Aziz Ansari performs tonight at the Baton Rouge River Center. The show is part of his “Modern Romance” tour, and starts at 8 p.m. Tickets start at $15.
You might know Ansari from his role on NBC’s hit comedy Parks and Recreation as Tom Haverford, an underachieving government employee and wannabe entrepreneur who gives specialty foods catchier names (i.e., gummy bears are “chewy cubs”).
“If there were one for fried chicken and biscuits, that one would be my favorite,” he tells us.
Parks and Recreation isn’t the only notch in Ansari’s comedic belt. He has had a considerable comedic career, bursting onto the scene with the TV sketch comedy show Human Giant in 2007 with Paul Scheer and Rob Huebel. For two seasons, Human Giant had consistently brilliant sketches and brought quality programming back to MTV.
“We were offered a third season, but we were all ready to move,” Ansari says. “We still pop up in each other’s shows, but there are no plans for a reunion.”
While Scheer and Huebel went on to respectively appear in shows such as The League and Children’s Hospital, Ansari crafted a career of appearances in films such as This Is the End, Observe and Report and Funny People. At the same time, he honed his stand-up routine.
From 2010-2012, Ansari did three stand-up tours, each with its own special. His latest special, Buried Alive premiered on Netflix late last year. He maintains a tireless work ethic, constantly writing new material out of joy, he says.
Ansari is also one of many in a long line of stand-ups who are all revitalizing the industry. Those contemporaries are only making him work harder on his ever-developing routine.
“There are so many comedians who are pushing me to be better,” he says. “There’s Chris Rock, [Dave] Chappelle, Chelsea Peretti, Hannibal Buress, Sarah Silverman, Amy Schumer and many others.”
For more information on Ansari, click here.
