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Aziz Ansari
Ansari at the 71st Annual Peabody Awards luncheon 2012
Born	(1983-02-23) February 23, 1983 (age 29) Columbia, South Carolina, U.S.
Medium	Stand-up, television, film
Years active	2004–present
Genres	Observational comedy, improvisational comedy
Subject(s)	Everyday life, race relations, racism, self-deprecation, American culture, pop culture
Notable works and roles	Randy Springs in Funny People Various in Human Giant Tom Haverford in Parks and Recreation Host of the 2010 MTV Movie Awards Chet in 30 Minutes or Less
Website	AzizIsBored.com

Aziz Ansari (born February 23, 1983) is an Indian American actor, writer, and stand-up comedian. He stars as Tom Haverford on the NBC show Parks and Recreation.

Ansari began his career performing standup comedy in New York City during the summer of 2001 while attending New York University. In 2007, he created and starred in the critically acclaimed MTV sketch comedy show Human Giant, which ran for two seasons. This led to acting roles in feature films including Funny People, I Love You, Man, Observe and Report, and 30 Minutes or Less.

In addition to his acting work, Ansari has continued to work as a standup comedian. He released his debut CD/DVD, entitled Intimate Moments for a Sensual Evening, in January 2010 on Comedy Central Records, and still tours nationally between acting commitments. In 2010 and 2011, he performed his Dangerously Delicious tour. This tour was self released for download on his website in March of 2012 and debuted on Comedy Central in May of 2012. He is currently performing his third major tour of new material titled, Buried Alive.

Early life[link]

Aziz Ansari was born in Columbia, South Carolina to Tamil Muslim immigrants from Tamil Nadu in southern India.^[1][2][3] His mother, Fatima, works in a medical office, and his father, Shoukath, is a gastroenterologist.^[4][5] Ansari grew up in Bennettsville, South Carolina, where he attended Marlboro Academy as well as the South Carolina Governor's School for Science and Mathematics.^[6] He graduated from New York University with a major in marketing.^[1]

Ansari describes himself as an atheist.^[1]

Career[link]

Early career[link]

He frequently performed at the Upright Citizens Brigade Theatre, as well as weekly shows such as Invite Them Up. In 2005, Rolling Stone included him in their annual "Hot List" as their choice for the "Hot Standup",^[7] and he won the Jury Award for "Best Standup" at HBO's 2006 U.S. Comedy Arts Festival in Aspen, Colorado.^[8][9]

[edit] Human Giant

From left to right, Human Giant's Aziz Ansari, Rob Huebel, Jason Woliner and Paul Scheer in May 2007

Around the summer of 2005, Ansari began collaborating with fellow comedians Rob Huebel and Paul Scheer (both of the famed improv troupe Respecto Montalban), as well as director Jason Woliner to make short films. The first series created by the group was Shutterbugs, which followed Huebel and Ansari as cutthroat child talent agents. This was followed up by the Illusionators, which starred Ansari and Scheer as Criss Angel–style goth magicians. In mid-2006, MTV greenlit a sketch series from the group which debuted April 5, 2007. The critically acclaimed show completed two seasons. The group was offered a third season, but opted to pass in order to pursue other opportunities.

[edit] Parks and Recreation

In June 2008, Ansari was announced as the first cast hire for NBC's new comedy from producers of The Office.^[10] The show, Parks and Recreation, debuted in April 2009 with Ansari portraying government employee Tom Haverford. Ansari's performance has received notable praise from critics, including Entertainment Weekly naming him one of 2009's "Breakout TV Stars", TV Guide naming him a "Scene Stealer" and Yahoo! TV placing him in the number one spot on their list of "TV MVPS".^[11]

MTV Movie Awards[link]

On June 6, 2010, Ansari hosted the 2010 MTV Movie Awards. The show opened with a spoof of the film Precious with Ansari appearing as Aziz "Precious" Ansari. Ansari also created the short film Stunt Kidz which reunited him with his Human Giant castmates. A second short film was also made with actor Zach Galifianakis in which Ansari portrayed Taavon, Galfianakis' "swagger coach". He accepted Galifianakis' award for Best Comedic Performance in character as Taavon. Ansari also performed a musical tribute to the film Avatar in the style of singer R. Kelly.

Other notable television work[link]

Ansari is a fan and friend of rapper Kanye West (left).^[12][13]

In addition to his work on Parks and Recreation, Ansari appeared on the HBO series Flight of the Conchords^[10] as a xenophobic fruit vendor who had difficulty telling the difference between Australians and New Zealanders. He had a recurring role in season eight of the ABC sitcom Scrubs as Ed, a new intern to the hospital. Ansari's character was written off the show to allow him to film Parks and Recreation.

In August 2011, Ansari made a cameo appearance in the music video for "Otis" by Jay-Z and Kanye West from their collaborated album, Watch the Throne (2011).