Canadian actress Iman Vellani plays Kamala Khan, the lead role in Disney+ miniseries Ms. Marvel. It’s the 19 year old’s acting debut, and she is set to reprise the role in the upcoming film The Marvels (2023).
Based on the groundbreaking Marvel comic series, Kamala Khan is the first Muslim lead superhero in the Marvel Universe. Her character is a Pakistani-American teenager who, obsessed with superheroes, unexpectedly becomes one herself.
As a Muslim of Pakistani descent and a self-professed Marvel superfan, Vellani could not be more suited for the role.
Iman Vellani: from fan to hero
It all started in an extended family WhatsApp group; Vellani received a forwarded casting callout from her aunt. Reading through the script scenes, she knew them all verbatim from the comics. After nearly shying away from the task for fear of failure, Vellani finally recorded a self-tape at 3am. She submitted it the night of the deadline.
The following week, Vellani was flown out to LA to the Marvel Studios. Her final screen test happened over Zoom after the pandemic hit—to a backdrop of a bedroom covered in Marvel merch. “I was giving them a room tour, showing them my Iron Man action figures, and when I opened up my closet, it was essentially Marvel vomit. They actually used some of the stuff I had in my room to decorate Kamala’s bedroom,” she says.
The connection between Vellani and her character Kamala runs deeper than an obsession with superheroes. For Vellani, reading the Ms. Marvel series had been a revelatory experience. She felt as if the comics were about her own life. “She had such a strong moral code and I really admired how her family and friends were also part of her story and her friends. It felt very close to home. It felt like my life, like the comics were written about me, literally,” Vellani says.
Iman Vellani’s background connects her to Ms. Marvel
Vellani was born in Karachi, Pakistan, and moved to Canada when she was a year old. She had planned to attend the Ontario College of Art & Design University, before she was cast for the Ms. Marvel series on her last day of high school.
Originally feeling disconnected from her culture, playing Kamala Khan has been a journey of rediscovery for Vellani. In another example of life imitating art, her process of discovery mirrors Kamala’s character arc. In the early episodes, we see Kamala grappling with how her religion and culture fit into her daily life. Part of coming into her self-identity starts with building the confidence to correct those who pronounce her name wrong.
It’s an experience all too familiar for Vellani. She recalls hating the way teachers pronounced her name I-man “like an apple product.” In actuality, Iman is a significant word from the Quran, meaning “faith”. The same goes for her character’s name Kamala, which means “perfection” or “miracle”.
“You’re used to people not getting it and you grow up wanting to change your name, hating your name and not seeing the significance of these words. . . Names are so important and . . . as soon as I come to terms with how cool my name is and how rare it is for people to have a name like mine, it’s a big step to take in self-acceptance,” she says.
Iman Vellani’s Ms. Marvel is a leap forward for representation
With an episode featuring an Eid celebration, Ms. Marvel provides a snapshot of Muslim culture that is fresh and unique. Vellani celebrates the way in which Kamala is a happy character, something she feels is often lacking in TV & Film. For her, showing Muslims having fun, joy and humor could be eye-opening for those used to more one-dimensional depictions.
“A lot of the time, people of color don’t get to be real individuals, but Ms. Marvel shows Kamala and her community as real people. We want to make them as specific as possible, and I think that specificity is true representation,” she says.
Vellani is more than happy with the result, which she believes provides a “good commentary on how Muslims are portrayed in the media and how we can shift that perspective.”
Check out the trailer for Ms. Marvel below and follow Iman Vellani on Instagram for all her latest news.
