How Many Times Has Your Favorite Actor Played a Guy Named Raj?: A Guide

While scrolling through IMDB recently, I couldn’t help but notice that many of the most well-known South Asian American actors working in Hollywood today have played a guy named Raj at some point.

Intrigued, I decided to compile this handy list. (As an added bonus, I also included how many times each actor portrayed a character named Sanjay.)

Raymond Ablack Number of times he’s played a character named Raj: 1 Movies/Shows: On the hit sci-fi soap Orphan Black, the Degrassi alum plays Raj Singh, an assistant who works in the same office alongside Beth Childs, whom he secretly pines for without realizing she’s dead and has been replaced by her clone Sarah Manning. Has he also played a guy named Sanjay?: No

Naveen Andrews Number of times he’s played a character named Raj: 1 Movie: 1996’s Kama Sutra: A Tale of Love Has he also played a guy named Sanjay?: Yes! In Rollerball (2002)

Aziz Ansari Number of times he’s played a character named Raj: 0 (As he pointed out at the #FrancoRoast, Ansari’s last three roles were playing “Randy, Chet and Tom.”) Has he played a guy named Sanjay?: Kind of. He played a guy named Sinjay in a 2007 episode of Flight of the Conchords.

Adhir Kalyan Number of times he’s played a character named Raj: 2 Movies/Shows: Kalyan played Pakistani exchange student Raja Musharaff in the 2007 series Aliens in America. He also played Dr. Raj Paresh in three episodes of the FX drama Nip/Tuck. Has he played a guy named Sanjay?: No.

Aasif Mandvi Number of times he’s played a character named Raj: 1 Movies/Shows: 2012’s Premium Rush. Has he also played a guy named Sanjay?: No.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wjNKwEV_QPM

Kunal Nayyar Number of times he’s played a character named Raj: 1 Movies/Shows: Nayyar is best known for playing Raj Koothrappali on the CBS hit comedy The Big Bang Theory Has he also played a guy named Sanjay?: No.

Maulik Pancholy Number of times he’s played a character named Raj: 1 Movie/Show title: Pancholy played a guy named Rajeev in 2013’s It Could Be Worse. Has he also played a guy named Sanjay?: Three times! He voices the title character in Sanjay and Craig and played a Sanjay on Weeds and in the 2004 short Diwali.

Kal Penn Number of times he’s played a character named Raj: 1 Movie title: Sueño (2005) Has he also played a guy named Sanjay?: Yes! In 2002’s Badger.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FCC2mHjebBo

Danny Pudi Number of times he’s played a character named Raj: 1 Show: Gilmore Girls (4 episodes in 2006) Has he also played a guy named Sanjay?: Twice! In 2012’s The Guilt Trip and in the 2007 TV series Greek.

Sendhil Ramamurthy Number of times he’s played a character named Raj: 4! Movies/Shows: The Lifeguard (2013), A 2012 episode of CSI:Miami, 2010’s It’s a Wonderful Afterlife and as Rajesh ‘Raj’ Singh in a Bollywood-themed episode of Psych. Has he also played a guy named Sanjay?: No