Getting down a little bit more with Aziz Ansari

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Getting down a little bit more with Aziz Ansari

POSTED: Thursday, January 29, 2009, 7:55 PM

Filed Under: Comedy | Interview Stand-up

Ice storms are no joke. Just ask Aziz Ansari. The Human Giant star canceled his show in Philadelphia last night after his flight was delayed. He plans on returning (we promise to tell you when!). In the meantime, he spoke with City Paper about more whimsical subjects than inclement weather.

City Paper: How would you describe your comedic style?

Aziz Ansari: I'd say it's a lot like some of the people I perform with like Patton Oswalt, Louis CK, David Cross, that whole scene.

CP: How do you find inspiration for bits?

AA: Usually I'll just be walking around and something happens and I'll write it down in my notebook. Then I try it out on stage and it usually takes seven or eight variations of a joke before I really land on one really well. I've never been able to just sit down and write jokes.

CP: You perform stand-up, sketch and even movie roles. How do you hone your skills as a performer?

AA: I tried doing stand-up in the summer of 2001, so it's been close to eight years in May. I had been doing standup in NY while I was in college at NYU. While we were doing that, me and some friends of mine were shooting short skits called Human Giant. So I was doing stand-up the whole time while I was working on Human Giant. Then we finished season two of Human Giant, and I've been working with Amy Poehler from [the producers of] The Office for a show on NBC. But I just found out that show was pushed back a few months because she was pregnant, so I had time to do a stand-up comedy tour.

CP: I'm sure you had nothing to do with her getting pregnant.

AA: Not at all.

CP: You mentioned a love for southern food and Indian cooking in our last interview. What is your favorite food?

AA: I don't know if I can pick one favorite food out. That's hard to narrow down. I like all sorts of food. I like hot dogs. I'm pretty much down for whatever with food. I go the extra mile to try something new.

CP: How was it like being raised in South Carolina, and then going to school and eventually working in New York City?

AA: I grew up in a very small rural town called Bennitsville in South Carolina, and New York City is the capital of the world. It's kind of a weird place. You don't really realize it while you are there. It was all I knew, so I didn't have a frame of reference to realize it was a really, really, really southern town. When I moved to NY, it's such a crazy place where so many people come to. Plus I was going to college with all sorts of people at NYU, so you're kind of in it there together. It was like I was going to college and exploring NYC at the same time.

CP: What was the funniest thing you've ever seen in your life?

AA: Pretty much anything I talk about in my stand-up. One time I saw a clown trip on a banana in a football field and fall into a cream pie. Then a bowling ball fell on his head.

CP: Really?

AA: No, man.

CP: Any true stories?

AA: I was doing a show in Colorado and getting a lift pass at a ski resort. So I'm standing in line this guy asked me I was from, and I told him I grew up South Carolina but my parents came here from India to work, and he was like "Wow, you talk exactly like I do."

CP: Are you a fan of the Ultimate Fighting Championship? You mentioned Ken Shamrock as your favorite fighter in our previous interview.

AA: I haven't seen the UFC stuff, but I've been in a few fights with Ken Shamrock. I was walking with my girlfriend and he started shit with us, so I fought him and it didn't turn out very well. Every time — and I'm not sure why I fought him multiple times — but he got me in an ankle lock every time and broke my ankle.

CP: Where would travel if you could go any place in the world?

AA: I really want to go to Tokyo. I have a few friends that have been there recently. It looks really awesome and I'm a big fan of sushi.

CP: So will we be seeing you on Season 3 of Human Giant?

AA: They offered us a third season, but I'm doing that as-yet-untitled show for NBC and scored a few movie roles, so we kind of passed on it. I work with my friends [Rob Huebel and Paul Scheer] from Human Giant for both seasons, and it's hard to find people that are on the same exact wavelength. MTV sort of left the door open for us.

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Featuring everything from event roundups to concert reviews and sex talk, City Paper's Critical Mass is a space for off-the-wall coverage of Philly's A&E scene.

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