Aasif Mandvi
| Aasif Mandvi | |
|---|---|
 Aasif Mandvi, November 2007 |
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| Born | Aasif Hakim Mandviwala March 5, 1966 Mumbai, Maharashtra, India |
| Occupation | Actor, comedian, writer |
| Years active | 1995–present |
| Religion | Islam |
| Website | |
| Official website | |
Aasif Hakim Mandviwala[1] (born March 5, 1966), known professionally as Aasif Mandvi (English pronunciation: /ˈɑːsɨf ˈmɑːndviː/), is an Indian-American actor and comedian. He began appearing as an occasional contributing correspondent on The Daily Show on August 9, 2006. On March 12, 2007, he was promoted to a regular correspondent.[2]
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Early life and stage career [edit]
Mandvi was born in Bombay (now Mumbai), India,[3] to a Muslim family.[1] His family moved to Bradford, England, when he was a year old, where his father ran a corner shop and his mother was a nurse.[4] Although Mandvi still identifies as a "working-class kid from Bradford", he attended the independent Woodhouse Grove School.[4] His father grew frustrated with Margaret Thatcher's Britain, and Mandvi emigrated with his family to Tampa, Florida, when he was 16.[4] After graduating from the University of South Florida with a degree in Theatre,[5] Mandvi worked as a performer at Disney-MGM Studios at Walt Disney World Resort.[1] He later moved to New York City where he began appearing in off-Broadway productions. During this time he also was active in the band Cowboys and Indian. He won an Obie Award for his critically acclaimed one-man show Sakina's Restaurant.[6]
On Broadway, Mandvi appeared as Ali Hakim in the 2002 revival of Oklahoma! directed by Trevor Nunn.[7] He also appeared in the play Homebody/Kabul by Tony Kushner. He portrayed Fritz Haber in the off-Broadway play Einstein's Gift.
Mandvi played Melchior in On the Razzle by Tom Stoppard at the Williamstown Theatre Festival and appeared in the docudrama Guantanamo: Honor Bound to Defend Freedom at The Culture Project. In 2012 Mandvi starred in Disgraced at The Clare Tow Theater at Lincoln Center. He played the lead role of Amir, a Pakistani American lawyer struggling with his identity and Islam in the drama by Ayad Akhtar. The play went on to win the 2013 Pulitzer Prize for Drama.[8]
Television roles [edit]
Mandvi made his television debut as a doorman at the Biltmore Hotel in the episode "Line Of Fire" of the series Miami Vice. He has since appeared in numerous television shows: ER, The Sopranos, Sex and the City, CSI, Oz, Ed, The Bedford Diaries, Jericho, Sleeper Cell and various editions of Law & Order, including Criminal Intent, Special Victims Unit and Trial by Jury. He was the book reader for audio editions of Salman Rushdie's Shalimar the Clown (2005) and V. S. Naipaul's Magic Seeds (2004). He recently has been starring in Taco Bell commercials (2011).
In 2006, Mandvi auditioned for The Daily Show. He was hired immediately and appeared on the show the same day.[1] Mandvi became a regular correspondent in 2007. He often appears in segments satirizing and commenting on Islamic, Middle-Eastern, and South-Asian-related issues with such titles as "Senior Asian Correspondent," "Senior Middle East Correspondent," "Senior Foreign Looking Correspondent," and "Senior Muslim Correspondent."
Film work [edit]
Mandvi played minor roles in the films The Siege and Die Hard with a Vengeance as well as the title role in Merchant Ivory Productions' film The Mystic Masseur. He also had a major supporting role in the independent film American Chai, playing the lead character's roommate, "Engineering Sam." He played the doctor who diagnosed Paul Vitti's (Robert De Niro) panic attacks in Analyze This, and had a memorable role as Mr. Aziz of "Joe's Pizza" in Spider-Man 2. He was also in a Domino's Pizza commercial. He played the tone deaf doorman Khan in Music and Lyrics.
Mandvi played a dentist alongside Ricky Gervais in the 2008 romantic comedy Ghost Town, as well as office employee Bob Spaulding in The Proposal, starring Sandra Bullock. Today's Special, which Mandvi co-wrote with Jonathan Bines, premiered at the London Film Festival in October 2009 and New York's Mahindra Indo-American Arts Council Film Festival on November 11, 2009.[9] He appeared in It's Kind of a Funny Story, a coming-of-age film written and directed by Anna Boden with Ryan Fleck, adapted from the 2006 novel by Ned Vizzini.[10] He also co-starred as a Guantanamo captive in the film The Response, a script based on the transcripts of Combatant Status Review Tribunals convened in Guantanamo in 2004.[11] In M. Night Shyamalan's The Last Airbender (released in 2010) he played a major role as Commander Zhao.
Charity work [edit]
Mandvi is involved with disaster relief organizations like the charity initiative Relief 4 Pakistan, which assists in flood relief in Pakistan. In 2010 he hosted the "Stand Up for Religious Freedom" comedy event to raise money for the organization.[12] After the 2010 Haiti earthquake, he performed with fellow Daily Show correspondent Wyatt Cenac at Conan O'Brien's "I'm with Coco" Benefit for earthquake victims. He is also a supporter of the Endometriosis Foundation of America.
Works [edit]
Filmography [edit]
Actor [edit]
| Year | Film | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1990 | No Retreat, No Surrender 3: Blood Brothers | Terrorist | |
| 1995 | Die Hard with a Vengeance | Cabbie | |
| 1996 | Eddie | Mohammed | |
| 1996 | Nash Bridges | Aziz Kadim | Television Series |
| 1998 | The Siege | Khalil Saleh | |
| 1999 | Hook'd Up | Indian Guy | |
| Analyze This | Dr. Shulman | ||
| Gofer | Gorby | ||
| Random Hearts | Electronics Store Salesman | ||
| ABCD | Ashok | ||
| 2001 | 3 A.M. | Singh | |
| 2002 | American Chai | Engineering Sam | |
| The Mystic Masseur | Ganesh | ||
| Book of Kings | Dr. Mitra | ||
| Oz | Dr. Faraj | ||
| 2003 | Undermind | Shark/Roger | |
| 2004 | Spider-Man 2 | Mr. Aziz | |
| 2005 | Sorry, Haters | Hassan | |
| The War Within | Abdul | ||
| 2006 | Freedomland | Dr. Anil Chatterjee | |
| 2006 | The Sopranos | Dr. Abu Bilal | 1 Episode |
| 2006 | Sleeper Cell | Khalid | Television series |
| 2006–2008 | Jericho | Dr. Kenchy Dhuwalia | Television series |
| 2006–present | The Daily Show | Himself | Television series |
| 2007 | Music and Lyrics | Khan | |
| 2008 | Peroxide Passion | Beaumond | |
| Eavesdrop | Don | ||
| The Understudy | Sarfras | ||
| Ghost Town | Dr. Prashar | ||
| 2009 | The Proposal | Bob Spaulding | |
| Today's Special | Samir | ||
| 2010 | It's Kind of a Funny Story | Dr. Mahmoud | |
| The Last Airbender | Commander Zhao | ||
| 2011 | Margin Call | Ramesh Shah | |
| Dark Horse | Mahmoud | ||
| 2012 | Premium Rush | Raj | |
| The Dictator | Doctor | ||
| Ruby Sparks | Cyrus Modi | ||
| 2013 | Movie 43 | Asif |
Writer [edit]
| Year | Film | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| 2009 | Today's Special |
Stage [edit]
Actor [edit]
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1993 | Suburbia | Norman Chaudry | |
| 1995 | Death Defying Acts | Delivery Boy | In one-act "Hotline" |
| 1997 | Crosscurrents | Paul | |
| 1998 | Sakina's Restaurant | One man play | |
| 2002 | Oklahoma! | Ali Hakim | Revival |
Writer [edit]
| Year | Title | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| 1998 | Sakina's Restaurant |
References [edit]
- ^ a b c d Deggans, Eric (2008-06-01). "For Aasif Mandvi, cultural irreverence on 'The Daily Show'". St. Petersburg Times. Archived from the original on 14 December 2008. Retrieved 2008-11-07.
- ^ "COMEDY CENTRAL'S "THE DAILY SHOW WITH JON STEWART" TAPS AASIF MANDVI TO JOIN THE "DAILY SHOW" NEWS TEAM AS A CORRESPONDENT" (Press release). Comedy Central. 2007-03-12. Retrieved 2008-11-07.
- ^ Kilachand, Tara (2008-05-31). "‘In the US, they say Indians are always laughing’". Livemint. Retrieved 2008-11-07.
- ^ a b c Sarfraz Manzoor (June 7, 2009). "'I get to sit on the fence between cultures': Sarfraz Manzoor talks to Aasif Mandvi, the Daily Show's 'fake news' correspondent". The Guardian.
- ^ "‘Asif Mandvi - Biography’". IMDB. 2011-12-07.
- ^ "25 NEW FACES OF INDEPENDENT FILM". Filmmaker Magazine. 2008. Retrieved 2008-11-07.
- ^ Horwitz, Simi (2002-03-29). "Aasif Mandvi: Giving Broadway a Persian Hello". Back Stage. Retrieved 2008-11-07.
- ^ Associated Press (April 16, 2013). "Ayad Akhtar’s ‘Disgraced,’ play about a dinner party gone awry, wins Pulitzer Prize for drama". Washington Post.
- ^ Priyanka Boghani (November 12, 2009). "New York City's Indian Film Festival: MIAAC". Huffington Post. Retrieved November 10, 2009.
- ^ Sciretta, Peter (November 30, 2009). "Ryan Fleck's It's Kind of a Funny Story Begins Production". Archived from the original on June 12, 2010. Retrieved June 12, 2010.
- ^ "New role for 'Daily Show' reporter". MLive. 2009-05-09. Archived from the original on 2009-09-05.
- ^ Fuerstenberg, Brittany. "Aasif Mandvi: Comic Relief for Pakistan". MSNBC. Retrieved September 26, 2011.
External links [edit]
- Aasif Mandvi Dot Com, official Aasif Mandvi website.
- Aasif Mandvi at the Internet Movie Database
- "A Man Called Mandvi", Nirali Magazine, February 2007
- "This is you, America. Are you ok with it?" - Interview
- One on One - Aasif Mandvi - Interview auf Al Jazeera English (video, 24:53 min.)
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- 1966 births
- Living people
- Actors from Florida
- American Muslims
- American film actors
- American people of Indian descent
- American stage actors
- American television actors
- American comedians
- Muslim comedians
- University of South Florida alumni
- Indian emigrants to the United Kingdom
- Indian emigrants to the United States
- Naturalized citizens of the United States
- People from Bradford
- People from Mumbai
- People from Tampa, Florida
- The Daily Show correspondents and contributors
- People educated at Woodhouse Grove School
- Actors of Indian descent
