Indo-Canadian actor Rizwan Manji can’t wait for January 3, the biggest Friday of his life. Rizwan, 39, appears in a “small but significant” role in The Wolf of Wall Street, the Martin Scorsese biggie starring Leonardo DiCaprio. t2 caught up with Riz, who you must have seen on Outsourced and other TV shows.

How much did you have to pinch yourself to realise that you were actually acting in a Martin Scorsese film?!

(Laughs) It was very, very exciting. It was insane. I found out about this a year-and-a-half ago and I shot this over a year ago and not many people get to say that they worked in a Martin Scorsese film! The casting director on the film Ellen Lewis is a friend of mine and she got me this film as well as Charlie Wilson’s War in which I got to share screen space with Tom Hanks and Om Puri. When this came up, she told me: ‘Look, this is a small part.’ And I was like: ‘Are you kidding me? Of course I am doing it!’

I got through the audition and I went into The Wolf of Wall Street thinking that I just had to work a week and a day, but it ended up being six weeks in New York! Every single day on that set, working with the legends of the industry, was remarkable. I had never thought I would get that opportunity. I felt so blessed to be a part of this film.

Was it a fanboy experience for you on set?

Oh, it sure was! I have known Leonardo DiCaprio’s work from Growing Pains (a TV series between 1985-1992), much before he became the Leo DiCaprio we know. So, to be on the same set as him was very, very overwhelming. And then of course, there was Martin Scorsese directing us and then Jonah Hill and Matthew McConaughey…. And then, there was this day on set in New York when, would you believe it, Steven Spielberg came in to visit! Oh my god… between Spielberg and Scorsese and Rob Reiner, who plays Leo’s dad in the film, there was so much legacy… it was unbelievable. Three major directors all on the same set at the same time and me breathing the same air as them… I really couldn’t have asked for more.

The Internet says you play a stockbroker in the firm owned by DiCaprio...

Yes, I play a stockbroker called Khalil. The firm is totally small to start with, but then it becomes very big in a short span of time by means that are not always honest. A group of stockbrokers, including me, end up making a lot of money in the process, but the happiness is short-lived because then everything comes crashing down when the bust happens. But during the time when they have so much money, there is a lot of excess that goes on… so there is drugs, prostitutes… and my character gets completely carried away with all these excesses.

Rizwan Manji as Colonel Mahmood in Charlie Wilson’s War

Did you have many scenes with DiCaprio?

Yes. The two of them, Leo DiCaprio and Jonah Hill, are the ones I had the maximum scenes with… they play my colleagues. Leo is a very funny guy… he’s a really great guy. He’s very jovial on set. There’s actually a chimpanzee in the film and Leo has a couple of scenes with him… that provided a lot of laughs on set. It was a lot of fun on this film.

How is a Scorsese set different from any other set?

For the longest time on set, I had to keep reminding myself that I am on a Scorsese set and just get used to the fact that he’s around. He’s a legend and the first time I met him was at 4 in the morning and I had just flown in from Los Angeles. We were doing an early morning scene and I was completely jet-lagged and when he came on set, I was like: ‘Oh god, I hope I don’t screw up.’ He has such a way of talking to his actors that he makes you feel very comfortable. He’s just amazing.

What are you hoping this film will do for your career?

I hope it opens up a lot more doors for me. I have been blessed to have worked with some big names… like Mike Nichols (Charlie Wilson’s War) and Scorsese and I got to be on the show Outsourced. I have been working really hard on building a career and I hope it continues like this… I get to work with new people and do different things. I have always been grateful that I have been able to follow my passion for acting. The good thing also is that Asian actors are getting a lot less stereotypical roles. I won’t say it’s completely turned around, but it’s gotten a lot better. I just played a character called Raymond McCants on the TV series Bones. I auditioned against Caucasian actors and I landed that role.

Outsourced, 24, Glee, How I Met Your Mother, Hannah Montana…. You’ve done a lot of television. Are you concentrating more on films now?

No actor can complain about a film role, especially something like The Wolf of Wall Street, but my passion has always been television. I grew up watching sitcoms and that’s where my place is. The schedules on TV are a lot better… I have three small kids and I get to spend time with them. My first calling will always be television, but if anyone offers me a Bollywood film, I am not going to turn it down (laughs).

So what kind of a role will make you come down to India?

I love Bollywood films. If there is a role in an Aamir Khan movie, I will be there tomorrow! I have absolutely loved his 3 Idiots and Taare Zameen Par. Omi Vaidya (who played Chatur in 3 Idiots) is a friend of mine and I was so jealous because I really wanted to be a part of that film. I am a major Aamir Khan fan, as you must have realised. I am looking forward to Dhoom:3.

RIZWAN RECKONER

Age: 39
Studied at: American Musical and Dramatic Academy
Debut: As Salim Ali Khan in American Desi (2001)
Notable credits: Charlie Wilson’s War, Morning Glory, Outsourced, NCIS, 24, It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia, Glee, How I Met your Mother, Bones, Hannah Montana, Privileged, Better off Ted
Favourite actor: Aamir Khan
Lives in: Studio City, California
Twitter bio: Rajiv Gidwani on Outsourced, Rami on Privileged, Rick on Better Off Ted, Dr Gidwani on Glee, Colonel Mahmood in Charlie Wilson’s War

Priyanka Roy
Where have you watched Rizwan? Tell t2@abp.in