Aasif Mandvi

Aasif Hakim Mandviwala, known professionally as Aasif Mandvi (, ), is an English–American actor, comedian and writer. He was a correspondent on ''The Daily Show'' from 2006 to 2017. Mandvi's other television work includes the HBO comedy series '' The Brink'' and the CBS/Paramount+ psychological drama ''Evil''. His film roles include playing Mr. Aziz in ''Spider-Man 2'' and Commander Zhao in '' The Last Airbender''. His stage work includes appearing on Broadway as Ali Hakim in ''Oklahoma!'' and in productions of ''Disgraced'' (2012), which won the Pulitzer Prize in 2013.

Early life

Mandvi was born in Bombay (now Mumbai), Maharashtra, India, to a Gujarati Dawoodi Bohra Muslim family.

His family moved to England, when he was a year old, settling in the West Yorkshire city of Bradford. His father, Hakim, who had originally come to work in textiles research at Bradford University, later ran a corner shop. His mother, Fatima, was a nurse. Mandvi attended the independent Woodhouse Grove School, and he identifies as a "working-class kid from Bradford".

In the early 80s, his father grew frustrated with Margaret Thatcher's administration and moved his family to Tampa, Florida, United States when Mandvi was 16. He attended Chamberlain High School, graduating in 1984.

Career

Early

After graduating from the University of South Florida with a degree in theatre, Mandvi worked as a performer at Disney-MGM Studios at Walt Disney World Resort, and Universal Studios Florida. He later moved to New York City, where he began appearing in off-Broadway productions. During this time, he was active in the band Cowboys and Indian. He won an Obie Award for his one-man show ''Sakina's Restaurant''.

On Broadway, Mandvi appeared as Ali Hakim in the 2002 production of ''Oklahoma!'' directed by Trevor Nunn.

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 Lincoln Center's Claire Tow Theater. 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 won the 2013 Pulitzer Prize for Drama. Mandvi was nominated for a Lucille Lortel Award for his performance.

Television

Mandvi made his television debut as a doorman at the Miami Biltmore Hotel in the episode "Line of Fire" of the series ''Miami Vice''. He has appeared in television shows including '' 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''.

In 2006, Mandvi auditioned for ''The Daily Show''. He was hired immediately and appeared on the show the same day. Mandvi became a regular correspondent in 2007. He often appears in segments satirizing and commenting on Islamic, Middle-Eastern, and South-Asian-related issues.

In 2013, Mandvi was cast in a recurring role on the FOX romantic comedy, '' Us & Them''.

In October 2013, during a segment on ''The Daily Show'', Mandvi interviewed Don Yelton of the North Carolina Republican Party office. Comments Yelton made then resulted in his resigning after the interview was aired.

Beginning in June 2015, Mandvi portrayed Rafiq Massoud in the HBO comedy series '' The Brink''. In April 2015, Mandvi appeared on ''Person of Interest'' as Sulaiman Khan, the CEO of a software security firm. He was the lead actor, co-writer and producer of the web series '' Halal in the Family'', which premiered on Funny or Die in 2015.

In 2016, Mandvi joined the climate change documentary show ''Years of Living Dangerously'' as one of its celebrity correspondents.

Beginning in 2017, Mandvi appeared in three episodes of the Netflix series ''A Series of Unfortunate Events'' as Montgomery "Uncle Monty" Montgomery, a herpetologist and distant relative of the Baudelaire children.

In 2019, Mandvi was cast in the Robert and Michelle King supernatural drama series ''Evil'' on CBS as Ben Shakir, a carpenter who works as a technical expert, equipment handler and debunker of supernatural phenomena.

Film

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 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 role as Mr. Aziz of "Joe's Pizza" in ''Spider-Man 2.'' He was also in commercials by Domino's Pizza and the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA). 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 11 November 2009. 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. 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.
In M. Night Shyamalan's '' The Last Airbender'' (released in 2010) he played a major role as Commander Zhao. Mandvi played the role of Mr. Chetty in the 2013 comedy '' The Internship'' and portrayed Ash Vasudevan in the 2014 film ''Million Dollar Arm''.

Personal life

On 27 August 2017, Mandvi married his girlfriend of three years, Shaifali Puri, an author and humanitarian, at The Fox Theatre in Atlanta, GA. They have one son, born 14 March 2020.

Mandvi has been diagnosed with chronic tinnitus.

In June 2019, he was awarded an Honorary Doctor of Humane Letters Degree by the Macaulay Honors College after delivering the commencement speech that year.

Charity work and advocacy

Mandvi is involved with disaster-relief organizations such as 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. He is also a supporter of the Endometriosis Foundation of America.

Filmography

Actor

Film

Television

Writer

Stage

Actor

Writer

Radio drama/podcast

Actor

Published works

* The book has been adapted for the American-Indian-Bangladeshi film '' No Land's Man'' directed by Mostofa Sarwar Farooki.

References

External links

Aasif Mandvi Dot Com
official website
*
*

"A Man Called Mandvi"
''Nirali Magazine'', February 2007

"This is you, America. Are you ok with it?"
– Interview

''One on One'' – Aasif Mandvi
– Interview with Al Jazeera English (video, 24:53 min.)

{{DEFAULTSORT:Mandvi, Aasif
Living people
American dramatists and playwrights of Indian descent
American male actors of Indian descent
Asia Game Changer Award winners
British Ismailis
British male comedians
British male film actors
British male non-fiction writers
British male screenwriters
British male stage actors
British male television actors
British male voice actors
British people of Gujarati descent
British writers of Indian descent
Comedians from Bradford
Comedians from Florida
Dawoodi Bohras
English emigrants to the United States
English Muslims
21st-century Indian comedians
Indian emigrants to England
Indian male film actors
Indian male stage actors
Indian male television actors
Indian male voice actors
Indian non-fiction writers
Male actors from Bradford
Male actors from Mumbai
Male actors from Tampa, Florida
Muslims from Florida
Muslim male comedians
People educated at Woodhouse Grove School
Screenwriters from Florida
Screenwriters from Mumbai
University of South Florida alumni
20th-century British comedians
21st-century British comedians
20th-century British male actors
21st-century British male actors
21st-century British male writers
21st-century British memoirists
21st-century British screenwriters
21st-century Indian non-fiction writers
Year of birth missing (living people)