Aasif Mandvi is an Indian-American comedian and actor who was born on March 5, 1966 in Mumbai, India. When he was a year old, his family moved to Bradford, England. One of his earliest experiences with acting was as a pixie for a school play, and he became involved with a local children's theatre troupe as a writer and performer. He would later go on to attend a conservative all-boys school in England, where he faced several problems with racist attitudes, often being bullied and taunted by others. His family would eventually move again, this time to sunny Tampa, Florida in the United States.
After finishing high school, he qualified for a theater scholarship at the University of South Florida. He then started working as a performer for Disney-MGM Studios, and later on moved to New York City. Among the stage productions he has performed in are Sakina's Restaurant, Homebody/Kabul, and a 2002 revival on Broadway of the musical Oklahoma! Mandvi has also acted in television shows such as
Law and Order: Special Victims Unit ,
The Sopranos , and The Bedford Diaries. His feature film experience includes roles in No Retreat, No Surrender 3: Blood Brothers, Die Hard: With a Vengeance, and Analyze This.
(Photo courtesy of The Daily Show)