/ Sexy & Successful 2011 - Russell Peters

by Anokhi Admin

Sexy & Successful 2011 – Russell Peters

Jul 15, 2013

Comedian

Does Russell Peters really need an introduction? He's easily the most recognizable South Asian comedian in North America, and possibly even in the world. Proof? Forbes ranked him one of the top ten highest-grossing comics in the U.S. in 2009. Peters, the son of Indian immigrants, grew up in Toronto and is the Global Ambassador for Toronto Tourism. Tickets to his shows sell like hot cakes and he's performed in front of sold-out audiences at Madison Square Garden, Radio City Music Hall, The Nokia Theatre in Los Angeles, the Sydney Opera House and London's O2 Arena, among other venues. He's also the first comedian to sell out the Air Canada Centre four times and over 175,000 fans attended his 20th Anniversary tour across Canada in 2009.

Peters has also worked various comedy circuits, including HBO's Aspen Comedy Festival, The Las Vegas Comedy Festival, Just For Laughs in Montreal and Chicago, and the Edinburgh Festival. He's a popular guest on late-night shows, such as The Tonight Show with Jay Leno and Jimmy Kimmel Live. He's won the Gemini Award for Best Host or Performance in a Variety Series, for hosting the 2008 Juno Awards. He was such a hit that the Junos (the Canadian equivalent of the Grammys) came knocking on his door to host the show again in 2009—which he did to the supreme delight of his fans.

Peters appeared in the Comedy Central special Russell Peters: Red, White and Brown, and also hosted Showtime's Comics Without Borders and Russell Peters Presents. Call Me Russell is the stand-up comedian's memoir of a kid with ADD becoming one of the world's top comedians. The book, published by Doubleday Canada in October 2010, is an inspiring read by an artist of colour who dares to dream big.

This year holds a lot of promise for Peters—you'll see him in the film Source Code, directed by Duncan Jones and starring Jake Gyllenhaal, and he's working with NBC to developing a half-hour show loosely based on his family life, tentatively titled I'm With Russell. Speaking of family life, the funny man and his wife are also expecting their first child in 2011.

Q&A

Zodiac sign: Libra.

Relationship status: Married.

Best way to unwind: Fight night—having my friends over to watch a fight (boxing, UFC) at my house.

Fave Bollywood movie: Seriously . . . ?

Favourite Hollywood movie: Goodfellas.

Favourite book: Call Me Russell (Hello!)

Guilty pleasure: Shopping (really not that guilty . . . )

What is on your iPod? What's not on my iPod? There's everything from Steely Dan to classic hip hop to Metallica.

Something quirky about you no one would know: Despite how much I travel, every time I'm packing to go somewhere, it's almost like the first time I'm leaving home. I'll make three trips to the dresser for socks, and then there'll be two trips for underwear . . . it takes me forever to pack.

Best personal feature and why: Hmm . . . sense of humour?

Best feature on the opposite sex: I can find something attractive in every woman.

Celebrity crush: Anne Hathaway.

If you had to choose, would it be romance or hot sex? Hot sex (I know the corny answer is romance, but seriously . . . )

Three things you can't live without: Money, food and water.

Most memorable professional moment: My first two shows at the Air Canada Centre in 2007.

Most valuable life lesson: Not taking whatever success I've had for granted; knowing that one day it will end, but enjoying it while it's here.

_{BY: TAMARA BALUJA / PUBLISHED: JANUARY 2011/8TH ANNIVERSARY SEXY & SUCCESSFUL ISSUE

PHOTOGRAPHY BY: CLAY PATRICK MCBRIDE}