133 Quotes by Aasif Mandvi

My family is Muslim. But I don't consider myself a very devout Muslim, but a cultural Muslim, whatever that means.

One thing I always did in my career was writing. I always was writing. I was trying to create things. For myself, for other people.

The experience of being on a show that is very much in the center of popular culture is exciting. You really feel like you're reaching people.

What's great about 'The Daily Show' is I can use satire and push the envelope. I couldn't do that anywhere else. Even if I was a journalist.

When you're a standup comic, you get up and you try stuff, and you're always kind of seeing how far you can push things.

I always focused on being an actor. I did stand-up briefly, but I also did a lot of dramatic work. But since I've been on 'The Daily Show,' people think I'm a comedian. That's not how I see myself.

I always used to watch 'The Daily Show,' and there were all these comedic geniuses there. I didn't know if I was going to be hired full time or not. At the beginning, I was sort of hired as a part time, on and off guy. When I first got hired - it was August 2006 - and I was working on and off, and they'd call me whenever.

I did a play called 'Disgraced' in 2012 at Lincoln Center, which ultimately won the Pulitzer Prize. I played the lead character, a Muslim American, who had renounced Islam and became very anti-Islam.

I figure if people don't want to make the distinction between a Muslim and a terrorist, then why should I make a distinction between good scared white people and racists?