Actor and comedian Kumail Nanjiani made his debut on the silver screen only a few years ago. But now, he will join the star-studded ensemble cast for Marvel’s much-hyped upcoming release – “The Eternals”.
After a career in stand-up and episodic television, Nanjiani’s movie presence has skyrocketed, with films including “Lovebirds” with Issa Rae and “The Big Sick”.
But Nanjiani had his eye on action movies for a long time. “It was a pipe dream,” Nanjiani told Men’s Health. “But I was very strategic about it…I was like, ‘I don’t want to be just part of a Marvel movie; I want to be a Marvel superhero.’”
Kumail Nanjiani started out as a one-man show
Nanjiani first met Michael Showalter, who would help kickstart his career and work with him on some of his biggest hits, around 2007. Nanjiani wrote and acted on Showalter’s Michael & Michael, which got cancelled early on but revealed a new passion in Nanjiani – acting.
Soon, small roles on Portlandia, Veep, and Franklin & Bash culminated in a spot in HBO’s Silicon Valley. “He’d made a name playing gently nerdy…young men,” describes Men’s Health.
Nanjiani’s breakthrough feature film was the hugely successful “The Big Sick” in 2017. Since then, he appeared in a series of successful films and shows. In 2019, Nanjiani appeared in the first episode of the reboot of Twilight Zone. In fact, this role earned him an Emmy nomination. He also had starring roles in “Stuber”, “Lovebirds”, and the series Little America, which he also co-wrote.
Kumail Nanjiani draws on real life for art
Nanjiani arrived to the United States from Pakistan to study at Grinnell College in Iowa. There, he discovered his love for standup comedy. After college he decided to move to Chicago and be a teacher by day, comedian by night.
In 2007, he moved to New York to chase his dream. There he met his now-wife Emily V. Gordon, who is an author, producer, and former therapist. In fact, they both wrote the film “The Big Sick”, in which Zoe Kazan played Gordon in a screen-retelling of their relationship in one of the most successful movies of 2017.
Nanjiani was born in Karachi, and his life as a Pakistani-American is a topic in a lot of his stand-up. However, Nanjiani values his heritage and treats it with respect, having refused roles where his accent would be the butt of a joke. In his one-man show “Unpronounceable”, Nanjiani jokes about a lot of things, including how the electricity cuts out often in Karachi, but also touches upon serious topics, including his conversion from Shiite to atheist.
Kumail Nanjiani in Marvel’s “Eternals”
“Eternals” is based on a Marvel comic of the same name about the secret rivalry of the Eternals, an immortal alien race, and their evil enemies, the Deviants. Nanjiani plays an Eternal who blends in on Earth as a Bollywood performer. He joins an immensely star-studded cast, including Angelina Jolie, Salma Hayek, Richard Madden, and Gemma Chan as fellow Eternals. Nanjiani absolutely transformed himself for this role with intense workouts and even Bollywood dance classes.
“I had to change my relationship to pain,” Nanjiani said regarding the workouts. “You’re so designed to avoid it, but in that situation you really have to be okay with it. You have to want it. It’s almost like rewiring your brain.”
Nanjiani kept this transformation under wraps until December, mostly due to the aura of suspense surrounding the “Eternals” production. However, the final reveal spurred intense discussion online, including (unfounded) accusations of steroid abuse, body-shaming, and talks around how racism impacts the perception of actors of color.
The Eternals release date has been pushed back from February 12, 2021, to November 5, 2021 due to the coronavirus pandemic. Keep an eye out for updates here.
