He received his theater training at the School for Dramatic Arts In Tehran, Iran, and was active as a professional actor on the Iranian National Stage.

His work has been seen at international theater festivals throughout Europe, the Middle East, and North America, and he has appeared in numerous feature films.

He is known as a premier expert on the Iranian theatre tradition, ta'ziyeh, which he has produced and directed numerous times in major international performance venues and festivals to great critical acclaim.

[1][2] From 1974-1978 he became formally associated with the Festival of Arts in Shiraz at the request of Festival Director Farrokh Ghaffari, where he conducted research on, and produced for public performance, a wide range of traditional theater forms; these included the epic drama, ta'ziyeh and the improvisatory comic theater form ru-hozi (see Persian theatre).

He later moved to New York City where he continued to work as a professional actor, most prominently at Ellen Stewart's La Mama Experimental Theatre Club.

In 2002 Ghaffari directed three ta'ziyeh plays for the Lincoln Center Festival in New York City featuring performers from traditional taziyeh troupes in Iran, to widespread critical praise.

[citation needed] In 2007 he was guest artist at The Center for World Performance Studies at The University of Michigan where he worked with students on scenes from Shakespeare's Richard III in ta'ziyeh style.

In Milla Cozart Riggio, ed., Ta'ziyeh: Ritual and Popular Beliefs in Iran: Essays Prepared for a Drama Festival and Conference held at Trinity College and Hartford Seminary April 30-May 2, 1988.