Adrian Kayvan Pasdar was born on April 30, 1965 in Pittsfield, Massachusetts. He is an American actor and film director.

At the age of 19, he auditioned for a role in Top Gun (1986). Director Tony Scott was so impressed that he wrote the part of "Chipper" just for him. This led to bigger roles in Solarbabies (1986), Streets of Gold (1986), and Kathryn Bigelow's 1987 cult vampire movie Near Dark (1987), with Adrian in the lead role of Caleb Colton.

Other major roles include Vital Signs (1990). He worked as a cashier for room and board, while taking the occasional small part, such as Frankie in 'Brian De Palma''s Carlito's Way (1993). Another major break came in 1995, when Adrian was cast as the title character on the short-lived Fox series Profit (1996).

He continues to act in supporting roles and has now added directing to his already impressive body of work. He wrote and directed the short film Beyond Belief and also directed a feature film Cement (1999).

In 2006, he had a high-profile guest role as Gabrielle Solis's sleazy lawyer in Desperate Housewives. He currently stars in the NBC superhero drama Heroes as Nathan Petrelli.

Pasdar married lead singer Natalie Maines of the Dixie Chicks in June 2000.

Filmography

• "Heroes" (22 episodes, 2006-2007)
• "Desperate Housewives" (3 episodes, 2005)
• "Judging Amy" (31 episodes, 2003-2005)
• Secondhand Lions (2003)
• "The Twilight Zone" (1 episode, 2002)
• Crossing the Line (2002)
• "Mysterious Ways" (43 episodes, 2000-2002)
• The Big Day (2001)
• Desert Son (1999)
• Mutiny (1999)
• "Touched by an Angel" (2 episodes, 1998)
• "The Outer Limits" (1 episode, 1998)
• The Perfect Getaway (1998)
• "Profit" (8 episodes, 1996-1997)
• House of Frankenstein (1997)
• Love in Another Town (1997)
• A Brother's Kiss (1997)
• Wounded (1997)
• "Feds" (1997)
• Touched by Evil (1997)
• Ties to Rachel (1997)
• Blood Trail (1997)
• The Pompatus of Love (1996)
• Slave of Dreams (1995)
• A Mother's Gift (1995)
• "Great Performances" (1 episode, 1994)
• Shadows of Desire (1994)
• The Last Good Time (1994)
• Carlito's Way (1993)
• The Killing Box (1993)
• Just Like a Woman (1992)
• Grand Isle (1991)
• Shang Hai yi jiu er ling (1991)
• The Lost Capone (1990)
• Torn Apart (1990)
• Vital Signs (1990)
• Cookie (1989)
• Big Time (1989)
• Near Dark (1987)
• Made in USA (1987)
• Solarbabies (1986)
• Streets of Gold (1986)
• Top Gun (1986)