Jon Stewart, host of Comedy Central’s “The Daily Show” and the writer and director of the new film “Rosewater,” said he has a unique brand of activism that involves “living pleasantly.”

“People always say, ‘Well, are you an activist?’ and I say, ‘No, I’m not really an activist,’ but if there’s some measure of activism in me, it’s the quiet activism of living pleasantly,” Stewart said in a recent interview for Voice of America’s satirical show “OnTen,” which airs in Iran.

“That sense of, when you go to a restaurant, the person who’s waiting tables, like, don’t be a dick to them,” Stewart told VOA’s Saman Arbabi, a writer and producer who created “Parazit,” the VOA television show that has been called “The Daily Show of Iran.” “That mentality, I feel like, I try to infuse in my life and my work, if I can.”

When Arbabi admitted he’s “seen a lot of dickheads in this field,” Stewart laughed and revealed how he keeps his focus.

“I’ve worked a lot of shit jobs, and I’ve struggled a lot,” Stewart said. “I think you never lose, that person is always with you, to let you know that you’re not so great. I’ve been fired enough to know that that person is still in me, and that I have to work harder and get better.”

The episode of “OnTen” featuring Stewart will air on Friday.

Watch Stewart talk about his work in the video above, and see his entire interview with Arbabi here.