Aasif Mandvi

Aasif Mandvi (born Aasif Hakim Mandviwala on 5 March 1966) is a British‑American actor, comedian and writer whose career spans more than three decades of stage, screen and television work. Raised in a Gujarati Muslim Dawoodi Bohra family, he was born in Bombay, India before his parents moved to Bradford, West Yorkshire when he was an infant, and later emigrated to Tampa, Florida at age sixteen, giving him a truly trans‑national upbringing that informs his comic perspective. After earning a BA in theatre from the University of South Florida, Mandvi began performing at Disney‑MGM Studios and Universal Studios before moving to New York, where his one‑man show Sakina’s Restaurant earned an Obie Award and launched a prolific off‑Broadway career. He made his Broadway debut as Ali Hakim in the 2002 revival of Oklahoma!, and later delivered an acclaimed performance as Amir in the Pulitzer‑winning drama Disgraced at Lincoln Center, a role that highlighted his ability to navigate complex cultural identity themes. On television he first appeared in Miami Vice and accumulated guest spots on ER, The Sopranos, Sex and the City and various Law & Order series, before becoming a regular correspondent on The Daily Show from 2006 to 2017, where his satirical segments on Islam, the Middle East and South‑Asian politics garnered widespread attention. His film credits include memorable parts such as Mr Aziz in Spider‑Man 2, Commander Zhao in The Last Airbender and roles in Ghost Town, The Internship and Million Dollar Arm. In recent years he has expanded into dramatic television, playing Ben Shakir on the supernatural series Evil and appearing in the HBO comedy The Brink. Beyond acting, Mandvi co‑created the web series Halal in the Family, authored the book No Land’s Man, and engages in humanitarian work supporting disaster relief in Pakistan and advocacy for endometriosis awareness. He married author and humanitarian Shaifali Puri in 2017 and they have one son, born in 2020, while he also lives with chronic tinnitus, a condition he openly discusses to raise awareness.