Although Poursamimi’s professional theater career began in the 1960s, his breakthrough in cinema came later, in 1986, when he starred in Captain of the Sun (Nakhoda-ye Khorshid), directed and written by Naser Taghvaei, one of Iran’s most respected filmmakers. The film, based loosely on Ernest Hemingway’s To Have and Have Not, was set in southern Iran and explored the lives of smugglers and seafarers facing poverty and moral dilemmas.
Poursamimi’s performance as a modest but dignified character stood out for its naturalism and quiet intensity. He received the Crystal Simorgh for Best Supporting Actor at the Fajr Film Festival, marking his official arrival in Iranian cinema.
The following year, he appeared in Gifts (Tuhfeha, 1987), another socially reflective film that earned him his second Crystal Simorgh. And though his performance in The Last Scene (1980) had preceded these works, it was also recognized posthumously with the same award, confirming his reputation as a master of nuanced acting.
What made Poursamimi’s cinematic acting remarkable was his refusal to overplay emotion. In a film culture often divided between melodrama and minimalism, he found a middle path — one that was humane, humorous, and deeply Iranian in tone.
