Aziz Ismail Ansari (/ənˈsɑːri/; born February 23, 1983) is an American actor, comedian, writer, director and producer. He is known for his role as Tom Haverford on the NBC series Parks and Recreation (2009–2015) and as creator and star of the Netflix series Master of None (2015–) for which he won several acting and writing awards, including two Emmys and a Golden Globe, which was the first award received by an Indian American and 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.
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.