Russell Dominic Peters (born September 29, 1970)^[1] is a Canadian stand-up comedian, actor, and producer.^[2] He began performing in Toronto in 1989 and won a Gemini Award in 2008. In 2013, he was number three on Forbes' list of the world's highest-paid comedians, and became the first comedian to get a Netflix stand-up special.^[3] He also won the Peabody Award and the International Emmy Award for Best Arts Programming for producing Hip-Hop Evolution (2016). He lives in Los Angeles.^[4]

Peters was born in Toronto, Ontario, Canada on September 29, 1970, to immigrants from India, both of Anglo-Indian descent, Eric and Maureen Peters, who had moved to Canada in 1965 from Jalandhar, Punjab, India and Kolkata, West Bengal, India respectively.^[5][6] His extended family lives in Bhopal, Madhya Pradesh, India.^[7]

Peters was raised Catholic.^[6]

When Peters was four, he and his family moved to Brampton, Ontario, Canada. He attended Chinguacousy Secondary School for grades 9–10, and North Peel Secondary School in Bramalea, Ontario, Canada for grades 11–12.^[8][9][10] In school, he was regularly bullied because of his ethnicity. He eventually learned boxing, which helped him resist the bullying.^[11] Peters also became a fan of hip hop in his youth. By the 1990s, he was a well-connected DJ in the Toronto scene.^[12][13]

Peters's older brother, Clayton, serves as his manager.^[14]

Peters began performing in Toronto in 1989. He has since gone on to perform in several countries.^[15]

In 1992, Peters met American comedian George Carlin, one of his biggest influencers, who advised him to get on stage whenever and wherever possible. Peters said he "took that advice to heart, and I think that's the reason I am where I am now."^[16] In 2007, 15 years later, he hosted one of Carlin's last shows before the comedian's death the following year.^[11]

On September 28, 2013, Peters was awarded the 2013 Trailblazer award by the Association of South Asians in Media, Marketing and Entertainment (ASAMME) for good contributions to comedy. He is among the first South Asian Americans to achieve international success in the field.^[17]

In 2017, Peters made an appearance on Top Gear America in the third episode of season 1 as one of the guests.^[18]

According to Forbes, Peters earned an estimated $15 million between June 2009 and June 2010, continuing his run as one of the highest-paid comedians, after earning an estimated $5 million the prior year. Forbes ranked him as the seventh-highest-paid comedian.^[19][20] In 2013, he earned $21 million, according to Forbes' estimate.^[21]

Peters's stand-up performances feature observational comedy, using humour to highlight racial, ethnic, class and cultural stereotypes. He often refers to his own experiences growing up in an Anglo-Indian family, and impersonates the accents of various ethnic groups to poke fun at them. As he told an audience in San Francisco, "I don't make the stereotypes, I just see them."^[31] In a 2006 interview with The National, Peters observed that he did not intend to put down or offend different races and cultures, but tried to "raise them up through humour".^[32]

Peters is widely known for his punchline, "Somebody gonna get a hurt real bad." It ends a joke he tells about his childhood with a traditional Indian father, who used corporal punishment on his sons. Another punchline he uses is "Be a man! Do the right thing!", which relates to a story of a Chinese man trying to get him to pay more for an item at a shop.^[33]

Peters lives in Los Angeles, California, and owns two homes there. He also owns homes in Las Vegas Valley, Nevada, and Vaughan, Ontario.^[4]

In 2010, Peters established the Russell Peters North Peel Scholarship, an award worth up to CA$21,000 and intended to finance up to three years of college.^[34] It will be awarded annually to a student from Judith Nyman Secondary School (formerly North Peel) with a strong academic record and the intention of attending college.^[10][34]

Russell Peters has appeared in many films. Earlier in his career, he had cameo roles in Boozecan (1994) as Snake's Friend, Tiger Claws III (2000) as Detective Elliott, My Baby's Daddy (2004) as the obstetrician, and Quarter Life Crisis (2006) as Dilip Kumar.

He appeared in Senior Skip Day (2008), which starred Larry Miller, Tara Reid, and Gary Lundy. That year he was also in The Take (2008) as Dr. Sharma.

He acted in the Punjabi-Canadian film Breakaway (2011), alongside Rob Lowe, Camilla Belle, Anupam Kher, and Vinay Virmani. That year he also acted in Duncan Jones's Source Code (2011) as Max, an amateur comedian with a bad attitude; and as Pervius in National Lampoon's 301: The Legend of Awesomest Maximus (2011).^[48]

Peters has guest-starred on the TV series Mr. D as the school superintendent. In 2011, he starred in a Canadian TV Christmas special, A Russell Peters Christmas. Guests included Michael Bublé, Pamela Anderson, and Jon Lovitz. The show attracted the highest number of viewers of any CTV Canadian holiday special.