Aziz is no stranger to Reddit AMAs, so he navigated his one last night like a real pro. He answered questions about Parks and Recreation, stand-up, and food, and he included this photo, which is lovely. Read the best quotes below:
On his favorite Parks scene:
Ron eating bacon at the strip club
On an upcoming scene with Ben Schwartz:
Yesterday we filmed a scene where Jean Ralphio and I sang a song that goes “MAKE! MAKE! MAKE! MAKE! MAKE THOSE BOOTIES CLAP!â€
On working with Chris Pratt:
I say this about everyone but seriously, Chris is the sweetest, funniest guy. He always also never uses a spit bucket. When you do scenes where a character is eating, you eat and then spit it out into a “spit bucket.†Chris just keeps eating. If you see Andy eating a cheeseburger in a scene, you should know Chris Pratt ate like 8 cheeseburgers.
On how to graduate from the open-mic stage:
It just happens as you get better and people take notice. Eugene Mirman gave me the best advice early on, he said to just focus on your act and start killing. People are always going to want to give you spots if you’re doing great sets. You quickly learn once you focus on being really good, the rest falls in place. I remember seeing people at open mics with headshots and talking about managers, etc. Its all nonsense. The best advice is that of Steve Martin, “be undeniably good.â€
On people confusing other people for him:
[It] that happens A LOT. People tweet me like “Yo I just hi to you in Austin and you were a dick.†Meanwhile, I’m in New York. Indian dudes with beards, PLEASE CARRY YOURSELF IN A RESPECTABLE MANNER! I HAVE TO DEAL WITH THE REPERCUSSIONS OF YOUR DOUCHEBAGGERY!!!
On his favorite comedy growing up:
Coming to America. Still holds up incredibly well.
On his favorite movies:
Terminator 2 or Die Hard or Before SunsetNot kidding.
On his favorite comedians:
I really love Chelsea Peretti and Hannibal Burress.
On always talking to his audience about their relationships:
I just started talking to people in clubs about marriage, how they met, online dating, etc. when I was writing the material. I quickly realized it’d be great to make it a part of the show. I didn’t know if it’d work in theatres without video screens or whatever, but its been great. It’s always just fascinating. I’ve gotten good at dealing with whatever details people give me, I haven’t had a problem so far.My favorite was in New Orleans a dude said he proposed by putting the ring around a puppy on Christmas morning. The audience and I went NUTS. A lil pup running up to a lady with a ring around its neck?? Then he said it was a “stuffed puppy†and all hope in the world was lost.