KIAN ZARKECHVARI, Actor / Mentor/ Author

KIAN ZARKECHVARI

" I always say—look, I’m a nobody. I’m not telling you this from a pedestal. I’m telling you because I’ve been through the worst, and I just don’t want anyone else to feel alone.”

When Kian Zarkechvari speaks, it’s with a magnetic humility—he is candid about hardship, but also about all the choices we have in front of us to live full and meaningful lives. His career story began with the infantry, and weaves through bank boardrooms, a neonatal ICU, and the worlds of publishing, film sets, and hospital telethons. It reads like fiction. But it's very real. “I’ve worn a lot of hats,” Kian says. “But there’s one thread that connects them all—resilience, and a commitment to helping others.”

Just as the world shut down for the pandemic in 2020, Kian and his wife welcomed their triplets to the world, two months premature. Kian wasn’t even allowed in the room. “I got a call from the doctor telling him me my son had died. I raced to the hospital and there were about 12 people doing CPR, blue lights flashing,” says Kian. “He survived—but I’ll never forget that moment. Everything I cared about was right there. Nothing else mattered.”

It was this raw experience that sparked Kian’s desire to help others living similar experiences. He and his wife were chosen as the featured family for a local hospital telethon where, during a year of lockdowns and PPE shortages, they helped raise nearly $7M for needed equipment.

Today, Kian balances the demands of a growing screen career with fatherhood, and his deeply personal mission: advocating for men’s mental health. Out of the ICU experience came Kian’s book, IVF Fathers in Waiting, about men facing the challenges of the IVF process, as well as the mental health challenges of being a father. “It’s not a book you read front to back,” he says. “Each chapter is standalone, but the true message is that ‘it’s okay to not be okay.’” Chapters cover exercises to reduce stress, journaling prompts for overwhelmed fathers, and practical advice for men who are navigating complicated emotional terrain, but don’t know where to start.

“Men need a space to talk, to feel, and to process. Not enough people are saying that,” he says. Kian is quick to acknowledge the stigma surrounding men’s mental health, especially when it intersects with infertility, fatherhood or financial strain.

“There’s this old-school idea of stoicism,” he explains. “Like, the man is the stone on the beach, and he’s supposed to let the waves hit him but never move him,” he says. “I always say, ‘If you’re feeling like you're losing it in front of your wife, you’re not alone.’ And if the first step is picking up a book written by another guy who was there, then that’s a start.”

One hundred percent of book sales proceeds go to a local children’s hospital, but the real reward has come in emails from fathers—and often, their partners—who found a message that resonated. “Actually, I've cried so many times,” he says. “There have been lots of thank yous, but it’s also been a lot of shared stories, and some are good and some are really bad. People are dealing with things that are so hard.”

Before his acting career, Kian climbed the ranks of Canada’s financial industry, becoming an Assistant Branch Manager with TD Wealth, overseeing operations in Nova Scotia and Newfoundland and assisting financial managers and the branch manager in strategic decision making. “I loved the job,” he reflects. “Especially mentoring advisors and helping them to prepare clients for retirement, build estates, and care for their kids. There’s a misconception that advisors are just chasing money, but I always pushed for integrity first.”

During his time at the bank, Kian took on smaller acting roles in commercials, including for Tim Hortons. But in 2023, he landed a role in “Washington Black,” his first major TV series. Since then, he’s appeared in “Sullivan’s Crossing,” a commercial for the Paris Olympics, and has a growing list of credits on his IMDb page. “I officially made the leap and left the bank in February 2024,” he says.

The actor, father of four, advocate and author says his choices are about clarity. “I lived the military ethos for a time—one goal, one person, one uniform—it’s a single mission and linear, and it gives you discipline,” he says. “But I realized when I left, and I had this family and these beautiful babies looking up to me and a 10 year old daughter and a wife, and I was like, ‘what do I do?’ It made me realize, I can’t help others until I help myself. If I'm miserable, people will know, my wife will know, my friends will know.” Now, Kian flies back and forth to Toronto, working with an agent, auditioning, memorizing lines for hours. “It’s stressful, it’s intense—but I love it,” he says.

“I ask myself this one question a lot: ‘If I don’t do this, will I regret it?’ If the answer is yes, then I do it because regret is brutal. You don’t know if tomorrow’s coming.”

It’s this principle that drives his entrepreneurial spirit, too. Kian continues to manage a real estate business and is planning his second book, likely centered on what modern fatherhood looks like. “The first book unlocked the left side of my brain,” he says. “Once I started journaling and reflecting creatively, I thought—maybe there’s more here.” For the second book, he admits he has been facing some writer’s block. “But I feel like there's another story in me—something broader about mental health and about being a man in today’s world, trying to keep it all together.”

He admits fatherhood has humbled him. “Now, I focus on what actually makes me better, more present, and more fulfilled. That’s what I want to give my family. That’s what I want to give readers.”

Kian continues to raise money and awareness for a local children’s hospital, regularly donating auction items, hosting campaigns, and leveraging his growing network—celebrities like Carey Price, Atiba Hutchinson, and Gavin Rosedale of Bush have supported his efforts.

“I’ve learned you don’t need millions to make a difference,” he says. “You just need a story that people connect with. You need to show up. And you need to keep showing up.”

When asked how he raised millions or found the confidence to become an actor after a career in finance, Kian doesn’t speak like a traditional motivator. He speaks from a place of vulnerability. “I always say—look, I’m a nobody. I’m not telling you this from a pedestal. I’m telling you because I’ve been through the worst, and I just don’t want anyone else to feel alone.” On the motivation front, Kian says, if you love something—whether it’s acting, painting, writing, fatherhood—do it. “Find time for it. That’s where the healing is. That’s where the joy begins.”

Carmen Morgan is a skilled business writer and storyteller, collaborating with business owners and executives to tell their stories and share perspectives on growth and success, as well as perseverance and adversity. Over two decades she has refined her interview, writing and editing skills to capture the nuggets and captivating details that engage readers and make a story memorable.