Rizwan Manji
Rizwan Manji | |
|---|---|
Manji at the Carmel Film Festival in 2016 | |
| Born | October 17, 1974 Toronto, Ontario, Canada |
| Alma mater | American Musical and Dramatic Academy |
| Occupation | Actor |
| Years active | 1997–present |
| Spouse | Taslim Manji |
| Children | 3 |
Rizwan Manji (born October 17, 1974) is a Canadian actor, voice artist, ventriloquist, and comedian . He portrayed Ray Butani on Schitt's Creek, Tick Pickwick on The Magicians, Rajiv Gidwani in the NBC sitcom Outsourced, and Jamil in the DC Extended Universe (DCEU) television series Peacemaker (2022–present).[1]
Early life
Manji was born in Toronto, Ontario, to Indian parents who emigrated from Tanzania.[2] His family is Ismaili-Muslim of Gujarati Indian descent,[3] and he has said that his religion is very important to him.[4] When Manji was in grade one, he and his family moved to Calgary, Alberta, where he was raised.[5] He graduated from Crescent Heights High School.[1][6]
Manji's parents wanted him to go to university to earn a degree, but he wanted to be an actor.[7] He attended the University of Alberta, where his sister Rishma was enrolled.[7] The only class he enjoyed there was drama.[8] In 1992, Manji enrolled at the American Musical and Dramatic Academy in New York City.[9]
Career
During the early years of Manji's career, he played small parts in various films and television shows, with recurring roles in Privileged, Better Off Ted and 24.[1]
From 2010 to 2011, Manji played Rajiv Gidwani on the NBC comedy Outsourced. He initially auditioned for the role of Gupta;[1] Parvesh Cheena got the part, but the producers cast Manji as the scheming assistant manager Rajiv.[10][11]
Manji played Ray Butani on the CBC comedy Schitt's Creek from 2015 to 2020, for which he was nominated for a Canadian Screen Award.[12]
He also appeared in seasons 2–5 of The Magicians, a fantasy television series on SyFy.
In 2019, he starred in the NBC comedy Perfect Harmony as Reverend Jax, a missionary who runs a church. The show, which starred Bradley Whitford, was cancelled after one season.
Manji has also appeared in a GEICO commercial as a customer in the checkout aisle who wins the "auction,"[13][14] and in commercials for Kmart, LendingTree, National Car Rental, The UPS Store,[14] and Beyond Meat.
Manji co-hosts a podcast titled The Brighter Side of News.[15]
Personal life
Manji lives in Studio City, California, with his wife and three children.[1][16] He has spoken openly about issues facing South Asian and Muslim actors in Hollywood.[17]
Filmography
Film
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1997 | Sue Lost in Manhattan | Newsstand Owner | |
| 1998 | Too Tired to Die | Young Arab | |
| 2001 | American Desi | Salim Ali Khan | |
| Queenie in Love | Ahmed | ||
| 2002 | The Guru | Party Waiter | |
| 2004 | Fillum Star: The Peter Patel Story | Peter Patel | |
| 2007 | Transformers | Akram | |
| Charlie Wilson's War | Colonel Mahmood | ||
| God, Inc. | Muslim Publicist | Short film | |
| 2009 | Karma Calling | Nikhil Shah | |
| 2010 | Morning Glory | DayBreak Producer | |
| 2012 | The Dictator | HIV Patient | |
| The Citizen | Mo | ||
| 2013 | The Wolf of Wall Street | Kalil | |
| Don Jon | Teacher | ||
| Decoding Annie Parker | Assistant | ||
| 2014 | Dr. Cabbie | Vijay | |
| That Thing with the Cat | Manu | ||
| Alexander and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day | Mr. Cellars | ||
| 2015 | Equals | Gilead | |
| Miss India America | Balu Patel | ||
| 2016 | Paterson | Donny | |
| The Tiger Hunter | Babu Rahman | ||
| Odd Squad: The Movie | Weird Mitch | ||
| The Bounce Back | Daryl | ||
| Arranged | Raj | Short | |
| 2017 | Wild Honey | Writers' Group Leader | |
| 2018 | The Man Who Killed Hitler and Then the Bigfoot | Maple Leaf | |
| 2020 | Eat Wheaties! | Bruce Rapp | |
| Midnight Curry | Aman Khoja | ||
| 2022 | Wedding Season | Vijay, Asha's father | |
| 2023 | The Donor Party | Kahlil | |
| Shazam! Fury of the Gods | Docent | ||
| Mustache | Hameed | ||
| Journey to Bethlehem | Caspar | ||
| 2025 | Re-Election | Governor Manish Singh |
Television
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1998 | Money Kings | Club Patron | Television film |
| 1999 | One Life to Live | Dr. Patel | Episode: #1.7991 |
| 2005 | Law & Order: Criminal Intent | Santanu Singh | Episode: "Gone" |
| NCIS | Dr. Pandy | Episode: "SWAK" | |
| Damage Control | 2 episodes | ||
| Sleeper Cell | Car Salesman | Episode: "Money" | |
| Late Night with Conan O'Brien | Santa Claus[5] | Episode: "#13.62" | |
| 2006 | E-Ring | Officer ISI | Episode: "Five Pillars" |
| Rescue Me | Haji | Episode: "Retards" | |
| 2007 | The Knights of Prosperity | Dentist | Episode: "Operation: Fighting Shape" |
| The Game | Tubak | Episode: "To Baby... Or Not to Baby" | |
| Without a Trace | Fasil Mazarin | Episode: "Deep Water" | |
| 2008–2009 | Privileged | Rami | 10 episodes |
| 2008 | Mind of Mencia | Gynecologist | Episode: "#4.1" |
| Life | Young Doctor | Episode: "Everything... All the Time" | |
| It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia | Mehar | Episode: "Paddy's Pub: The Worst Bar in Philadelphia" | |
| Hannah Montana | Ajay | Episode: "You Never Give Me My Money" | |
| 2009–2010 | Better Off Ted | Rick / Male Office Worker | 5 episodes |
| FlashForward | Maneesh Sandhar | 3 episodes | |
| 2009 | The Suite Life on Deck | Swami Banu Kapatu | Episode: "The Mommy and the Swami" |
| Worst Week | Ashok | Episode: "The Epidural" | |
| Eleventh Hour | Tony | Episode: "Olfactus" | |
| How I Met Your Mother | Dr. Vikash | Episode: "Double Date" | |
| Medium | Rental Agent | Episode: "New Terrain" | |
| Three Rivers | Dr. Drev / Dr. Dev / Male Doctor | 3 episodes | |
| 2010–2011 | Outsourced | Rajiv Gidwani | 22 episodes |
| 2010 | 24 | Ahman | 3 episodes |
| Glee | Dr. Gidwani | Episode: "Laryngitis" | |
| Hawthorne | Dr. Asheesh Danee | Episode: "Afterglow" | |
| 2011 | Rizzoli & Isles | Private Investigator | Episode: "Seventeen Ain't So Sweet" |
| 2012–2013 | Crash & Bernstein | Dr. Gordon | 2 episodes |
| 2012 | New Girl | Interviewer | Episode: "Normal" |
| Shake It Up | John | Episode: "Whodunit Up?" | |
| Squad 85 | Cubby / Asst. Principal | 3 episodes | |
| 2013 | Touch | Pakistani Interrogator | Episode: "Enemy of My Enemy" |
| Wendell & Vinnie | Aziz | 2 episodes | |
| Arrested Development | Animesh / Male Concierge | Episode: "Indian Takers" | |
| Save Me | Dr. Carroll | Episode: "Heal Thee" | |
| Anger Management | Indian Father | Episode: "Charlie and the Airport Sext" | |
| Lucky 7 | Ahsan Lashiri | 3 episodes | |
| Bones | Raymond McCants | Episode: "The Mystery in the Meat" | |
| The Goldbergs | Donald | Episode: "Shopping" | |
| 2013–2014 | Dog with a Blog | Dr. Young | 2 episodes |
| 2014 | Mom | Dr. Bellin | 2 episodes |
| Working the Engels | Edward Fancy-Doodle | Episode: "Jenna vs. Big Pastry Part II" | |
| Mixology | Ganesh | Episode: "Closing Time" | |
| 2015 | Young & Hungry | Cashier / Doctor | Episode: "Young & Munchies" |
| Backstrom | Dr. Deb Chaman | 5 episodes | |
| The Thundermans | Babu Ouch | Episode: "Phoebe vs Max: The Sequel" | |
| Minority Report | Dr. Orson | Episode: "Fredi" | |
| 2015–2020 | Schitt's Creek | Ray Butani | 13 episodes |
| 2015–2016 | Bella and the Bulldogs | Mr. Matoo | 2 episodes |
| 2016 | The League | Maitre D | Episode: "The 13 Stages of Grief" |
| NCIS: Los Angeles | Anton | Episode: "Matryoshka, Part 1" | |
| Workaholics | Saul Kingston | Episode: "Night at the Dudeseum" | |
| Another Period | Prince Apato | Episode: "The Prince and the Pauper" | |
| Goliath | Dr. Carbo | Episode: "It's Donald" | |
| 2017–2020 | The Magicians | Tick Pickwick | 24 episodes |
| 2017 | Mr. Robot | Norm | Recurring role |
| Mondays | Tour Guide | 2 episodes | |
| 2018 | Rob Riggle’s Ski Master Academy | Todd | 8 episodes |
| A Very Nutty Christmas | Justin | TV movie | |
| 2019–2021 | Sydney to the Max | Vice Principal Virman | 7 episodes |
| 2019–2020 | Perfect Harmony | Reverend Jax | Main cast, 13 episodes |
| 2020–2021 | Mira, Royal Detective | Mr. Khan / Ajhay Sharma (voice) | 8 episodes |
| American Dad! | Knight / Towel Swan (voice) | 2 episodes | |
| 2021 | Atypical | Vice Principal Patrick | 3 episodes |
| 2022 | Peacemaker | Jamil | Recurring role |
| Roar | Third Husband (Raoul) | Episode: "The Woman Who Returned Her Husband" | |
| Zarqa | Yusuf | 3 episodes | |
| Family Guy | Giraffe (voice) | Episode: "Happy Holo-ween" | |
| Beauty and the Beast: A 30th Celebration | Le Fou | Live TV special |
Video games
| Year | Title | Role |
|---|---|---|
| 2007 | Age of Empires III: The Asian Dynasties | Akbar |
References
- ^ a b c d e "Outsourced: Rajiv played by Rizwan Manji". NBC Universal. Archived from the original on October 27, 2010. Retrieved October 15, 2010.
- ^ Strachan, Alex (May 12, 2011). "It's end of the season for five television programs". The Windsor Star (Windsor, Ontario). p. C8.
- ^ "Outsourcing stereotypes". Retrieved January 23, 2015.
- ^ Rydhan, Irfan. "Rizwan Manji: Taking Jobs From White America". ILLUME. Archived from the original on December 26, 2010. Retrieved December 13, 2010.
- ^ a b Ryan, Andrew (October 6, 2010). "Outsourced, in this case, is 'a great honour'". The Globe and Mail (Toronto). p. R4.
- ^ "Indo-Canadian Actor to Star in 'The Wolf of Wall Street'". News India-Times (New York). December 20, 2013. p. 23.
- ^ a b Hall, Jamie (September 30, 2010). "Actor finds way in with Outsourced; Sitcom set in Indian firm 'a really big deal' for ex-U of A student". Edmonton Journal. p. D1.
- ^ Volmers, Eric (September 30, 2010). "Sitcom laughs outsourced to Calgary actor; Rizwan Manji shows funny side in new series". Calgary Herald. p. E4.
- ^ ""Outsourced" not outdone — Ismaili actor makes headway in Hollywood". TheIsmaili.org. December 21, 2010. Retrieved December 12, 2010.
- ^ ""People think Rajiv Gidwani is a jackass!" – Rizwan Manji » Bollywood Spice | Bollywood News". Archived from the original on December 12, 2010. Retrieved December 13, 2010.
- ^ Brioux, Bill (November 27, 2010). "Landing a big job on Outsources: The new show is the latest in a trend that reflects the growing global reach of the South Asian community". Toronto Star. p. SW4.
- ^ "CBC and Little Mosque on the Prairie's Zarqa Nawaz reunite for Zarqa | TV, eh?". www.tv-eh.com. October 7, 2021. Retrieved November 6, 2021.
- ^ Hanson-Firestone, Dana, "10 Things You Didn’t Know About Rizwan Manji," tvovermind.com, November 2019 Retrieved April 7, 2020
- ^ a b ispot.tv Manji TV Commercials Ads Retrieved April 7, 2020
- ^ "Host The Brighter Side Of News". Rukus Avenue Radio. Retrieved December 27, 2022.
- ^ "Rizwan Manji Welcomes Son Aariq". People. Retrieved September 26, 2020.
- ^ "Rizwan Manji: It wasn't a surprise that people loved Schitt's Creek. It was a surprise that it took so long for people to find it!". Hindustan Times. November 21, 2020. Retrieved November 6, 2021.
External links
- Rizwan Manji at IMDb