Why Samar Charwell From Blue Bloods Looks So Familiar

The Reagan family on "Blue Bloods" take their jobs in law enforcement seriously. They understand it's not enough to go into work and put in the bare minimum effort on a given case. They have to be better than the other folks to uphold the principles of their offices, whether that involves being a police officer or the Assistant District Attorney. Unfortunately, it appears not every public official has gotten the memo. 

Some professionals are as crooked as they come, as evidenced by Samar Charwell (Aasif Mandvi), who appeared in four episodes across "Blue Bloods" from Season 9 to Season 11. He worked as the District Attorney of New York County, and while he initially seemed primed for his position, he was ultimately arrested on corruption charges and replaced by Kimberly Crawford (Roslyn Ruff).

Samar may not have had a huge role throughout "Blue Bloods," but he certainly left an impression, which was no doubt helped by Mandvi's exceptional performance. He's been acting for years, and whether you're into superhero movies or political satire, you should recognize his face.

Aasif Mandvi may not have had superpowers in "Spider-Man 2," but audiences more than remember him for his iconic role. He played Mr. Aziz, featured at the beginning of the flick as Peter Parker's boss at Joe's Pizza. He's the one who tears Peter a new one for always being late and never being dependable, giving him one more chance to deliver several pizzas in seven-and-a-half minutes or else he's fired. It led to arguably the most meme-able line in the entire movie — "Pizza time!"

Mandvi clearly has a soft spot for the role, seeing how 15 years after it came out, he took to Twitter to post a screenshot of his scene along with the caption, "When you have to fire #Spiderman for not meeting the 29-minute guarantee." Fans have fond memories of his role, as well, as one user commented under the post, "This scene has always made me want a series about Mr Aziz running his NYC pizza shop. You made this moment so memorable & iconic. GOOOOOOO!!" Not too shabby for five minutes of screentime.

Some of the best acting in Aasif Mandvi's career didn't come from playing pizza shop owners or crooked District Attorneys. To show just how talented he is, you just have to watch in awe of how he managed to keep a straight face for so many years interviewing ridiculous individuals on "The Daily Show." 

Starting in 2006, Mandvi worked as a correspondent on "The Daily Show," where his duties involved everything from going out into the field to investigate a story to speaking with Jon Stewart himself about a given political issue. He appeared regularly throughout the show until about 2015, when Stewart himself departed, but the actor more than made his mark on the Comedy Central series during his time there. One of his more infamous moments came when he spoke with Don Yelton, who served as the GOP precinct chair in Buncombe County, North Carolina. 

Yelton made insensitive comments toward the Black community during his appearance, ultimately leading to him resigning from his post (via The Washington Post). Mandvi did more than just make people laugh; he helped change politics.

These days, if you want to see more of Aasif Mandvi, you're going to have to head over to Paramount+. He plays Ben Shakir on the supernatural series, "Evil," which initially debuted on CBS, but starting with Season 2, it moved over to Paramount+. Ben's a contractor who often collaborates with David (Mike Colter), typically known for trying to offer scientific explanations for the otherwordly phenomena that take place so regularly throughout the show.

Mandvi's presence has allowed the series to explore South Asian folklore and horror in a way that wouldn't be possible if a white actor had played Ben. Mandvi spoke with The A.V. Club about his role on the series, even going so far as to compare his casting on "Evil" with that on "The Daily Show." He stated, "Even on 'The Daily Show,' I was the first non-white correspondent in 2006, and it opened up room for a whole bunch of stories we could tell and explore perspectives they hadn't before. This applies to 'Evil' as well. They cast me and realized they could lean into the truth of who I am. The story with my grandmother is the perfect example. We can tell stories we haven't thought about before. It's why diverse casting and looking at a story through different lenses is powerful and can lead to different ways to tell it."

Mandvi has broken barriers for decades now, and with more roles lined up, he isn't slowing down any time soon.