Aristotle Athari (born July 28, 1991) is an American comedian, actor, and filmmaker. Athari is best known for his brief tenure as a cast member on the

NBC The National Broadcasting Company (NBC) is an Television in the United States, American English-language Commercial broadcasting, commercial television network, broadcast television and radio network. The flagship property of the NBC Enterta ...

sketch comedy Sketch comedy comprises a series of short, amusing scenes or vignettes, called "sketches", commonly between one and ten minutes long, performed by a group of comic actors or comedians. The form developed and became popular in vaudeville, and is ...

series ''

Saturday Night Live ''Saturday Night Live'' (often abbreviated to ''SNL'') is an American late-night live television sketch comedy and variety show created by Lorne Michaels and developed by Dick Ebersol that airs on NBC and Peacock. Michaels currently serves a ...

'' during its 47th season between 2021 and 2022.

Career

Athari is of

Iranian American Iranian Americans are United States citizens or nationals who are of Iranian ancestry or who hold Iranian citizenship. Iranian Americans are among the most highly educated people in the United States. They have historically excelled in busin ...

descent. After starting his career in stand-up comedy, Athari began collaborating with Muslim-American comedians

Hasan Minhaj Hasan Minhaj ( ; born September 23, 1985) is an American comedian, writer, producer, political commentator, actor, and television host of Indian descent. His Netflix show ''Patriot Act with Hasan Minhaj'' won two Peabody Awards and two Webby A ...

, Asif Ali, and Fahim Anwar on sketches under the group name ''Goatface''. An hour-long special of their sketch work aired on Comedy Central in 2018. He had a recurring role on the final two seasons of HBO's ''

Silicon Valley Silicon Valley is a region in Northern California that serves as a global center for high technology and innovation. Located in the southern part of the San Francisco Bay Area, it corresponds roughly to the geographical areas San Mateo County ...

'' as Gabe. Athari also cohosts the improvised podcast "This Is Americans Live," a parody of the radio show ''

This American Life ''This American Life'' (''TAL'') is an American monthly hour-long radio program produced in collaboration with Chicago Public Media and hosted by Ira Glass. It is broadcast on numerous public radio stations in the United States and internation ...

''. In 2021, Athari was cast as a featured player on ''

'', alongside fellow newcomers

James Austin Johnson James Austin Johnson (born July 19, 1989) is an American comedian and actor originally from Nashville, Tennessee. He has garnered attention for his impression of former President Donald Trump, sometimes being referred to as "the best Trump impers ...

and

Sarah Sherman Sarah Sherman (born March 7, 1993), also known professionally as Sarah Squirm, is an American comedian, actress, and screenwriter. Sherman is known for using surreal and body horror comedy. She became a featured player on the NBC sketch comedy ...

, for its forty-seventh season. He was the first Middle-Eastern male on the show and the second cast member of Iranian descent in the show's history (following

Nasim Pedrad Nassim ( ar, نسیم) also transliterated as Nacim, Naseem, Nasseem, Nasim, Nesim or Nessim, is a unisex Arabic name. It is mostly used in Middle Eastern and South Asian cultures and language groups. It may refer to: Company *Nasim Sdn Bhd, a m ...

). He did not return for the 48th season of ''SNL''.

Personal life

Athari married photographer Maura Grace in September 2021.

Filmography

Film

Television

References

External links

* 1991 births Living people 21st-century American comedians American comedians of Iranian descent American male comedians American male television actors American sketch comedians American stand-up comedians Comedians from Texas People from Plano, Texas {{US-comedian-stub