Aziz Ansari Does Reddit ‘Ask Me Anything,’ Talks Indians on TV, Biscuits

Comedian and Parks and Recreation star Aziz Ansari has opened up to the Reddit community with a tell-all thread.

If you’re not a regular user of Reddit, you may not know what the AMA designator stands for. It’s a type of thread in which Redditors identify themselves as something or someone and invite the community to “ask [them] anything.” The threads have drawn great traffic and attention in the past, with lively debates and interesting information that come out of the discussions. (Concerns about veracity have led to a verification system with AMA submissions.)

Celebrities and politicians are also known from time to time to do AMAs, and yesterday, Aziz Ansari was the most popular AMA starter. In his thread, the comedian discussed the change in how Indian people are depicted on TV during the course of his career, how he picks roles, and how growing up in the South influenced his life and material.

Of Indian characters and actors on TV, Ansari says:

That’s on the actors themselves. I got offered those parts when I first started out and always turned them down and made it clear I wasn’t interested in playing ethnic stereotypes or characters who’s comedy comes purely from having a “funny accent.” Over the past few years, that stuff has been aggressively countered by actors like myself, Mindy Kaling, Danny Pudi, etc. We are all playing characters who are funny for reasons that have nothing do with ethnic humor. Things have changed a lot. I couldn’t imagine growing up and seeing an Indian person on a sitcom, now EVERY sitcom has that token Indian person. Pretty cool.

Of comedians and shows that inspire him, Ansari said:

Inspirations – Chris Rock, Steve Carrell, Judd Apatow, Louis CK

TV show – Right now? Breaking Bad. Ever? Either Breaking Bad or The Wire.

Of how he can tweet about donuts “49 times a week” and stay slim:

I have a high metabolism. I’ll lose that soon and become a fat Indian man shortly.

You can read Aziz Ansari’s entire Reddit AMA here.