This afternoon, Aziz Ansari was “randomly” sitting next to Amy Poehler on an airplane, watching her watch the BBC’s Sherlock Holmes. But, thanks to the ceaseless wonders of this WiFi-empowered era, he was also live on Reddit, doing an AMA. The interview came just after the release of his Dangerously Delicious comedy special, which you can download for five bucks on his website, and both cement his status as one of the Internet’s favorite comedians. While the entire AMA is pretty entertaining, there’s a lot of randomness to pick through, and as of the time this post was filed, it was still going — so we’ve sifted out some of his best responses on everything from comedians he loves to his favorite music to the future of Raaaaaaandy.
1. Ansari’s favorite comedians: “Hannibal Buress, Chelsea Peretti, Doug Stanhope, Louis CK, Patrice O’Neal (check out Mr. P, the bit about bread is so funny)”
2. What Nick Offerman smells like: “He smells like cappuccinos or something cause he uses these lozenges to stop smoking. It’s kind of warm and comforting. He also eats a lot of bacon and does woodwork stuff just like Ron Swanson. He’s the best.”
3. A Randy movie may actually happen: “We sold that idea but decided to work on other the projects we sold first. All of that stuff is ‘in development,’ ‘going through drafts,’ etc. Movie stuff is so slow. That’s why I love standup!!!”
4. What his writing process looks like: “An idea pops in my head and I write it in my phone or notebook. Then I usually have bullet points of joke ideas and start trying them out at small shows in NY or LA and then develop them over time. I put an hour of that together and that’s a tour. It took like 8 months to put together my new tour Buried Alive.”
5. What Ansari and Tom Haverford have in common: “We both love hip hop and suits. And are small bearded Indian men.”
6. We can expect to see him on the big screen: “I have a few movies in development that I’m excited about and will hopefully shoot one in my next hiatus from Parks and Recreation.”
7. Why he’s selling his standup special for $5 online: “I recorded the special in June and paid for it myself, knowing I wanted to release it online. A few months later I was with Louis CK watching his special while he edited and he told me his plan. I wasn’t sure if it would work. It clearly did. People loved that method and immediately I was asked if I would do it so, it seemed like a smart move.”
8. His personal career highlights: “Releasing this special directly to fans has been pretty cool. Performing at Carnegie Hall in NYC. First time I did Letterman.”
9. He’ll be on Jimmy Fallon next Wednesday talking about the “insane” experience of getting a shout out from President Obama.
10. Some of Ansari’s favorite restaurants: “I really like Ricky’s Fish Tacos and Guisados right now,” in LA. Five Points is his go-to New York brunch spot. In general, he is partial to the food in Montreal.
11. His favorite food: Tacos.
12. He is a Beach House fan and can’t wait for their new album.
13. A few of his personal “Oh No Nos”: “Rudeness. A propensity to commit hate crimes.”
14. What happened to Human Giant: “We did two seasons, [MTV] asked for a third, but we decided to move on to other projects.”
15. His favorite TV drama: “BREAKING BAD. But psyched for Mad Men to come back too.”
16. What he would have been if comedy didn’t work out: “I don’t know, probably just be a fat Indian man that eats a lot of food and lives at home.”
17. Ansari’s recommended R&B seduction jams: Boyz II Men’s “On Bended Knee” and Seal’s “Kiss from a Rose”
18. What’s on his DJ Roomba’s playlist: Drake — “The Motto,” Meek Mill — “I’m a Boss,” Jay Z — “Can I Live?,” French Montana – “Shot Caller” (Remix with Diddy version), The Throne — “I Love You So”
19. Diddy has a sense of humor: “Dude is hilarious. We did a Ciroc commercial together once and I was in Get Him to the Greek with him for like 2 mins. He’s super funny.”
20. What he’s going to do when he retires: “Try to host a travel show where I eat food and become fatter”