Hasan Minhaj

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Hasan Minhaj
Birth nameHasan Minhaj
Native nameहसन मिन्हाज, حسان منہاج
Born (1985-09-23) September 23, 1985 (age 35)
Davis, California, U.S.
Medium
  • Stand-up
  • television
  • film
EducationDavis Senior High School
Alma materUC Davis (B.S. Political Science)
Years active2008–present
Genres
Subject(s)
Spouse
Beena Patel
​
(m. 2015)​
Children2
WebsiteOfficial website Edit this at Wikidata

Hasan Minhaj (/ˈhʌsən ˈmɪnhɑːdʒ/;[note 1][1] born September 23, 1985) is an American comedian, writer, producer, political commentator, actor, and television host. Best known for his Netflix show Patriot Act with Hasan Minhaj, he has won two Peabody Awards and two Webby Awards.

After working as a stand-up comic and appearing in minor television roles, he came to prominence for his work on The Daily Show as its senior correspondent from 2014 to 2018. Minhaj was the featured speaker at the 2017 White House Correspondents’ Dinner.[2] His first stand-up comedy special, Homecoming King, debuted on Netflix on May 23, 2017, received positive reviews from critics[3] and earned him his first Peabody Award in 2018.[4] Minhaj left The Daily Show in August 2018 to host a weekly comedy show, Patriot Act with Hasan Minhaj, which debuted on Netflix on October 28, 2018.[5] In April 2019, he won his second Peabody Award for Patriot Act, and he was listed among TIME's 100 most influential people in the world.

Early life and family[]

Minhaj's parents are Indian U.P Muslim immigrants, originally from Aligarh, Uttar Pradesh, Central India. His parents, Najme and Seema (née Usmani), immigrated to Davis, California where Minhaj was born and raised.[6][7][8] After his birth, he and his father, a chemist, remained in the United States. His mother returned to India for eight years to complete medical school,[9] visiting the U.S. after three years to give birth to his sister in 1989.[10] Minhaj did not know he had a sister until he was eight when his mother and sister returned permanently from India.[11] So, in addition to his perfect English, he is fluent in Hindi and Urdu.[12][13] His sister, Ayesha Minhaj, is an attorney in the San Francisco Bay Area.[11] He attended Davis Senior High School, graduating in 2003.[14] Minhaj attended the University of California, Davis, where he majored in political science. He graduated in 2007.[15]

Career[]

Minhaj performing in 2013

While in college, he became interested in comedy after seeing Chris Rock's Never Scared, the first stand-up special he watched. He began traveling to San Francisco to perform.[8] In 2008, he won Wild 94.9's "Best Comic Standing" competition, which resulted in his working as an opening act for Katt Williams, Pablo Francisco, and Gabriel Iglesias. He also worked part-time for the website Ning, an experience he used to write comedy.[15] Minhaj lists Kevin Shea, W. Kamau Bell, and Arj Barker as inspirations.[8]

In 2009, Minhaj moved to Los Angeles to perform on NBC's Stand-up for Diversity, on which he was a finalist.[15][8] In 2011, he was recurring on the TV sitcom State of Georgia and starred in various roles on the MTV hidden camera show Disaster Date. Through posting on YouTube, he was cast on Failosophy on MTV.[8] In 2013, Minhaj appeared in guest roles on Arrested Development and Getting On.[16] He hosted Stand Up Planet in 2013 and a web series, The Truth with Hasan Minhaj, in 2014.[17] In 2014, he voiced Rabi Ray Rana in the video game Far Cry 4.

On November 19, 2014, Minhaj joined The Daily Show as a correspondent, the last one hired by then-host Jon Stewart. Minhaj was asked to come in for an audition with new material after he sent in a tape of him performing an idea for a Daily Show segment, but he initially panicked as he had no other material prepared. The Friday before Minhaj's audition, Ben Affleck and Bill Maher got into a heated exchange about Islam on Maher's show, and Minhaj used this for a new sketch he called "Batman vs. Bill Maher".[17][18]

Minhaj performing in 2016

On June 18, 2016, Minhaj performed a set as the host of the annual Radio and Television Correspondents Dinner.[19] The set gained attention for his condemnation of the United States Congress' inaction in passing gun control legislation.[25]

On April 29, 2017, Minhaj was the featured speaker at the 2017 White House Correspondents' Dinner, where he took on the traditional role of roasting Washington, D.C. society, national politics, current events, the current president, the Washington press corps, and the American media.[26] He criticized U.S. President Donald Trump, who was boycotting the dinner,[27] calling him the "liar in chief," and reminded the press to do their job.[2]

Minhaj's one-man show, Homecoming King, debuted Off-Broadway in October 2015.[9][28] The show featured a central theme of the immigrant experience in the United States today, illustrated with stories from Minhaj's life as a second-generation Indian-American Muslim. He later turned the show into his first stand-up special, Hasan Minhaj: Homecoming King, which premiered on Netflix on May 23, 2017. The special was filmed at the Mondavi Center at Minhaj's alma mater, UC Davis, in January 2017,[3] and won a television Peabody Award.[29]

In March 2018, Netflix announced that Minhaj would host his own weekly show on the platform.[30][31] The new show, entitled Patriot Act with Hasan Minhaj, premiered on October 28, 2018. The show received an initial order of 32 episodes. Patriot Act explores the modern cultural, political and economic landscape.[5] In April 2019, Minhaj was listed among TIME's 100 most influential people in the world,[32] and won his second Peabody Award for Patriot Act.[33] Some months after Minhaj's episode on the student loan crisis aired, he was called to testify regarding the issue before the US congress in September 2019. In August 2020, Minhaj announced the series would not be renewed after 40 Episodes.[34]

On November 27, 2018, Comedy Central aired a special titled Goatface, featuring Minhaj, Fahim Anwar, Asif Ali, and Aristotle Athiras.[35]

In September 2019, Minhaj testified during a United States House Committee on Financial Services hearing on student loan debt.[36]

On November 13, 2020, it was announced that Minhaj would join season 2 of the Apple TV+ comedy The Morning Show in a recurring role.[37]

Influences[]

Minhaj has said his comedy influences are: Richard Pryor, Dave Chappelle, Trevor Noah,[38] Junot Diaz, Jon Stewart, Chris Rock,[39] and Stephen Colbert.[40]

Personal life[]

In January 2015, Minhaj married Beena Patel, whom he had met in college. Beena received a Doctor of Public Health in 2013. She has since worked with homeless patients and holds the position of Management Consultant for MedAmerica. Patel is Hindu and Minhaj is Muslim, something Minhaj discussed in his comedy special, Homecoming King, especially in reference to his parents not wanting him to marry a non-Muslim.[41][42][43] They live in New York City.[44] They have two children: a daughter (born April 2018)[45] and a son (born March 2020).[46]

In 2019, Minhaj played on the "Away" roster during the NBA All-Star Celebrity Game at the Bojangles' Coliseum in Charlotte, North Carolina.[47]

Filmography[]

Film[]

Year Title Role Notes
2010 True Stories from My Crappy Childhood Himself Short film
2011 Moving Takahashi Grant
2012 Indian Spider-Man Hasan Peter Patel
2013 Good Son Doctor's son
2017 Rough Night Joe
2018 Most Likely to Murder Amir
The Spy Who Dumped Me Topher Duffer
2019 Dads Himself Documentary film

Television[]

Year Title Role Notes
2010 The Wanda Sykes Show WMZ Staffer Episode: "1.8"
The Legend of Neil Lynel 2 / Lynel 2 episodes
2011 Disaster Date Himself 18 episodes
State of Georgia Seth 5 episodes
2013 Arrested Development Indian Medical Student Episode: "A New Start"
Getting On Raul Episode: "Nightshift"
Failosophy Himself (host) 12 episodes
2014–18 The Daily Show Himself (correspondent) 103 episodes
2016 Radio and Television Correspondents' Dinner[48] Himself (host) TV Special
2017 White House Correspondents' Dinner
Hasan Minhaj: Homecoming King Himself Stand-up special
2018 Champions Ro Episode: "My Fair Uncle"
The Final Table Guest judge Episode: "India"
Comedians in Cars Getting Coffee Himself (guest) Episode: "Nobody Cries At A Joke"
Goatface Himself Comedy Central special
2018–20 Patriot Act with Hasan Minhaj Himself (host) 40 episodes; also co-creator, writer, executive producer
2020 The Morning Show Eric Season 2-present

Video games[]

Year Title Voice
2014 Far Cry 4 Rabi Ray Rana (voice)

Awards and nominations[]

Year Association Category Nominated work Result Ref.
2016 Chhaya CDC Award Architects Of Change Honoree Won [49]
2017 Teen Choice Award Choice Comedian Nominated [50]
2018 Shorty Award Best in Comedy The Daily Show Nominated [51]
Peabody Awards Entertainment honoree Hasan Minhaj: Homecoming King Won [52]
2019 Entertainment honoree Patriot Act with Hasan Minhaj Won [33]
Time 100 Most Influential People Won [32]
Webby Awards Video Entertainment "Deep Cuts" (Patriot Act with Hasan Minhaj) Won [53][54]
Special Achievement Patriot Act with Hasan Minhaj Won [54]
Social Campaign for Television & Film Patriot Act with Hasan Minhaj Nominated [55]

See also[]

  • Improvisational Comedy
  • Indians in the New York City metropolitan region
  • Political satire

Notes[]

  1. ^ The pronunciation /həˈsɑːn mɪˈnɑːdʒ/ is one variant Minhaj himself has used, for example during his comedy speech at the 2017 White House Correspondents' Dinner. However, in his public life, he has more recently adopted the pronunciation /ˈhʌsən ˈmɪnhɑːdʒ/ or /ˈmɪnhɑːʒ/, for example, on his Netflix show Patriot Act with Hasan Minhaj, including in the second season ("Volume 2") episode "Censorship in China" at 0:25-0:35 and 4:05-4:15, and on the Ellen Show in 2019, correcting the host and repeating the pronunciation /ˈmɪnhɑːʒ/ multiple times.

References[]

  1. ^ Hasan Minhaj Uses Timothée Chalamet's Name at Starbucks (TheEllenShow). YouTube. April 4, 2019. Retrieved April 5, 2019. DeGeneres: It's /həˈsɑːn mɪˈnɑːʒ/. Minhaj: No. DeGeneres: Yes. Minhaj: No. DeGeneres: Really? Minhaj: My name is /ˈhʌsən mɪˈnɑːʒ/.
  2. ^ Jump up to: a b Busis, Hillary (April 29, 2017). "White House Correspondents' Dinner: See Hasan Minhaj's Scorching Speech". Vanity Fair. Retrieved April 30, 2017.
  3. ^ Jump up to: a b Meslow, Scott (May 11, 2017). "Watch the Trailer for Hasan Minhaj's Terrific New Netflix Special, 'Homecoming King'". GQ. Retrieved May 13, 2017.
  4. ^ Rathore, Reena (April 26, 2018). "Comedian Hasan Minhaj's Debut Netflix Special Lands Him His First Peabody Award". India West. Retrieved August 1, 2018.
  5. ^ Jump up to: a b Miller, Liz Shannon (August 9, 2018). "Hasan Minhaj to Make History With New Weekly Netflix Series 'Patriot act' Not to be confused with the apparel line "the patriotic act" that was established first in 2016'". IndieWire. Retrieved August 9, 2018.
  6. ^ Egel, Ben. "Hasan Minhaj launches from Davis to the heart of a national debate". Sacramento Bee. Retrieved August 13, 2016.
  7. ^ "Hasan Minhaj, Born 09/23/1985 in California". californiabirthindex.org. Retrieved May 1, 2017.
  8. ^ Jump up to: a b c d e "Archived copy". Archived from the original on March 3, 2016. Retrieved October 11, 2014.CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link) CS1 maint: bot: original URL status unknown (link)
  9. ^ Jump up to: a b Blair, Elizabeth (October 14, 2015). "Hasan Minhaj Of 'Daily Show' On Prom, Indian Dads And White Folks at Desi Weddings". NPR. Retrieved October 14, 2015.
  10. ^ "Ayesha Minhaj, Born 06/17/1989 in California". californiabirthindex.org. Retrieved May 1, 2017.
  11. ^ Jump up to: a b Lyons, Joseph D. (April 13, 2017). "Who Is Ayesha Minhaj? Hasan's Sister Is An Accomplished Lawyer". Bustle. Retrieved May 25, 2017.
  12. ^ Arora, Priya (November 6, 2015). "Comedian Hasan Minhaj on 'Homecoming King' and the Power of Storytelling". India.com. Retrieved May 23, 2017.
  13. ^ Rao, Mallika (May 25, 2017). "Hasan Minhaj Took a Job No One Wanted". Vulture. Retrieved August 15, 2017.
  14. ^ Ternus-Bellamy, Anne (May 13, 2016). "Take it from this Davis guy: Life gets better". Davis Enterprise. Retrieved May 25, 2016.
  15. ^ Jump up to: a b c Perlman, Daniel (August 24, 2009). "Hasan Minhaj: Giving comedy the college try". LAUGHSPIN. Archived from the original on October 16, 2014. Retrieved October 11, 2014.
  16. ^ "The Daily Show adds two new correspondents". The A.V. Club. October 10, 2014. Retrieved October 11, 2014.
  17. ^ Jump up to: a b "'Daily Show' adds Hasan Minhaj and Trevor Noah". Entertainment Weekly. October 10, 2014. Retrieved October 11, 2014.
  18. ^ Lewis, Hilary (October 16, 2015). "'Daily Show' Correspondent Hasan Minhaj Reveals Bill Maher-Ben Affleck Islam Dispute Got Him His Job". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved May 23, 2017.
  19. ^ C-SPAN (June 16, 2016), Hasan Minhaj at 2016 RTCA Dinner (C-SPAN), retrieved June 21, 2016
  20. ^ Rao, Sameer (June 17, 2016). "WATCH: Hasan Minhaj Passionately Denounces Congressional Inaction on Gun Laws". Colorlines. Retrieved June 21, 2016.
  21. ^ Rahel Gebreyes Editor, HuffPost Video (June 17, 2016). "'Daily Show' Correspondent Hasan Minhaj Eviscerates Congress For Inaction on Guns". The Huffington Post. Retrieved June 21, 2016.
  22. ^ "Comedian Who Blasted Congress on Gun Control Tells PEOPLE Why He Has No Regrets: 'This Is What We Have Paid You To Do'". People. Retrieved June 21, 2016.
  23. ^ Slattery, Peter (June 17, 2016). "Hasan Minhaj Tears Congress Apart Over Guns And Bigotry". The Daily Beast. Retrieved June 21, 2016.
  24. ^ "Comedian Hasan Minhaj to Congress on Guns: 'Is This What You Want Your Legacy to Be?'". NBC News. Retrieved June 21, 2016.
  25. ^ [20][21][22][23][24]
  26. ^ Heil, Emily (April 11, 2017). "'Daily Show' regular Hasan Minhaj will headline the White House correspondents' dinner". The Washington Post. ISSN 0190-8286. Retrieved April 11, 2017.
  27. ^ Gold, Hadas (April 11, 2017). "Will Trump be roasted at White House Correspondents' Dinner?". Politico Magazine. Retrieved April 30, 2017.
  28. ^ Gandhi, Lakshmi (October 21, 2015). "'Daily Show' correspondent Hasan Minhaj brings his childhood to the stage". Metro. Retrieved June 21, 2016.
  29. ^ Hipes, Patrick (April 18, 2018). "'Handmaid's Tale', 'Mrs. Maisel', John Oliver & 'SNL' Among Peabody Winners". Deadline.
  30. ^ "Netflix Orders Weekly Talk Show From 'Daily Show' Breakout Hasan Minhaj (Exclusive)". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved March 2, 2018.
  31. ^ Otterson, Joe (March 1, 2018). "'Daily Show' Vet Hasan Minhaj to Host Weekly Netflix Talk Show". Variety. Retrieved March 2, 2018.
  32. ^ Jump up to: a b Noah, Trevor. "Hasan Minhaj". Time. Retrieved April 18, 2019.
  33. ^ Jump up to: a b Hipes, Patrick (April 18, 2019). "Peabody Awards: 'Barry', 'Killing Eve', Hannah Gadsby, 'Pose' Among Entertainment Winners". Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved April 18, 2019.
  34. ^ Rubin, Rebecca (August 18, 2020). "'Patriot Act With Hasan Minhaj' Canceled at Netflix". Variety. Retrieved August 18, 2020.
  35. ^ "Hasan Minhaj's Goatface is the sketch comedy show to watch this weekend". September 21, 2018.
  36. ^ Ortiz, Erik (September 10, 2019). "Comedian Hasan Minhaj tells Congress that student borrowers are 'treated like deadbeats'". NBC News.
  37. ^ "Hasan Minhaj Joins 'The Morning Show' for Season 2 of Apple TV+ Drama Series". November 13, 2020.
  38. ^ Hirschberg, Lynn (July 25, 2019). "For Hasan Minhaj, the Best Part About Making His Show Patriot Act Is Making Trouble". W. Retrieved July 26, 2019.
  39. ^ Kennedy, Mark (October 15, 2015). "'The Daily Show' comedian Hasan Minhaj puts his life onstage". Associated Press. Retrieved July 6, 2016.
  40. ^ TimesTalks: Hasan Minhaj on YouTube
  41. ^ Johri, Vikram. "Coming to America: Comedian Hasan Minhaj's hilarious take on his Indian parents and dating". Quartz India.
  42. ^ "The Daily Show's Hasan Minhaj Drinks His Coffee 'Construction-Worker-Style'". Grub Street. October 16, 2015. Retrieved June 19, 2016.
  43. ^ "Instagram post by Hasan Minhaj". Instagram. January 6, 2015. Retrieved May 25, 2017.
  44. ^ Kaufman, Joanne (December 16, 2016). "A 'Daily Show' Correspondent Adjusts to Life in New York". The New York Times. Retrieved May 25, 2017.
  45. ^ Hasan Minhaj. Instagram. Retrieved on April 23, 2018.
  46. ^ "Hasan Minhaj on Instagram: "Even in these crazy times there are so many beautiful moments. Welcome to the world little guy. The Minhaj family grows, and according to…"". Instagram. Retrieved March 20, 2020.
  47. ^ release, Official. "ESPN and NBA announce celebrity rosters and coaches for 2019 NBA All-Star Celebrity Game presented by Ruffles exclusively on ESPN". NBA.com. Retrieved March 13, 2019.
  48. ^ C-SPAN (June 16, 2016). "Hasan Minhaj at 2016 RTCA Dinner (C-SPAN)". Retrieved January 7, 2020 – via YouTube.
  49. ^ "Presenting our Architects of Change Honorees". Chhaya CDC.
  50. ^ Ceron, Ella (June 19, 2017). "Teen Choice Awards 2017: See the First Wave of Nominations". Teen Vogue. Retrieved June 19, 2017.
  51. ^ "Best in Comedy". Shorty Awards.
  52. ^ Brockington, Ariana (April 19, 2018). "'Handmaid's Tale,' 'A Series of Unfortunate Events' Among Peabody Entertainment, Youth Winners (EXCLUSIVE)". Variety. Retrieved April 20, 2018.
  53. ^ "Deep Cuts | Patriot Act with Hasan Minhaj -- The Webby Awards". Retrieved June 11, 2019.
  54. ^ Jump up to: a b Liao, Shannon (April 23, 2019). "Here are all the winners of the 2019 Webby Awards". The Verge. Retrieved September 5, 2019.
  55. ^ "Patriot Act with Hasan Minhaj -- The Webby Awards". Retrieved June 14, 2019.

External links[]

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