Aziz Ismail Ansari (/ɑːnˈsɑːri/ ahn-SAR-ee; born February 23, 1983) is an American actor, comedian, and filmmaker. He played Tom Haverford on the NBC series Parks and Recreation (2009–2015) and created and starred in the Netflix series Master of None (2015–2021), for which he won several acting and writing awards, including two Emmys and a Golden Globe, which was the first award received by an Asian American actor for acting on television. Ansari began performing comedy in New York City while a student at NYU Stern in 2000. He later co-created and starred in the MTV sketch comedy show Human Giant, after which he had acting roles in a number of feature films. From 2009 to 2015, Ansari played Tom Haverford in the NBC sitcom Parks and Recreation. In 2015, Ansari co-created and starred in the first two seasons of Netflix's critically acclaimed series Master of None, for which he also served as a writer and director. As a stand-up comedian, Ansari released his first comedy special, Intimate Moments for a Sensual Evening, in January 2010 on Comedy Central Records. He continues to perform stand-up on tour and on Netflix. His first book, Modern Romance: An Investigation, was released in June 2015. He was included in the Time 100 list of most influential people in 2016. In July 2019, Ansari released his fifth comedy special, Aziz Ansari: Right Now, which was nominated for a Grammy Award for Best Comedy Album. In 2021, Netflix released Master of None Presents: Moments in Love, which Ansari wrote and directed. The following year, he released his comedy special Aziz Ansari: Nightclub Comedian on Netflix. Description above from the Wikipedia article Aziz Ansari, licensed under CC-BY-SA, full list of contributors on Wikipedia.
