Aziz Ansari: 'I haven't seen Kanye West in a long time. I think he's just like any other friend who gets married and has kids - you just don't see them as much'

The 32-year-old actor and comedian on films, fitness, food and friends
Funny man: actor and comedian Aziz Ansari
Rex

Having made his name in the hit TV sitcom Parks and Recreation, alongside Chris Pratt and Amy Poehler, and appeared in Jay Z and Kanye West’s ‘Otis’ video, Ansari has just published his first book, Modern Romance, with sociologist Eric Klinenberg, on dating in the digital age. He lives in LA and New York, and is working on a new Netflix series

FASHION

A perfectly fitted suit can make a look. I’ve got a couple by Band of Outsiders that changed the way I think about tailoring. I like clothes to look a little broken-in. I have a beaten-up black leather jacket I bought in LA, which often pops up in my TV work.

TECH

Smartphones have changed the dating game. The moment those ‘typing’ dots appear on an iPhone screen after asking a girl out is awesome. Getting no response is the worst. I’ve sat there for hours telling myself a girl is too busy to text back, only for a picture of her breakfast to appear on Instagram moments later.

DÉCOR

I like a good-smelling candle. Who’s against those? It would be a bummer if you were with someone who said, ‘Excuse me, I can’t stand this lovely smelling candle, it’s distracting me.’

FITNESS

Every day I try to do some lifting. Today I lifted some delicious food and put it in my mouth. In LA I get up early in the morning and do calisthenics, but I recommend reading Chris Pratt interviews for workout tips. He does a ‘Prison 50’: 50 push-ups, 50 crunches, 50 squats. I can do a ‘Prison Seven’.

FILMS

Woody Allen has made so many brilliant movies. I’d take his complete works as my desert island DVDs and then Home Alone as a little palate cleanser. I’ve just watched Mad Men from start to finish and I’m in love with the world Matthew Weiner created. But I’m not a superfan. I’m not going to sit in a bar pretending to be Don Draper, although I’ll go as far as ordering an Old Fashioned. My favourite scene? The lawnmower moment, of course.

FOOD

The food scene in London is fun. Scotch eggs look a little scary, but at some point I do want to try one. You can’t beat authentic home-cooked Southern fried chicken. I’m from South Carolina and I can tell you that KFC doesn’t even come close.

PEOPLE

My ultimate party crowd would include Richard Pryor, Jimi Hendrix and John Lennon. I haven’t seen Kanye West in a long time. I think he’s just like any other friend who gets married and has kids — you just don’t see them as much.

Busy man: Kanye West

MUSIC

Michael Jackson’s Thriller was the soundtrack to my childhood. As a kid, what I listened to was dictated by MTV. If you wanted to listen to the Beatles’ Revolver, you’d have to borrow it from a friend. Now music is all over the internet.

ROMANCE

Finding love is like buying jars of jam. Barry Schwartz’s The Paradox of Choice argues that the more choice you have, the harder it is to make a decision. There’s too much jam out there: you go on a date and check your phone and all this jam has texted you; you go online and there’s all this jam on there, too. There are smartphone apps that tell you there’s jam nearby that wants to be eaten right at that moment.

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