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Comedian Romesh Ranganathan has said that he would never get his distinctive eye corrected as it was part of the reason he decided to become a comedian.
The 47-year-old, who recently ran the London Marathon, had an eye infection as a child that left him with a drooping eyelid and a lazy eye on the right side of his face.
Speaking to Katherine Ryan on the latest episode of her What’s My Age Again? podcast, Ranganathan said that it’s been suggested to him several times that he could have his eye corrected.
When asked by Ryan whether he was concerned about losing his audience if he changed his appearance too much, Ranganathan said that he wasn’t.
“No, I'm not worried about, like, weight change or hair change or whatever,” he explained.
“I'm not that worried about that. I think that, like, it's been put to me on a number of occasions that I could have my eye corrected. And I don't think I would ever do that. I think part of the reason I would never do that is I don't think I would have been a comedian if my eye wasn't like this.”
“Growing up with this eye has changed my life experiences in a number of ways that meant I moved towards comedy,” he added. “I’ve read so many things saying ‘good looking is symmetrical’. That’s f***ed to me. That’s a dream.”
Sharing interactions with fans, Ranganathan said: “I’ve had messages from people who’ve said either my kid or I have got a similar eye condition and it’s been really nice for me to see you on TV and do the things that your doing. If i was to correct it now it would be a bit of a betrayal.”
Earlier in the conversation, Ryan shared advice that she received from Jimmy Carr about being a comedian with a unique appearance.
“Jimmy [Carr] always said to me it's good to be kind of a cartoon,” she explained. “People can describe you in three words.”
Describing Ranganathan, Ryan said: “Like, people would probably say that you're of Sri Lankan heritage. You like hip hop. They might mention visually, like, the eye. You mentioned that. That's, like, a thing. Rob [Beckett], they might mention his teeth.“
Talking about her look, the 41-year-old Canadian said: “Me, single mom, Hooters, whatever. Like, we all have things, and Jimmy's got, like, the LEGO hair and the teeth. He's like, don't lose the things. Like, you gotta keep the things.
“I was changing my hair too much, and he said, you just shouldn't change your hair too much. I mean, he [Jimmy Carr] said that and had a hair transplant, but he's like, don't change your hair.“
English (US) ·