Courtesy of HBO.“I first visited New York City when I was 17 years old, and it was love at first sight,” explains actress Heather Burns. Though she plays Leah, the quintessential Brooklynite (and the girlfriend of Zach Galifianakis’s character) on HBO’s “Bored to Death,” the East Village has been her home for 18 years. When she became a student at NYU’s Tisch School of the Arts, the Chicago native landed a rent-stabilized apartment on St. Marks Place and never left. These days, she’s engaged to fellow “Bored to Death” actor Ajay Naidu and gearing up for the third season of her hit show — premiering Sunday, October 10 — by visiting plenty of local hotspots. Read more…
Courtesy Ajay NaiduAjay Naidu.To some, he’ll always be Samir, one of the disgruntled heroes of “Office Space,” or more recently, Vikram from HBO’s “Bored to Death.”
They know him by his real name, however, in the East Village, the neighborhood that actor/writer/director Ajay Naidu has called home for over 16 years. Back in the day, he was a self-described “club kid,” and though he still frequents the neighborhood’s live music venues, he’s just as likely to be found on set these days as he is on the scene. Naidu has several notable projects in the pipeline, including Sacha Baron Cohen’s upcoming “The Dictator” (about which he’s been sworn to secrecy) and his own directorial debut, “Ashes”, a 10-year labor of love that has been touring the festival circuit (catch it next month at the New York International Latino Film Festival).
Naidu took a timeout to share some of his favorite places with his fellow Villagers.
Best Location for People-Watching
“My fire escape on Saint Mark’s. It has the perfect angle because it’s just above the crowd and you can watch everyone and hear everything.”
Best Live Music Venue
“That’s a really tough one because I go out a lot to music. The best place to go hear music right now is Santos Party House and has been for a while.”
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