Eric Etebari (born December 5, 1969) is an American actor. He appeared in Witchblade, 2 Fast 2 Furious and The Lincoln Lawyer. He is also known for his physical portrayal of Dallas in Payday: The Web Series and the video game PAYDAY 2; the latter portrayal is voiced by Simon Kerr.
Raised by his mother, photo artist Jean Ferro in Hollywood, in an artist community, Etebari's first taste of acting came in seventh grade from the Francis Ford Coppola Magnet school program at Bankcroft Jr. High School. He spent the ensuing years at Santa Monica High School where he excelled in sports; playing football, baseball and basketball. He subsequently landed a volleyball scholarship to San Diego State University. While at the SDSU, he was awarded the Commendation of Honor by the San Diego Fire Department for his valor in saving two women from a burning apartment.
After college, he had the opportunity to work with Bruce Weber, which launched his modeling career and also landed a Versace advertising campaign. This ad campaign afforded Etebari the opportunity to also work with Richard Avedon. While in Europe, he worked with Karl Lagerfeld and Robert Fleischauer; he also worked on his own cologne campaign, “Zino” Cologne for Men by Davidoff. Additionally, he has appeared in a successful series of commercials with Director Michael Bay, including the “Bongo Jean” commercial with Liv Tyler. After attending intense acting workshops for several years, he did several guest spots and independent films before being cast to play Ian Nottingham in the Warner Brothers/TNT movie of the week, Witchblade, which led to two seasons as a series regular.
In 2003, Etebari appeared in 2 Fast 2 Furious, racing the classic 1970 Dodge Challenger. He next had a role in the September 2004 release of Cellular, directed by David R. Ellis.
2000 Witchblade (TV film) as Ian Nottingham
2001-2002 Witchblade (TV series) as Ian Nottingham
2002 The Honorable as Junior Lopez
2003 2 Fast 2 Furious (2003) as U.S. Customs Agent Darden
2004 Cellular as Detective Dmitri
2011 The Lincoln Lawyer as Charles Talbot
2012 Stand Up Guys as Billy, The Bartender
2013 Payday: The Web Series as Nathan Steele / Dallas
2014 Walk of Shame as Denise's bad date guy
2020 Stoker Hills as Detective Adams
1993 Zino by Davidoff - commercial circa
1996 Silk Stalkings episode: "Partners in Crime"(episode # 6.9) as Jeff Turner
1997 413 Hope St. episode: "Redemption" (episode # 1.4) as Unknown
1998 Acapulco H.E.A.T. episode: "Code Name: Mr. Paradise" (episode # 1.7) as Unknown