The Salesman

A married actor and local school instructor, Emad is deeply invested in his craft and family. When Rana is assaulted, he becomes consumed with uncovering the truth and enacting revenge, testing the limits of his love and ethics. His public confidence as a ‘salesman’ contrasts with his private fury, driving the plot toward a moral clash between protection and punishment.

Rana is a devoted wife and actress who endures trauma from the assault and trembles at the idea of involving the police. She becomes reluctant to bathe or confront certain spaces, showing how fear reshapes her sense of safety and identity. Her vulnerability and resilience highlight the cost of violence on a relationship and personal dignity.

A fellow actor who secures the new apartment, Babak becomes a catalyst for the couple’s vulnerability by concealing crucial information about the former tenant. His ambiguous loyalty and the drama on stage hint at a complicated friendship that can both support and endanger the couple.

A man connected to Rana’s assault investigation, Emad lures him to their old apartment to uncover the truth, only to have Majid’s father-in-law intervene. His role underscores the tangled web of guilt and deception surrounding the incident.

An elderly man whose confrontation with Emad becomes a focal point of the climactic moral reckoning. He denies direct involvement in the assault, suggesting he merely startled Rana, while his family’s arrival frames the heterogeneous reactions of the community.