‘I’D RATHER BE MAKING MY MISTAKE THAN SOMEBODY ELSE’S MISTAKE.’
I’m sorry, I have some cereal,” smiles Kumail Nanjiani. “I have mistimed my morning.” It’s November 2022, and Nanjiani is speaking to Total Film between spoonfuls of breakfast. Dressed in a plain grey t-shirt, and sporting a short stubbly beard, he’s relaxed and open when talking about his latest project and the career path that’s led him here.
A self-confessed nerd (a couple of boxed Funko Pop! vinyls sit on his shelves), 44-year-old Nanjiani was born in Pakistan, before moving to Iowa aged 18. Starting out as a stand-up comic and podcaster (regularly chatting videogames and The X-Files), he began to get little TV roles here and there, until his big TV break arrived in the form of Mike Judge’s Silicon Valley; he played needy Dinesh over six seasons of the HBO show, from 2014.
He says there’s been “no game plan at all” for his career. “It’s all just been about the very next thing. And so the goals sort of evolve as you evolve.” A turning point came when Judd Apatow encouraged him to write a movie based on a pivotal point in his life, when his then-girlfriend and now-wife Emily V. Gordon became ill and fell into a coma early on in their relationship. Nanjiani and Gordon co-wrote the semi-autobiographical script (bagging an Oscar nomination), and Nanjiani also starred, alongside Zoe Kazan as Emily. “It’s kind of great,” says Nanjiani of the co-writing process, “because even the first draft of the script is kind of the third draft, because we’ve been rewriting each other’s work as we’ve been going along.”
The success of The Big Sick led to tons more work for Nanjiani, including comedy leads (Stuber, The Lovebirds) and bit parts that shone in so-so blockbusters (Men In Black International, Dolittle). Alongside Gordon, he also produced Apple TV+ anthology series Little America, a drama that shines a light on immigrant stories, and recently he hit geek pay dirt landing roles in both the Marvel and Star Wars universes: as immortal Bollywood star Kingo in Eternals, and faux Jedi Haja Estree in Disney+ miniseries Obi-Wan Kenobi.
The jumping-off point for our chat today is his most serious dramatic role yet. In , which he also produces, Nanjiani stars as Somen ‘Steve’ Banerjee, founder of male-stripping phenomenon the Chippendales. “I saw a picture of him, with the Chippendales dancers, and it’s this sort of podgy, nerdy, brown guy, surrounded by these white Adonises,” says Nanjiani
