Rasika Mathur is an American actress/comedian best known for her recurring role on the original version of Wild 'N Out.
Mathur was born in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada, to Hindu immigrant parents from India, but grew up in Houston, Texas and attended Albright Middle School in Alief, Texas and Elsik High School.[1] She discovered her comedic side in seventh grade, after a teacher asked her to feed her dog while she was away: "That teacher soon said to me, 'Take my acting class' and I did, and it was amazing. I got to free up my inner weirdo. Once we got to draw masks, and everyone loved the lion I drew. Something was always in me, roaring quietly, ready to be unleashed. (Ha, that was a cool metaphor.) Soon, out poured all the funny voices, silly characters, and hilarious wit that had built up inside me."[1]
At the University of Texas at Austin, she studied creative advertising with a minor in Japanese and was active in the Student Association.[1]
After college, she moved to Chicago and worked as a copywriter at a large advertising firm, while at night she studied improvisation at The Second City Training Center: "I day-jobbed and had an improv affair with Second City by night. Still have the hickeys to prove it."[1] She also performed with Stir Friday Night!, a Chicago-based Asian American sketch comedy troupe.[2]
After moving to LA to film a pilot that did not get picked up, Mathur faced difficulty:
Now I was living out of the trunk of my car. Mooching. Being broke. I mean broke like, you want to go out to eat late night with friends and you’re holding back tears reading the menu, having to make sure the side of eggs is really $1.49 and not $2.49, ’cause otherwise you just won’t eat. The vine I was trying to swing to wasn’t quite in front of me yet, so sometimes I had to grab a hold of air. To make ends meet I had to cater waitering. Being a children’s party clown or Dora the Explorer with a football-shaped head. Serving whiny, bandaid-on-their-forehead customers at Starbucks at 5 a.m. Graveyard shifts at Dr. Phil’s studios. It was a nightmare. But I also realized that I needed to keep my eyes open to the comedy in all those situations, and back-pocket it to use on stage, like during shows at IO-West, or in improv classes at the Groundlings. That kept me going.[1]
She continues to perform stand-up around the country. She appeared on the show Wild'N Out on MTV2, where she kissed Lauren Flans, another former cast member.[3] Her influences are Christopher Guest, Chevy Chase, Three Amigos, Saturday Night Live (the David Spade years) In Living Color, Adam Sandler, The Count, Ben Stiller, Vince Vaughn, Woody Allen and Diane Keaton.[1]
Mathur's debut musical comedy album, "The Sari (W)rap", was released in November 2010 on Rukus Avenue Records.
| Year | Title | Role | Notes | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2002 | Next! | Various | TV movie | |
| 2003 | Melvin Goes to Dinner | Extra | ||
| Comedy Central Laughs for Life Telethon 2003 | Adopted Girl | TV movie | ||
| 2004 | Missing Sock | The Guru | Short | |
| 2005 | Don't Fear the Reaper | Hooker with a Heart of Gold | Short | |
| 2006 | Totally Real TV | Susan | Short | |
| BBQ Bill | Rasika | Video short | ||
| 2007 | Deserted: The Webseries | Sanjina | ||
| 2008 | Cloverfield | Party Goer | ||
| An Inconvenient Penguin | Dr. Sumi | Video short | ||
| 2009 | Nilam Auntie: An International Treasure | Nilam Auntie / Laxmi Harjoshi | Short | |
| 2010 | The Taqwacores | Fatima | ||
| Blowout Sale | Customer | Short | ||
| 2011 | The King's Speech Parody LOL | Herself | Short | |
| Crazy, Stupid, Love | Emily's Assistant | |||
| Doctors Without Boundaries | Dr. Hari Pasi | Short | ||
| 2012 | Just for You | Girl With Flowers | Short | |
| 2013 | Shotgun Wedding | Violet | ||
| 2014 | Rubberhead | Bride #3 | TV movie |
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2003 | 3 Non-Blondes | Herself | Series Regular |
| 2005 | Stacked | Sally | Episode: "Beat the Candidate" |
| 2005-20 | Wild 'N Out | Cast Member | Season 1-5, 15 |
| 2006 | Free Ride | Deeta the Waitress | Episode: "Up the Aunty" |
| 2007 | The L Word | Student #1 | Episode: "Livin' La Vida Loca" |
| My Name is Earl | Female Indian Friend | Episode: "Kept a Guy Locked in a Truck" | |
| Carpoolers | Barista | Episode: "Down for the Count" | |
| Weeds | Bank Teller | Episode: "Protection" | |
| 2011 | Childrens Hospital | Nidhi | Episode: "Frankfurters. Allman Brothers. Death. Frankfurters" |
| 2015 | The McCarthys | Barista | Episode: "Cutting the Cord" & "End Games" |
| 2018 | Will & Grace | Trish | Episode: "Sweatshop Annie & The Annoying Baby Shower" |
| 2019 | Abby's | Customer #2 | Episode: "Backup" |
| The Dead Sullivan Show | Guest/Poet | Episode: "Tim Tipton's "Rhyme Without Reason" 003" |