Aziz Ansari becomes first man of Asian descent to win Best Actor at the Golden Globes 2018

Aziz Ansari accepts the award for Best Performance by an Actor in a Television Series – Musical or Comedy at the 75th Annual Golden Globe Awards. The popular American comedian, co-creator & star of “Master of None”, whose parents emigrated from Tamil Nadu in Southern India, became the first actor of Asian descent to win this title.

This marks the second occasion in which a golden globe has been awarded to an actor of South Asian descent. In 1983 Sir Ben Kingsley received two Golden Globes for his starring role as Mohandas Ghandi in the 1982 film Ghandhi. He picked up an award for “Best Performance by an Actor in a Motion Picture – Drama” and “New Star of the Year in a Motion Picture – Male”. The British actor was born Krishna Pandit Bhanji from Snainton in North Riding of Yorkshire.

Master of None sees Ansari play Dev Shah, a struggling 30-year-old actor whose greatest achievement so far is a yoghurt commercial, as he pursues romantic, professional, and cultural experiences across New York City and, in season 2, Italy. 

“To finally be the first of something is really interesting because I never considered myself to be a trailblazer,” he told press backstage. “I just try to stand in my truth all the time and if I come from a place of truth, that’s all I can do. I can’t worry about trying to be Jackie Robinson or anything else, but I’m honored.”