John Sharian attended the Taft School in Watertown, Connecticut and later Kenyon College in Gambier, Ohio, which he left in 1984.
[citation needed] Sharian graduated from the Bristol Old Vic Theatre School in 1991 and began television acting shortly thereafter, appearing in the British sci-fi comedy series Red Dwarf in 1992.
[citation needed] Sharian's film career began in 1994 with his role as one of the leads in Death Machine.
He also appeared in The Fifth Element (1997), Saving Private Ryan (1998) and The Machinist (2004).
Sharian is a member of Armenian Dramatic Arts Alliance.