Mani Soleymanlou (born 1982) is a Canadian actor and playwright based in Montreal, Quebec.Gail Johnson, "For Mani Soleymanlou, the search for identity is back to ZÉRO". Stir, February 4, 2022. He is most noted for his regular role as police officer Robert "Coco" Bédard in the television series Happily Married (C'est comme ça que je t'aime),Norimitsu Onishi, "A Cop Called Coco, an Actor Named Mani, a Quebecer Exploring Quebec". The New York Times, December 30, 2022. and his position as the current artistic director of the French theatre program at the National Arts Centre.Brad Wheeler, "Mani Soleymanlou named new artistic director of National Arts Centre’s French Theatre". The Globe and Mail, August 18, 2020.
Born in Tehran, Iran, he moved with his family to France in childhood before they moved again to Toronto, Ontario, when he was nine. He was educated at the University of Ottawa and the National Theatre School of Canada,Peter Hum, "Mani Soleymanlou appointed next artistic director of NAC French theatre". Ottawa Citizen, August 18, 2020. and founded his own Montreal-based theatre company, Orange Noyée, in 2011. He first became known for Un/One, Deux/Two and Trois/Three, a series of plays about immigrant identity;Allan Woods, "Quebec en scene: Mani Soleymanlou and the Quebecois quest for identity". Toronto Star, September 12, 2014. initially staged individually, he later presented a version which saw all three plays performed as a continuous trilogy,Gail Johnson, "With Un.Deux.Trois, Mani Soleymanlou brings the largest production to date in the history of Franco-Canadian theatre to Vancouver". Stir, November 4, 2022. as well as the solo performance ZÉRO on related themes.
He was appointed artistic director of the NAC French theatre in 2020. In the same year he was one of the hosts of the 22nd Quebec Cinema Awards, which were presented as a webcast due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Filmography Film Year Title Role Notes 2010 Gerry Cameraman 2011 Les Photos de Marie Martin 2011 Boucherie Halal Hedi 2013 The Little Queen (La petite reine) Agent Wada 2014 Nouvelles, nouvelles Priest 2014 Take Me (Prends-moi) Mani 2015 Rabid Dogs (Enragés) Man in accident 2015 Les brigands de l'hôtel bleu Mike 2018 Malek Réza 2018 For Those Who Don't Read Me (À tous ceux qui ne me lisent pas) Martin 2019 A Brother's Love (La Femme de mon frère) Jasmin 2023 The Skates (Les Patins) Father 2024 Universal Language (Une langue universelle) Iraj Bilodeau 2024 Miss Boots (Mlle Bottine) Paul 2025 Two Women (Deux Femmes en or)
Television Year Title Role Notes 2009 Les hauts et les bas de Sophie Paquin Policeman 2010 Les Rescapés Fabrice 2015–2018 Marche à l'ombre Ahmed Fhougali 2016 Connexion en cours Mani 2016–2020 Madame Lebrun Père Fabien 2016 O''' | Dr. Nazem
| 2017 | En famille| Karim
| 2018 | Hubert et Fanny| Yaniss
| 2018 | Lâcher prise| Hakim
| 2019 | La Faille| Dave Bélanger
| 2020–2022 | Happily Married (C'est comme ça que je t'aime)| Robert « Coco » Bédard
| 2020 | Can You Hear Me? (M'entends-tu?)| Frank
| 2020 | Épidémie| Dr. Quentin Buis
| 2021 | Survivre à ses enfants| Kamyar
| 2021 | Virage| Tristan
| 2023 | Avant le crash| Patrick
| 2024 | In Memoriam'' Victor
Theatre Year Title Notes 2012 Un/One 2013 Deux/Two 2014 Trois/Three 2015 Ils étaient quatre 2015 Cinq à sept 2016 Les lettres arabes 2 2017 Huit 2017 Le Wild West Show de Gabriel Dumont 2018 Neuf (titre provisoire) 2018 Dix 2019 Zéro 2021 2042 2022 Un. Deux. Trois.
Awards Award Date of ceremony Category Work Result Canadian Screen Awards 2025 Best Supporting Performance in a Comedy Film Universal Language Nicholas Sokic, "Universal Language leads CSA 2025 film noms". Playback, March 26, 2025. Quebec Cinema Awards 2025 Best Supporting Actor Fanny Bourel, "Une langue universelle en tête des nominations du Gala Québec Cinéma". Radio Canada International, October 8, 2025.
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