Russell Peters | |
|---|---|
.jpg) Peters in 2017 | |
| Born | Russell Dominic Peters (1970-09-29)29 September 1970 (age 55) |
| Spouses | |
| Children | 2 |
| Comedy career | |
| Years active | 1989–present |
| Medium | |
| Genres | |
| Subjects | |
| Website | russellpeters |
| Signature | |
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Russell Dominic Peters (born 29 September 1970)[1] is a Canadian stand-up comedian, actor, and producer.[2] He began performing inToronto in 1989 and won aGemini Award in 2008. In 2013, he was number three onForbes'list of the world's highest-paid comedians, and became the first comedian to get aNetflix stand-up special.[3] He also won thePeabody Award and theInternational Emmy Award for Best Arts Programming for producingHip-Hop Evolution (2016). He lives inLos Angeles.[4]
Russell Dominic Peters was born on 29 September 1970 inToronto, Ontario, to immigrant parents from India. His parents Eric and Maureen Peters are ofAnglo-Indian descent, who had moved to Canada in 1965 fromJalandhar andKolkata respectively.[5][6] His extended family lives inBhopal, India.[7] Peters was raisedCatholic.[6]
When Peters was four, he and his family moved toBrampton. He attendedChinguacousy Secondary School for grades 9–10, andNorth Peel Secondary School inBramalea for grades 11–12.[8][9][10] In school, he was regularly bulliedbecause of his ethnicity. He eventually learnedboxing, which helped him resist the bullying.[11] Peters also became a fan ofhip hop in his youth. By the 1990s, he was a well-connectedDJ in the Toronto scene.[12][13]
Peters's older brother, Clayton Peters, serves as his manager.[14]
Peters began performing inToronto in 1989. He has since gone on to perform in several countries.[15]
In 1992, Peters met American comedianGeorge Carlin, one of his biggest influences, who advised him to get on stage whenever and wherever possible. Peters said he "took that advice to heart, and I think that's the reason I am where I am now."[16] In 2007, 15 years later, he hosted one of Carlin's last shows before the comedian's death the following year.[11]
On 28 September 2013, Peters was awarded the 2013 Trailblazer award by the Association of South Asians in Media, Marketing and Entertainment (ASAMME) for good contributions to comedy. He is among the first South Asian Americans to achieve international success in the field.[17]
In 2017, Peters made an appearance onTop Gear America in the third episode of season 1 as one of the guests.[18]
According toForbes, Peters earned an estimated $15 million between June 2009 and June 2010, continuing his run as one of the highest-paid comedians, after earning an estimated $5 million the prior year.Forbes ranked him as the seventh-highest-paid comedian.[19][20] In 2013, he earned $21 million, according toForbes' estimate.[21]
Peters credits the turning point in his career to his 2004 special on the Canadian TV showComedy Now!, which was uploaded ontoYouTube, where it became popular. While the initial video upload featured his entire 45-minute performance, YouTube users subsequently uploaded segments of the performance in which Peters focused on individual cultural groups. According to Peters, those segments were seen by the targeted cultural groups and were well received by them. The video and its viral nature was referred to by Peters on his performance,Outsourced; when the audience cheered when he referred to earlier jokes. He has also been the one to tell the !Xobile story, and he exclaimed, "Look at you, you filthy downloaders!"[22]
In 2007, Peters was the first comedian to sell out Toronto'sAir Canada Centre, selling more than 16,000 tickets in two days for the single show. He ended up selling more than 30,000 tickets nationally over the two-day sales period. He broke aUK comedy sales record at London'sO2 Arena when he sold over 16,000 tickets to his show in 2009.[23] His show inSydney on 15 May 2010 had an audience of 13,880, making it the largest stand-up comedy show ever in Australia.[24] Peters's performances on 5–6 May 2012 in Singapore also set attendance records for a single stand-up comedian at theSingapore Indoor Stadium.[25]
Peters hosted theCanada Day Comedy Festival 2006, and participated in aUSO tour of Iraq, Afghanistan, Germany, Africa and Greenland in November 2007 withWilmer Valderrama andMayra Veronica.[26] He also produced and starred in theradiosituation comedy seriesMonsoon House onCBC Radio One.
Peters was the host of the televised2008 Juno Awards ceremonies inCalgary on 6 April 2008,[27] for which he won aGemini Award for "Best Performance or Host in a Variety Program or Series."[28] The show received the second-highest ratings of any Juno Awards broadcast. Following the show's success, Peters accepted an invitation to host theJuno Awards for a second consecutive year; the2009 Juno Awards took place inVancouver on 29 March 2009.
He started his RELAX World Tour in November 2024 in the United States and subsequently performing in other parts of the world. The tour is anticipated to end in June 2025 with the last show inLas Vegas.[29]
In 2025, Peters performed as a headliner inSaudi Arabia'sRiyadh Comedy Festival, an event taking place from September 26th to October 9th.[30][31] The comedy festival overlaps with the seventh anniversary ofthe assassination ofJamal Khashoggi, prompting Joey Shea, Saudi Arabia researcher atHuman Rights Watch, to say in a statement that the Saudi government is using the comedy festival towhitewash itshuman rights abuses.[32][33] Peters has performed in the region before, having spoken of his experience performing for Saudi royalty in a 2017 episode of Comedy Central's series,This is Not Happening.[34][35]
Peters released his debut comedy album,Outsourced, of his performance aired onComedy Central on 26 August 2006. TheDVD version is uncensored; it has sold more than 100,000 copies, and remained on the National DVD Chart over one and a half years after its release.
Peters released a second DVD/CD combo,Red, White and Brown, in Canada in 2008, and in the U.S. in early 2009. It was recorded on 2 February 2008, at theWaMu Theatre in New York City'sMadison Square Garden. It was self-produced and financed by Peters and his brother Clayton.
On 26 October 2010, Peters published his autobiography,Call Me Russell, co-written with his brother, Clayton, and Dannis Koromilas.
In May 2011, Peters releasedThe Green Card Tour: Live from the O2 Arena, a live performance recorded in front of a total audience of 30,000, over two nights atO2 Arena inLondon, England.[36] Also in 2011, Peters received a star onCanada's Walk of Fame.[37]
Peters's stand-up performances featureobservational comedy, using humour to highlight racial, ethnic, class and cultural stereotypes. He often refers to his own experiences growing up in anAnglo-Indian family, and impersonates the accents of various ethnic groups to poke fun at them. As he told an audience inSan Francisco, "I don't make the stereotypes, I just see them."[38] In a 2006 interview withThe National, Peters observed that he did not intend to put down or offend different races and cultures, but tried to "raise them up through humour".[39]
Peters is widely known for his punchline, "Somebody gonna get a hurt real bad." It ends a joke he tells about his childhood with a traditional Indian father, who usedcorporal punishment on his sons. Another punchline he uses is "Be a man! Do the right thing!", which relates to a story of a Chinese man trying to get him to pay more for an item at a shop.[40]
Peters lives inLos Angeles, California, and owns two homes there. He also owns homes inLas Vegas Valley, Nevada, andVaughan, Ontario.[4]
In 2010, Peters established the Russell Peters North Peel Scholarship, an award worth up toCA$21,000 and intended to finance up to three years of college.[41] It will be awarded annually to a student fromJudith Nyman Secondary School (formerly North Peel) with a strong academic record and the intention of attendingcollege.[10][41]
Peters has been a practitioner ofBrazilian jiu-jitsu since 2015, and was promoted to purple belt byJean Jacques Machado in 2025.[42]
Peters proposed to girlfriend Monica Diaz on 10 July 2010, at theLos Angeles International Airport and announced their engagement viaTwitter. The couple married on 20 August 2010, atA Little White Wedding Chapel inLas Vegas, Nevada. The wedding was attended by about 20 guests, including anElvis impersonator. Soon after, Peters toldThe Canadian Press that Diaz was pregnant, saying, "Did I get married because she was knocked up? I would say that expedited it."[43] Their daughter, Crystianna Marie Peters, was born two months early on 14 December 2010.[44] In a March 2012 interview, Peters revealed that he and Diaz were divorcing.[45][46]
In October 2016, it was announced that Peters was engaged to Ruzanna Khetchian.[47] After the engagement was called off, Peters announced on 4 December 2018, viaTwitter, that he and his new girlfriend Jennifer Andrade were expecting a child.[48] Andrade was the Miss Universe Honduras in 2012. In April 2019 it was announced that Andrade had given birth to a boy, whom they named Russell Santiago Peters.[49][50] His relationship with Andrade ended in 2020.[51]
On 20 February 2022, Peters married Ali Peters at theRitz Carlton inDana Point, California.[52]
When interviewerLarry King asked Peters, "Is there such a thing as too taboo?", Peters replied, "I don't talk about religion because I think people are a little weird about religion, especially nowadays, and I'm more of a science guy than I am a beliefs guy. I'm more into facts than I am into beliefs."[53][54] Peters is anatheist.[55]
Russell Peters has appeared in many films. Earlier in his career, he hadcameo roles inBoozecan (1994) as Snake's Friend,Tiger Claws III (2000) as Detective Elliott,My Baby's Daddy (2004) as the obstetrician, andQuarter Life Crisis (2006) as Dilip Kumar.
He appeared inSenior Skip Day (2008), which starredLarry Miller,Tara Reid, and Gary Lundy. That year he was also inThe Take (2008) as Dr. Sharma.
He acted in thePunjabi-Canadian filmBreakaway (2011), alongsideRob Lowe,Camilla Belle,Anupam Kher, and Vinay Virmani. That year he also acted inDuncan Jones'sSource Code (2011) as Max, an amateur comedian with a bad attitude; and as Pervius inNational Lampoon's 301: The Legend of Awesomest Maximus (2011).[56]
Peters has guest-starred on the TV seriesMr. D as the school superintendent. In 2011, he starred in a Canadian TV Christmas special,A Russell Peters Christmas. Guests includedMichael Bublé,Pamela Anderson, andJon Lovitz. The show attracted the most viewers of any CTV Canadian holiday special.
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1994 | Boozecan | Snake's Friend | |
| 2000 | Tiger Claws III | Det. Elliot | |
| 2004 | My Baby's Daddy | Obstetrician | |
| 2006 | Quarter Life Crisis | Dilip Kumar | |
| Russell Peters: Two Concerts, One Ticket | Himself | Video documentary | |
| 2007 | The Take | Dr. Sharma | |
| Let's All Hate Toronto | Himself | Documentary | |
| Heckler | Himself | Documentary | |
| 2008 | Senior Skip Day | Uncle Todd | Video |
| 2010 | The Con Artist | Pogue | |
| 2011 | Source Code | Max Denoff | |
| The Legend of Awesomest Maximus | Pervius | ||
| Breakaway | Sonu Singh | ||
| Walter & Tandoori's Christmas | Tandoori | Voice; English version | |
| New Year's Eve | Chef Sunil | ||
| Bobby Khan's Ticket to Hollywood | Jack the Store Manager | ||
| 2012 | Girl in Progress | Emile | |
| Yak: The Giant King | Zork | Voice; English version | |
| 2013 | My Date with Hugh | Himself | Documentary |
| TBS Who Gets the Last Laugh: Baby Goats | Himself | Video Short | |
| 2014 | Chef | Miami Cop | |
| Ribbit | Deepak | Voice; English version | |
| Meet the Patels | Himself | Documentary | |
| Wings: Sky Force Heroes - Bringing the Characters to Life | Himself | Video Short | |
| Delivery | Himself | Documentary | |
| Lennon or McCartney | Himself | Documentary Short | |
| Wings: Sky Force Heroes | Jumbo/Boss Man | Voice | |
| 2015 | Being Canadian | Himself | Documentary |
| 2016 | Fifty Shades of Black | Dean Jordan | |
| The Jungle Book | Rocky the Indian Rhinoceros | Voice | |
| 2017 | The Clapper | Stillerman | |
| Ripped | Harris | ||
| Adventures in Public School | Mr. Germaine | ||
| 2018 | Supercon | Keith Mahar | |
| 2020 | The Opening Act | Randy | |
| 2021 | Clifford the Big Red Dog | Malik | |
| 2023 | Outlaw Johnny Black | Big Chief | |
| Drop the Needle | Himself | Documentary | |
| Taking Back the Groove[57] | N/A | Documentary short Executive producer | |
| TBA | Street Justice[citation needed] | Hasidic | Pre-production |
| Don't Suck | Himself | ||
| Collateral Data | Luqman | ||
| Wingman | Kazzim |
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1990 | Comedy at Club 54 | Himself | TV series |
| 1997 | Live at Jongleurs | Himself | Episode: "Episode #1.5" |
| Comedy Now! | Himself | Episode: "Russell Peters: Show Me the Funny!" | |
| Just for Laughs | Himself | TV series | |
| 1999 | The Big Stage | Himself | Episode: "Episode #1.2" |
| Festival of Fun | Himself | Episode: "Episode #2.2" | |
| 2001–02 | Network East Late | Himself/host | TV series |
| 2003 | Lord Have Mercy! | Ryan Sarma | Episode: "Deranged Marriage" |
| 2003–08 | Just for Laughs | Himself | 3 episodes |
| 2006 | CBC Winnipeg Comedy Festival | Himself/host | Episode: "No Place Like Home" |
| 2006–09 | Comics Unleashed | Himself | 2 episodes |
| 2007 | Video on Trial | Himself | Episode: "Episode #3.3" |
| Pulse: The Desi Beat | Himself | Episode: "Episode #1.9" | |
| 2008 | Juno Awards | Himself/host | TV special |
| Def Comedy Jam | Himself | Episode: "Episode #8.4" | |
| Comics Without Borders | Himself/host | TV series | |
| 2009 | Juno Awards | Himself/host | TV special |
| Russell Peters Presents | Himself/host | TV special Documentary | |
| Angelo Tsarouchas: Bigger Is Better | N/A | Executive producer | |
| 2010 | The Dating Guy | Himself | Voice Episode: "20,000 VJ's Under the Sea" |
| 2011 | A Day in the Life | Himself | Episode: "Russell Peters" |
| 26th Gemini Awards | Himself/host | TV special | |
| 8 Out of 10 Cats | Himself | Episode:#12.9 | |
| A Russell Peters Christmas Special | Himself/host | TV special | |
| 2012 | Red Light Comedy: Live from Amsterdam | Himself/host | |
| The Burn with Jeff Ross | Himself | Episode: "Gilbert Gottfried/Russell Peters/Marc Maron/John Stamos" | |
| Just for Laughs: All-Access | Himself/host | Episode: "Episode #5.2" | |
| Bob's Burgers | Tran | Voice Episode: "Moody Foodie" | |
| Are We There Yet? | Toby Palmer | Episode: "The Nick Gets an Assistant Episode" | |
| 2013 | Top Chef Canada | Himself | Episode: "The Indian Feast" |
| Who Gets the Last Laugh? | Himself | Episode: "Gregg "Opie" Hughes vs. Russell Peters vs. Paul Rodriguez" | |
| Mr. D | Jody Green | Episode: "Gerry's Evaluation" | |
| Russell Peters Vs. the World | Himself | TV series documentary | |
| Off Season: The Lex Morrison Story | Romulus | TV movie | |
| 2014 | Russell Peters & Friends | Himself/host | TV special |
| Last Comic Standing | Himself/Judge | Season 8 | |
| Grumpy Cat's Worst Christmas Ever | Santa | TV movie | |
| 2015 | Just for Laughs: 15 Years of Gags | Himself | TV special |
| World's Funniest | Himself/Panelist | Episode: "Gravity: It Kinda Sucks" | |
| Pop Culture Underground | Himself | Episode: "Comedy" | |
| Spun Out | Ray | Episode: "My Brother's Speaker" | |
| Codename: Dragon | Hacker Ted | TV movie Co-producer | |
| Royal Canadian Air Farce | Dr. Malcolm Sidwell | Episode: "Air Farce New Year's Eve 2015" | |
| 2016 | Family Guy | Padma's Father | Voice Episode: "Road to India" |
| BoJack Horseman | Driver | Voice Episode: "The BoJack Horseman Show" | |
| Life in Pieces | Dr. Tak Oh | 2 episodes | |
| The Punchline - Where Comedy Hurts | N/A | Executive producer | |
| 2016–2020 | Hip-Hop Evolution | N/a | 16 episodes |
| 2016 | This Is Not Happening | Himself | Episode: "Adventure" Writer |
| Dying Laughing | Himself | ||
| Lip Sync Battle | Himself | Episode: "CeeLo Green vs. Russell Peters" | |
| 2017 | Howie Mandel All-Star Comedy Gala | Himself | |
| Juno Awards | Himself/co-host | ||
| Wild 'n Out | Himself | ||
| The Problem with Apu | Himself | Documentary film | |
| Big in Finland | Himself | Episode 4: "Näyttiks se siltä et mul on iso kyrpä?" | |
| Man of a Funny Age | Himself | ||
| The Indian Detective | Douglass D'Mello | Executive producer | |
| 2018 | A Little Help with Carol Burnett | Co-host | |
| 2019 | Corner Gas Animated | Gavin | Voice Season 2, episode 8: "Bush League" |
| 2020 | Gander | Himself | |
| 2021 | Partners in Rhyme | Theo | Season 2, episode 8: "All Ready" |
| 2021–present | Roast Battle Canada | Himself | Judge |
| 2022 | Cooking with the Stars | Himself | |
| House Out Of Order | Mr.Arjun | Season 1, episode 7: "Meet the Parent" | |
| 2023 | The Neighborhood | Joe | Season 5, episode 13: "Welcome to the Last Dance" |
| 2023-2024 | Velma | Aman Dinkley | Voice |
| 2024–present | Late Bloomer[58] | N/A | Executive producer |
| Year | Title | Distributor | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2006 | Outsourced | Warner Bros. Records | Executive producer |
| 2008 | Red, White and Brown | Warner Music Canada | |
| 2011 | The Green Card Tour: Live from the O2 Arena | ||
| 2013 | Notorious | Netflix | |
| 2016 | Almost Famous | ||
| 2020 | Deported | Amazon Prime Video | |
| 2024 | Act your Age Live in Abu Dhabi | Patreon | Streamed on Patreon on December 5, 2024; now available on YouTube |
| ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Wins | 6 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Nominations | 17 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Year | Nominated work | Award | Category | Result |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1997 | Comics! | Gemini Award | Best Performance in a Comedy Program or Series | Nominated |
| 2003 | Russell Peters | Canadian Comedy Award | Best Male Stand-Up | Nominated |
| 2004 | Nominated | |||
| 2004 | Comedy Now! | Gemini Award | Best Individual Performance in a Comedy Program or Series | Nominated |
| 2007 | Russell Peters | Canadian Comedy Award | Dave Broadfoot Award | Won |
| 2008 | Canadian Comedy Person of the Year | Nominated | ||
| 2008 | Best Large Venue Stand-Up | Won | ||
| 2008 | Juno Awards – as host | Gemini Award | Best Performance or Host in a Variety Program or Series | Won |
| 2009 | Russell Peters | Canadian Comedy Award | Canadian Comedy Person of the Year | Nominated |
| 2009 | Juno Awards – as host | Gemini Award | Best Performance or Host in a Variety Program or Series | Nominated |
| 2010 | Russell Peters | Canadian Comedy Award | Canadian Comedy Person of the Year | Nominated |
| 2011 | Nominated | |||
| 2012 | A Russell Peters Christmas Special – with Clayton Peters, Luciano Casimiri,Kristeen von Hagen, Jean Paul | Canadian Comedy Award | Best Writing in a Television Program or Series | Nominated |
| 2013 | Gemini Award | Best Writing in a Variety or Sketch Comedy Program or Series | Nominated | |
| 2013 | Russell Peters | Association of South Asians in Media, Marketing and Entertainment | Trailblazer Award | Won |
| 2016 | Hip-Hop Evolution – as producer | Peabody Award | Peabody Award[59] | Won |
| 2017 | International Emmy Award | Best Arts Programming[60] | Won |
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