Iranian actor Homayoun Ershadi, from The Kite Runner, Taste of Cherry, dies at 78

Homayoun Ershadi, the Iranian architect-turned-actor, has died at the age of 78. He was best known internationally for his role in the Afghanistan-set film (2007), an adaptation of the acclaimed novel.

Iran’s state news agency IRNA reported that the actor had died on November 11 after a battle with cancer. Ershadi famously landed his first major screen role in the 1997 Cannes Palme d’Or - winning drama, following a chance meeting with the director when he stopped at a red light in Tehran.

The veteran loved to recount how he heard someone tapping on his window and, when he rolled it down, a man introduced himself and said: 'I want to make a film. Would you like to be in it?'

Born in Isfahan on March 26, 1947, Ershadi was nearing his 50s when this chance encounter occurred. He had recen