Esmaili was born in Tehran, Iran, to an architect father and a teacher mother.

[1][2] Toward the end of the Iran–Iraq War, when Esmaili was two years old, his family moved to Sweden.

[3] Esmaili stated, "My parents were afraid that my older brother might eventually be drafted into the military.

"[2] The family originally planned to move to the United States, but instead settled in Skellefteå, where Esmaili would grow up.

[6] After high school, he attended the Swedish National Academy of Mime and Acting.