Aziz Ansari is scheduled to make his debut — and history — as the host of “Saturday Night Live” on Jan. 21, as the show’s first host of South Asian descent.
This also makes Ansari, co-creator of the critically acclaimed Netflix series “Master of None,” the first person of Asian descent to host “SNL” in 17 years, according to a demographic breakdown by Indiewire. The breakdown shows that the show has only had two hosts of Asian descent: Lucy Liu and Jackie Chan, both in 2000. However, the list does not include former host Bruno Mars and former cast member Fred Armisen, who both have Asian ancestry.
“Excited to host SNL on 1/21. See ya then,” Ansari tweeted Tuesday.
Excited to host SNL on 1/21. See ya then. pic.twitter.com/geNeWJyUHH
— Aziz Ansari (@azizansari) January 10, 2017
Here’s a list of interesting facts you may not know about the comic:
1. He’s from the East Coast
(Akhenaton06 / Creative Commons)
Ansari was born in Columbia, South Carolina, on Feb. 23, 1983, and grew up in Bennettsville. (Another fun fact: His “Parks and Recreation” character, Tom, also hails from The Palmetto State.)
2. He attended New York University’s Leonard N. Stern School of Business
(Creative Commons)
During his time there, he started to perform stand-up comedy in New York City. In 2004, he graduated from NYU with a bachelor’s degree in marketing.
3. He’s a feminist
On a David Letterman episode, Ansari talked about how he and his then-girlfriend are feminists. He also provided the audience with a feminist test: “You’re a feminist if you go to a Jay-Z and Beyoncé concert, and you’re not like, ‘Mmm, I feel like Beyoncé should get 23 percent less money than Jay-Z.’”
4. He’s a published author
(Ansari teamed up with a NYU sociologist to conduct a research project that helped Ansari develop “Modern Romance,” a book that focuses on exploring romantic relationships in today’s day and age. He presented his book at BookCon 2015.
5. He performed at the Upright Citizens Brigade Theatre
(Marcin Wichary / Creative Commons)
Among other places, this theatre was one of the locations that helped Aziz — and other famous comedians — practice in the beginning of his comedy career.
6. He’s served as a voice actor
Some of his voice acting roles include Darryl from “Bob’s Burgers” and Squint from “Ice Age: Continental Drift.”
7. He thanks his parents for his success
In his 2015 Netflix original comedy special, “Aziz Ansari: Live at Madison Square Garden,” he said his “life is super easy because they did all the struggling.”
