Aziz Ansari

Early in his career, Aziz Ansari typically played off-kilter, intolerable characters like indifferent medical interns or racist fruit vendors, yet somehow made viewers root for them in the end. Ansari brought his irreverent, fast-paced comedy sensibilities from New York's club circuit all the way to mainstream TV in the cult hit "Human Giant" (MTV, 2007-08), which featured zany sketches about odd characters like a super alien in love with a human or a genie addicted to drugs. His improvisational skills made him an obvious choice for the quirky series "Parks and Recreation" (NBC, 2009-2015), a career-making role where he played an ingratiating municipal employee who routinely insults his co-workers. Based on his status as a sitcom standout, he began appearing on the big screen opposite fellow comic actors Seth Rogen in feature films like "Observe and Report" (2009), Adam Sandler in "Funny People" (2009), and Jonah Hill in the over-the-top comedy "Get Him to the Greek" (2010). When "Parks and Rec," as fans called it, ended in early 2015, Ansari smoothly moved into romantic leading man territory, publishing a book of essays called Modern Romance: An Investigation (2015) and creating and starring in the autobiographical sitcom "Master of None" (Netflix 2015- ). Whether he was performing stand-up or scene-stealing on either size screen, Ansari's deadpan delivery always brought on the laughs, and established him as one of the most original comics of his generation.