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Why Aziz Ansari Loves Filming in New York (Hint: Free Food)

By Nicole Levy | November 30, 2016 2:48pm
 Actor and comedian Aziz Ansari at the 26th Annual Gotham Independent Film Awards at Cipriani Wall Street.
Actor and comedian Aziz Ansari at the 26th Annual Gotham Independent Film Awards at Cipriani Wall Street.
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Patrick McMullan

This may be a game-changing confession.

Aziz Ansari has no qualms about swiping snacks from craft tables at filming locations in New York City, the actor and comedian revealed in an acceptance speech at the Gotham Independent Film Awards ceremony at Cipriani Wall Street on Monday night. 

"You know how great it is to be able to walk around the city, and if you get hungry, steal craft services from 'Mr. Robot'? You know how many bags of chips I've taken from 'Mr. Robot' and 'Blue Bloods'?" said the recipient of a "Made in NY" award for his Netflix comedy series set and filmed in the Big Apple, "Master of None."

We can't begin to tell you how those lavish spreads of chips and coffee and bagels and sandwiches and fruits, laid out for cast and crews shooting on city streets, have tempted us (we've never shaken our food-motivated college student days). Now our worst impulses have been vindicated.

Ansari did clarify that he limits his craft-service table swiping to Sun Chips, according to a speech excerpted by Vulture.

He also went into some of the non-edible perks of filming in New York: fans yelling out "Aziz!" in the middle of a take; passersby urinating within the camera's field of view; and neighborhood sightings of the director Jim Jarmusch.

In addition to "Master of None," slated for a second season, five movies and more than 70 TV series are currently filming on city streets, according to the Mayor's Office of Media and Entertainment.