer Rudolf John, who also designed the 30.5 cm gilded trophy. It recalls a scene from the movie The Swimmingpool with Alain Delon, when Romy Schneider...

.