Aasif Mandvi on the Future of Entertainment

EDITORS’ NOTE: Aasif Mandvi — British-American actor and comedian and a previous contributing correspondent on The Daily Show with Jon Stewart — discusses his insights on his journey as an artist, current challenges in America, his personal advice to all artists, the future of entertainment platforms, globalization, the perceptions of Muslims, and his vision for the future.

Interview Questions

Shift in the Culture of the West — Time Index: 0:59 (Based on the Audio)

1. I want to start by talking about your experience growing up in the West, especially in America. Could you generally speak about how things are the same? And how they’re now different?

I’m specifically talking about: do you see a lot of shifts in terms of culture, and especially, perhaps popular culture, and even from the angle of Muslims too?

Personal Inspiration — Time Index: 6:17

2. So what about your story? You were a kid and I think you moved from the UK to the United States. What inspired you to be an actor?

Challenges in Entertainment — Time Index: 10:01

3. So besides skill, what do you feel are some of the biggest challenges new and upcoming artists and comedians currently face in America? I’m getting more at the social and cultural aspects of it. Do you feel that there are some challenges maybe certain groups are facing over others?

Time Index: 17:31

4. What do you hope to see more of whether it be in Hollywood theater or these other platforms you mentioned? What do you hope to see next?

Hollywood and Theater — Time Index: 18:53

5. I do want to talk about Hollywood and theater. You often praise theater as being, you say, it’s a discipline that can’t be replicated anywhere, gives you stamina, and there is nothing like it in the rest of the world. Would you recommend young artists going into theater before they try to do more acting roles in a different way?

Time Index: 21:19

6. Generally speaking, where do you see theater going? Do you see trends and shifts happening?

Art, Comedy and Breaking Bubbles — Time Index: 25:12

7. You mentioned these Echo Chambers. Do you feel like art and comedy can sometimes break through those bubbles? And then in this case of South Asians and Muslims, do you feel that it has been effective in changing negative perceptions?

Aasif’s Advice — Time Index: 31:13

8. Have you found certain things in your career that you wish you knew, like, 10 years ago, 20 years ago, that you know now. Or what advice would you give to your 20-year-old self or 10-year-old self?

Muslim Identity — Time Index: 39:34

9. Now speaking about culture, and more specifically, your religious cultural identity. You’re a Bohra Shia Muslim. Would you say it’s still part of your identity today?

Vision for the Future — Time Index: 44:39

10. What is your vision for the future? If you had to give a vision for 25 years of where you would want to see the world, what would your vision be? And, like, what insights or suggestions would you give to achieve this vision?

About Aasif Mandvi

Aasif Mandvi is a Peabody Award-winning actor, writer, creator, comedian, author, and producer. Widely known for his work as a correspondent on the multi Emmy Award-winning, The Daily Show with Jon Stewart, Mandvi built his roots in New York theater under the tutelage of the pre-eminent acting teacher, Wynn Handman, with whom he was able to develop and create his critically acclaimed one-man show, Sakina’s Restaurant, which premiered at the American Place Theater and earned him an Obie Award. He is currently reviving this production at the Minetta Lane Theatre.”

Mandvi can be seen alongside Alec Baldwin and Salma Hayek in the feature film Drunk Parents and stars opposite Kate Hudson, Jennifer Aniston, and Julia Roberts in the Garry Marshall feature, Mother’s Day. Mandvi has co-starred opposite Jon Hamm in Million Dollar Arm, and had supporting roles in The Internship, Movie 43, The Dictator, Dark Horse, Gods Behaving Badly, Premium Rush, and most recently, the independent feature film A Kid Like Jake. He co-wrote and starred in Today’s Special, which premiered at the London Film Festival and won the audience award at The Palm Springs Film Festival.

He has a recurring role on TVLAND’s Younger, Netflix’s A Series of Unfortunate Events, and Hulu’s second season of Shut Eye. He was recently a host on National Geographic’s Years of Living Dangerously, which addressed climate change, and he wrote, produced, and starred in the HBO series, The Brink. Mandvi also co-created and starred in the Peabody Award-winning web series, Halal in the Family, which garnered over 500 million media impressions within days upon launch and addressed Islamophobia through parody and satire. Mandvi is the author of a collection of personal stories entitled No Land’s Man for Chronicle Books.