That's so Aziz

Aziz Ansari (left), Rashida Jones (center), and Amy Poehler are castmates in an as-yet untitled NBC sitcom.

LOS ANGELES - In April, Aziz Ansari is hoping you'll be laughing at him. That's when the comic and actor, a regular on the MTV sketch series "Human Giant," will be costarring with "Saturday Night Live" alum Amy Poehler in a new NBC sitcom from the writers and producers of "The Office" and "SNL."

It's also when the South Carolina-born funnyman will be appearing on the big screen alongside Seth Rogen in "Observe and Report." He can currently be seen as a new intern on ABC's "Scrubs" and has filmed scenes for the upcoming Judd Apatow-produced "Funny People," costarring Rogen and Adam Sandler.

We caught up with the 25-year-old in Los Angeles, where he was promoting the as-yet-unnamed sitcom, which premieres April 9.

Q. Kanye West, mad or thrilled?
A. He was psyched. I spoke to him on the phone, and he posted it on his blog. I think he's going to come to one of the shows. He's the nicest guy.

Q. Is your show anything like Kanye's, with pyramids, funky glasses, and Auto-Tune?
A. I was going to do a whole thing where I had a spaceship, but if you haven't seen his show it wouldn't make any sense. [Laughs]. It's just straight stand-up, no spaceships. But I do "Gold Digger" in the middle of the show for no reason.

Q. Your new NBC comedy with Amy Poehler has no title yet. Have you offered any ideas?
A. The title I've been tossing around is "That's So Aziz." I don't know if it'll catch on.

Q. That's got a ring to it. Does it have an exclamation point?
A. No. But my other pitch is "Aziz in the House!" and that one does.

Q. What's "Observe and Report" about?
A. Seth Rogen plays a mall cop in a small town and I play a guy that runs a lotion stand, and we have a small rivalry. [My character's] a really creepy guy, it was really fun.

Q. Getting pulled into that Apatow-Rogen-Sandler galaxy must be exciting.
A. If there's anybody I wanted to do movies with it's those guys. Their movies are my favorite movies.

Q. Do you ever envision trying dramatic acting?
A. Not right now. I'm pretty happy doing what I'm doing. I just want to do it on a bigger scale.

Q. So we won't see you 10 years from now accepting an Oscar for your work in a war film?
A. No. But I could see myself becoming a straight-up action star like Jason Statham. I just want to put that out there for whoever makes those movies: I'm down to take over the "Transporter" franchise.

from: The Boston Globe