Russell Peters

A standup comedian of East Indian descent, Russell Peters built a solid following in his native Canada beginning in 1989. It was then that he hit the comedy clubs with an act drawing upon the racism he had experienced during his childhood and teens. His hilarious and controversial act took him from the amateur stages to comedy festivals across Canada. Soon he was on tour in the U.S., the U.K, and other parts of the globe, and while this helped spread his name, it was the Internet that made him a worldwide hit. His appearance on the Canadian television program Comedy Now! became one of the most streamed programs on the CTV network's website, while an amateurishly shot video of an appearance in New York City became a favorite trade on BitTorrent and other P2P networks. No longer to be held by just the Great White North, Peters made a worldwide splash in 2006 when Warner Bros. released his Outsourced CD and DVD.