Rizwan Manji

Rizwan Manji (born October 17, 1974) is a Canadian actor. He is known best for his portrayal of Ray Butani on Schitt's Creek and Rajiv Gidwani in the NBC Universal TV series Outsourced.[1]

Rizwan Manji
Born (1974-10-17) October 17, 1974
Alma materAmerican Musical and Dramatic Academy
OccupationActor
Years active1997–present
Spouse(s)Taslim Manji
Children3

Early life

Manji was born in Toronto, Ontario, to Indian parents who immigrated there 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 first grade, 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 college 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] In 2010 Manji auditioned for the role of Gupta on the NBC comedy Outsourced.[1] Parvesh Cheena got the part, but the producers cast Manji as the scheming assistant manager Rajiv.[10][11] Manji appeared in a GEICO commercial as a customer in the checkout aisle who wins the "auction,"[12][13] and in commercials for Kmart, LendingTree, National Car Rental, and The UPS Store.[13]

Personal life

Manji lives in Studio City, California, with his wife and three children.[1][14]

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
2001 Queenie in Love Ahmed
2002 The Guru Party Waiter
2004 Fillum Star: The Peter Patel Story Peter Patel
2007 Transformers Akram
2007 Charlie Wilson's War Colonel Mahmood
2007 God, Inc. Muslim Publicist Short film
2009 Karma Calling Nikhil Shah
2010 Morning Glory DayBreak Producer
2012 The Dictator Patient
2012 The Citizen Mo
2013 The Wolf of Wall Street Kalil
2013 Don Jon Teacher
2013 Decoding Annie Parker Assistant
2014 Dr. Cabbie Vijay
2014 That Thing with the Cat Manu
2014 Alexander and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day Mr. Cellars
2015 Equals Gilead
2015 Miss India America Balu Patel
2016 Paterson Donny
2016 The Tiger Hunter Babu Rahman
2016 Odd Squad: The Movie Weird Mitch
2016 The Bounce Back Daryl
2016 Arranged Raj Short
2017 Wild Honey Writers' Group Leader
2018 The Man Who Killed Hitler and Then the Bigfoot Maple Leaf
2020 Midnight Curry Amman Khoja

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"
2005 NCIS Dr. Pandy Episode: "SWAK"
2005 Damage Control 2 episodes
2005 Sleeper Cell Car Salesman Episode: "Money"
2005 Late Night with Conan O'Brien Santa Claus[5] Episode: "#13.62"
2006 E-Ring Officer ISI Episode: "Five Pillars"
2006 Rescue Me Haji Episode: "Retards"
2007 The Knights of Prosperity Dentist Episode: "Operation: Fighting Shape"
2007 The Game Tubak Episode: "To Baby... Or Not to Baby"
2007 Without a Trace Fasil Mazarin Episode: "Deep Water"
2008–2009 Privileged Rami 10 episodes
2008 Mind of Mencia Gynecologist Episode: "#4.1"
2008 Life Young Doctor Episode: "Everything... All the Time"
2008 It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia Mehar Episode: "Paddy's Pub: The Worst Bar in Philadelphia"
2008 Hannah Montana Ajay Episode: "You Never Give Me My Money"
2009–2010 Better Off Ted Rick / Male Office Worker 5 episodes
2009–2010 FlashForward Maneesh Sandhar 3 episodes
2009 The Suite Life on Deck Swami Banu Kapatu Episode: "The Mommy and the Swami"
2009 Worst Week Ashok Episode: "The Epidural"
2009 Eleventh Hour Tony Episode: "Olfactus"
2009 How I Met Your Mother Dr. Vikash Episode: "Double Date"
2009 Medium Rental Agent Episode: "New Terrain"
2009 Three Rivers Dr. Drev / Dr. Dev / Male Doctor 3 episodes
2010–2011 Outsourced Rajiv Gidwani 22 episodes
2010 24 Ahman 3 episodes
2010 Glee Dr. Gidwani Episode: "Laryngitis"
2010 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"
2012 Shake It Up John Episode: "Whodunit Up?"
2012 Squad 85 Cubby / Asst. Principal 3 episodes
2013 Touch Pakistani Interrogator Episode: "Enemy of My Enemy"
2013 Wendell & Vinnie Aziz 2 episodes
2013 Arrested Development Animesh / Male Concierge Episode: "Indian Takers"
2013 Save Me Dr. Carroll Episode: "Heal Thee"
2013 Anger Management Indian Father Episode: "Charlie and the Airport Sext"
2013 Lucky 7 Ahsan Lashiri 3 episodes
2013 Bones Raymond McCants Episode: "The Mystery in the Meat"
2013 The Goldbergs Donald Episode: "Shopping"
2013–2014 Dog with a Blog Dr. Young 2 episodes
2014 Mom Dr. Bellin 2 episodes
2014 Working the Engels Edward Fancy-Doodle Episode: "Jenna vs. Big Pastry Part II"
2014 Mixology Ganesh Episode: "Closing Time"
2015 Young & Hungry Cashier / Doctor Episode: "Young & Munchies"
2015 Backstrom Dr. Deb Chaman 5 episodes
2015 The Thundermans Babu Ouch Episode: "Phoebe vs Max: The Sequel"
2015 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"
2016 NCIS: Los Angeles Anton Episode: "Matryoshka, Part 1"
2016 Workaholics Saul Kingston Episode: "Night at the Dudeseum"
2016 Another Period Prince Apato Episode: "The Prince and the Pauper"
2016 Goliath Dr. Carbo Episode: "It's Donald"
2017–2020 The Magicians Tick Pickwick 24 episodes
2017 Mr. Robot Norm Recurring role
2017 Mondays Tour Guide 2 episodes
2018 Rob Riggle’s Ski Master Academy Todd 8 episodes
2018 A Very Nutty Christmas Justin TV movie
2019–2020 Sydney to the Max Vice Principal Virman 5 episodes
2019–2020 Perfect Harmony Reverend Jax Main cast, 13 episodes
2021 Peacemaker Jamil Recurring role, upcoming miniseries

Video games

Year Title Role
2007 Age of Empires III: The Asian Dynasties Akbar

References

  1. "Outsourced: Rajiv played by Rizwan Manji". NBC Universal. Archived from the original on October 27, 2010. Retrieved October 15, 2010.
  2. Strachan, Alex (May 12, 2011). "It's end of the season for five television programs". The Windsor Star (Windsor, Ontario). p. C8.
  3. "Outsourcing stereotypes". Retrieved January 23, 2015.
  4. Rydhan, Irfan. "Rizwan Manji: Taking Jobs From White America". ILLUME. Archived from the original on December 26, 2010. Retrieved December 13, 2010.
  5. Ryan, Andrew (October 6, 2010). "Outsourced, in this case, is 'a great honour'". The Globe and Mail (Toronto). p. R4.
  6. "Indo-Canadian Actor to Star in 'The Wolf of Wall Street'". News India-Times (New York). December 20, 2013. p. 23.
  7. 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.
  8. Volmers, Eric (September 30, 2010). "Sitcom laughs outsourced to Calgary actor; Rizwan Manji shows funny side in new series". Calgary Herald. p. E4.
  9. ""Outsourced" not outdone — Ismaili actor makes headway in Hollywood". TheIsmaili.org. December 21, 2010. Retrieved December 12, 2010.
  10. "Archived copy". Archived from the original on December 12, 2010. Retrieved December 13, 2010.CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  11. 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.
  12. Hanson-Firestone, Dana, "10 Things You Didn’t Know About Rizwan Manji," tvovermind.com, November 2019 Retrieved April 7, 2020
  13. ispot.tv Manji TV Commercials Ads Retrieved April 7, 2020
  14. "Rizwan Manji Welcomes Son Aariq". People. Retrieved September 26, 2020.
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