Aly Mawji

Aly Mawji was born in Des Moines, Iowa, but with his roots and relatives spread out over Pakistan, India, East Africa, Canada and the UK. He began doing improv when he moved to Toronto, Canada, using it as a way to overcome his shyness. When his father was transferred to Vancouver, Aly went along for the ride, the acting training and the opportunities Hollywood North had to offer. He gained momentum with a lead role in the Fox Television pilot Changes, and a role on CBC's Odyssey but put his career on hold to complete his Bachelor of Science degree in Engineering at Queen's University, in Kingston.

For most of his undergrad years, Aly was disinterested in school and looked for other distractions around him. He and some friends introduced the isolated town to Hip-Hop and Dancehall music, organizing and promoting the town's first weekly Hip-Hop night at a rundown banquet hall, bringing Hip-Hop acts from Toronto and Vancouver, and playing local keg and house parties.

After graduating, he resolved to return to his passion of performing and moved to NYC; shortly afterwards, he played "Spit" in Sydney Kingsley's "Dead End," part of the NY International Fringe Festival. The production won the Audience Favorite Award and was re-mounted by Henry Street Settlement.

Aly has since worked with The Dallas Theater Center Theater for the New City, Target Margin Theater, Todo Con Nada, and Philadelphia's InterAct Theater Co., among others. He has also performed in readings with The Cherry Lane Theater, The Lark Theater, Ma-Yi Theater, Disha Theater, Asian American Arts Alliance, Personal Space Theatrics, and Desipina Productions.

Wanting the same intense training in acting that he'd received in Engineering, Aly moved to Los Angeles to pursue his MFA in Acting at California Institute of the Arts (CalArts). While there, he co-created and played the role of "Ninja" in "Pirates & Ninjas," a stylized silent movement/clown piece. The piece had a four-week run at Theater of NOTE in L.A. and was accepted into the Ars Nova ANT Festival in NYC where it played to a sold-out house.

In L.A., Aly's worked with the Sundance Institute (a reading of Jennifer Maisel's Here Or There, directed by Artistic Director Philip Himberg), the Pasadena Playhouse (Furious Theater's Back of the Throat, directed by Damaso Rodriguez), and Blank-the-Dog's Week 29 of Susan-Lori Parks' 365 Play Festival, directed by Nataki Garrett, as well as readings with EST (WinterFest) and The Blank Theater Company (Living Room Series).

Aly's first role in a feature film was in Mia Trachinger's "Reversion," which premiered at Sundance and has played at several other festivals, winning the Indie Express Award at the St. Louis International Film Festival. His television credits include "Deep Tech," "Parks & Recreation," "Switched At Birth," "Grey's Anatomy," and "Accidentally On Purpose."

In addition to his interests in acting, Aly is a nationally certified personal trainer, creates music, writes, paints and is interested in filmmaking.

Most recently, Aly has been cast in HBO's new series, "Silicon Valley."