Stand-up comedian-turned-film actor Vir Das was born in Dehradun (then in Uttar Pradesh, now in Uttarakhand) and spent his early years abroad. He obtained a bachelor's degree in economics and theatre from Knox College, Illinois, USA. After graduation, he was selected for the Stanislavsky Programme at the Moscow Arts Theatre in Russia. Vir Das began performing as a standup comedian at Knox's Harbach Theatre. He collected numerous scholarships and trained in method acting at Harvard University. Before returning to India in 2003, he travelled across the globe with three sketch comedy troupes and also contributed in compositions. Back in India, he performed in more than 100 comedy shows and also wrote, developed and starred in the stand-up comedy shows at the Indian Habitat Centre in New Delhi.

Das's career on the small screen began with him appearing on Iss Route Ke Sabhi Linein Mast Hain and the late-night comedy show Ek Rahin Vir. He hosted numerous shows, including Cricket Firsts and Now Not Showing on CNN-IBN and News On The Loose on CNBC-TV18; he also did improvisational comedy on shows such as Lo Kal Lo Baat on SAB TV and The Great Indian Comedy Show on Star One.

Vir Das was first seen on the silver screen in a guest appearance in Vipul Amrutlal Shah's Namastey London (2007) followed by a comic role in Imtiaz Ali's Love Aaj Kal (2009), Abhinay Deo's Delhi Belly (2011), Saket Chaudhury's Shaadi Ke Side Effects (2013), and a few others. In 2016 he showed a different facet of his acting abilities in Shivaji Lotan Patil's 31st October.

Vir Das has been called 'Simply Hysterical' by Hindustan Times newspaper and 'Funniest Kid in India' by The Pioneer newspaper.