RAMY YOUSSEF

I don't really like comedy that gives you answers.

I think that a lot of the stories I would see was kids who are first-generation immigrants, watching them try to rip themselves from their family and their faith and kind of erase. I hadn't really seen anything where someone's trying to reconcile the two.

There's this idea that when you say you're Muslim, that you're either all in or you're trying to escape it. I love the idea of gradations and levels, just like everybody else has.

I grew up with so much of the identity of being Muslim and being Arab tied around politics.

I got to a point where I wanted to have some dignity in what I'm saying onstage. I want people to hear what I'm saying, regardless of whether or not it gets a laugh. That became a lot more rewarding than straight acting could ever be for me.

If you want a show to talk about politics or the Muslim ban or whatever - someone should make that show. That's not what I'm interested in.

A lot of people want what I would call sci-fi; people want television to be what they think the world should look like. That is different than what I do.

I feel very much rooted in being Egyptian, and I also feel very rooted in being a guy from New Jersey.

I love Narcy, he's such a good artist. I know him personally, he's a friend. He's of my generation - he puts out a lot of stuff through music that are themes I like to hit on in my writing and comedy.

What I would love for my 30s is to just not have expectations. I don't want to assume anything about my 30s based on my 20s other than just keeping the lessons I've learned, but in terms of what I think should happen with those lessons, I don't know.

We're constantly rationalizing where we stand and our own code and dealing with, you know, how you can be the best version of yourself.

I think that religious culture and the industry of religion pretty much deserves most of the heat that it gets.

Representation is actually when the character doesn't have lines, but the camera is lingering on them in their thoughts after something happened, and then we get to see them walk to their car. You really need to follow a character in order to understand what they're going through.

My generation grew up on 'The Daily Show.' Jon Stewart gave me solace. He was the only person who I felt defended Muslims when crazy things were happening; the only place you could find a nuanced take on Iraq was Jon Stewart's show.

There's always going to be a gap between what you believe and what you actually do, regardless of what your background is.

My job is to show our humanity, and the only way to be leading with that sort of humanity is to lead with the problems that a family like this might be encountering and putting those on display.

In general, the Arab world is an artistic hub that has such a variety, whether it be music, film, poetry.

I'm not trying to erase my culture or my faith, I'm trying to be the best version of myself, and it's really hard. I don't think I'm right, I don't claim to be correct, I'm just trying to figure it out and figure out a balance.

What I really like about stand-up is there's 100 people in a room, and you can just feel the pulse. It's very human.

And so I remember moving to LA, going to the Islamic center in Hollywood and feeling like the cultural element wasn't what we were operating from as much as the spiritual one, and that was really cool. That was really good for, you know, my growth and my development.

I mean, the title of my show is my name. That's not because I was an established voice. It's because of a rising number of outlets, and an increased willingness to take risks. All the sudden, people like me are finding themselves in the position to make things.

This is my point of view, and that's why I call the show 'Ramy'. I made the show that I would want to see. So it's only going to hit on certain things.

I think if you make a show where you try to make a character look good, not only is it kind of weird, but it's sociopathic.

There is a fine line between faith and confidence. Confidence has a self-reliance. Faith is really about giving in.

I would get a lot of roles for the ethnic friend and then I would go in for that and not be ethnic enough. They wanted an Indian accent. They wanted something more very visually, clearly specific.