Sepideh Moafi vividly remembers the moment she learned she had landed a pivotal role in the second season of HBO Max’s The Pitt. At the time, the 40-year-old actress was preparing to travel from New York to California for a weeklong personal-growth retreat, one that required participants to disconnect entirely from technology. The outcome of her audition was still unknown, leaving her unsure if she would need to postpone her plans or change her trajectory entirely.

“I was resigned to the fact that maybe I didn’t have the role,” Moafi tells PEOPLE. Yet, the night before her flight, at precisely 7 p.m., she received the life-changing call. “I was elated, and I frantically packed even more because I was going to be in California for not one week, but eight months.” After completing her retreat on a Saturday, she dove straight into the demanding “medical boot camp” that prepared her for the Emmy-winning series. “It was crazy, but also just perfect,” she recalls, noting how the timing, though intense, seemed serendipitous.

In The Pitt, Moafi plays Dr. Baran Al-Hashimi, a strong-willed, deeply empathetic physician who steps in during Dr. Michael “Robby” Robinavitch’s (Noah Wyle) planned three-month sabbatical. “She leads with pure intentions,” Moafi explains, “and she’s able to empathize with patients in a very personal way, while also diagnosing and seeing beyond what’s right in front of her. She can zoom out and zoom in quite beautifully—and sometimes I get stuck in the zoomed-in part.” Moafi admits that her character’s perspective, blending emotional intelligence with clinical acumen, has been both inspiring and instructive in her own approach to life and career.

Moafi’s journey to this point has been far from conventional. Her artistic ambitions began as a teenager with a fascination for opera, a passion that captivated her heart and propelled her forward despite early setbacks and skepticism from industry figures, including her first agent. “It grabbed my heart and pulled me forward,” she says. Her natural curiosity and determination allowed her to overcome discouragement, laying the foundation for the diverse career she enjoys today.

Her life story begins far from Hollywood. Moafi was born in 1985 in a German refugee camp, the result of her parents’ desperate flight from Iran following the Islamic Revolution in the early 1980s. “For any refugee family, it’s rarely a choice,” she reflects. “The circumstances were so dire that they were forced to leave.” After initially moving to Turkey and then Germany, her family eventually settled in the United States, where Moafi was raised. She credits the welcoming community for helping her family establish themselves, though she acknowledges the inherent loss of identity that often accompanies resettlement. While English became her primary language, she also speaks Farsi, maintaining a vital connection to her heritage.

Moafi’s formal artistic education began at the San Francisco Conservatory of Music, where she focused on opera. Yet she found herself increasingly drawn to acting. A teacher’s observation of her natural acting ability planted the seed for a career shift, leading Moafi to explore performance “without the responsibility of singing.” Regional Shakespeare productions became her entry point into theater, which she fondly calls her “gateway drug into theater,” and eventually she pursued an MFA at the University of California, Irvine.

After graduating in 2013, Moafi landed a guest spot on the CBS procedural hit Blue Bloods, marking the beginning of a series of television and film opportunities. “I couldn’t believe that I was living this life,” she recalls. Shortly thereafter, she secured a role on HBO’s The Deuce, appearing for three seasons. Following that, she joined the cast of Showtime’s sequel series The L Word: Generation Q in 2019. Her portrayal of Gigi allowed Moafi to explore a character with freedom and emotional depth, an experience she describes as liberating: “I loved the freedom Gigi unleashed in me.”

Moafi’s journey was not without obstacles. Early in her career, her first agent suggested she change her name to better fit industry norms. “It felt like they needed me to be someone different in order to work or to sell something,” she recalls. Yet she persisted, booking her first, second, and third roles, building a career defined by variety and resilience. Her determination to embrace her identity and cultivate her craft became a hallmark of her professional approach.

Looking forward, Moafi is set to appear in the Off-Broadway production of New Born alongside Hugh Jackman, beginning May 8. This move signals her continued commitment to live theater and the exploration of multifaceted roles across media.

Moafi’s story is a compelling narrative of persistence, adaptability, and talent nurtured through adversity. From her birth in a refugee camp to her emergence as a prominent Hollywood actress, she has navigated cultural displacement, rigorous training, and industry skepticism to reach her current status. Her portrayal of Dr. Baran Al-Hashimi in The Pitt exemplifies the blend of empathy, focus, and resilience that characterizes both her on-screen performances and her real-life journey.