Aasif Hakim Mandviwala (born March 5, 1966), known professionally as Aasif Mandvi (, ), is a British-American actor, comedian and author. He was a correspondent on The Daily Show from 2006 to 2017. Mandvi's other television work includes the HBO comedy series The Brink and the CBS/Paramount+ psychological drama Evil. His film roles include playing Mr. Aziz in Spider-Man 2 and Commander Zhao in The Last Airbender, and his stage work includes appearing on Broadway as Ali Hakim in Oklahoma!. Early life Mandvi was born in Bombay (now Mumbai), Maharashtra, India, to a Dawoodi Bohra Muslim family. His family moved to England, settling, when he was a year old, in the West Yorkshire city of Bradford. His father, Hakim, who had originally come to work in textiles research at Bradford University, later ran a corner shop, while his mother, Fatima, was a nurse. Mandvi attended the independent Woodhouse Grove School, and he identifies himself as a "working-class kid from Bradford". In the early 80s, his father grew frustrated with Margaret Thatcher's administration and moved his family to Tampa, Florida, United States when Mandvi was 16. He attended Chamberlain High School. Career Early After graduating from the University of South Florida with a degree in theatre, Mandvi worked as a performer at Disney-MGM Studios at Walt Disney World Resort. He later moved to New York City, where he began appearing in off-Broadway productions. During this time, he was active in the band Cowboys and Indian. He won an Obie Award for his one-man show Sakina's Restaurant. On Broadway, Mandvi appeared as Ali Hakim in the 2002 production of Oklahoma! directed by Trevor Nunn. He also appeared in the play Homebody/Kabul by Tony Kushner. He portrayed Fritz Haber in the off-Broadway play Einstein's Gift. Mandvi played Melchior in On the Razzle by Tom Stoppard at the Williamstown Theatre Festival and appeared in the docudrama Guantanamo: Honor Bound to Defend Freedom at the Culture Project. In 2012 Mandvi starred in Disgraced at Lincoln Center's Claire Tow Theater. He played the lead role of Amir, a Pakistani American lawyer struggling with his identity and Islam in the drama by Ayad Akhtar. The play went on to win the 2013 Pulitzer Prize for Drama. Mandvi was nominated for a Lucille Lortel Award for his role. Television Mandvi made his television debut as a doorman at the Miami Biltmore Hotel in the episode "Line of Fire"