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Kumail Nanjiani facts for kids

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Kumail Nanjiani
Kumail Nanjiani by Gage Skidmore 2.jpg
Nanjiani at the 2019 San Diego Comic-Con
Born
Kumail Ali Nanjiani

(1978-05-02) May 2, 1978 (age 46)
Karachi, Sindh, Pakistan
Citizenship
  • Pakistan
  • United States
Education Grinnell College (BA)
Occupation
  • Comedian
  • actor
Years active 2007–present
Spouse(s)
(m. 2007)
Relatives Shereen Nanjiani (second cousin)

Kumail Ali Nanjiani (/kʊˈml ˌnɑːniˈɑːni/; Sindhi: ڪوميل علي ننجياڻي‎; Urdu: کمیل علی ننجیانی; born May 2, 1978) is a Pakistani-American stand-up comedian and actor. He is known for his role as Dinesh in the HBO comedy series Silicon Valley (2014–2019) and for co-writing and starring in the romantic comedy film The Big Sick (2017). For co-writing the latter with his wife, Emily V. Gordon, he was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Original Screenplay. In 2018, Time magazine named him one of the 100 most influential people in the world. He was nominated for the Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Guest Actor in a Drama Series for his role in The Twilight Zone executive produced by Jordan Peele in 2019.

Nanjiani has also voiced Prismo on the animated series Adventure Time and starred in the TNT series Franklin & Bash and the Adult Swim series Newsreaders. He also co-hosted the Comedy Central show The Meltdown with Jonah and Kumail, as well as playing various roles on the comedy series Portlandia. He also starred as Kingo in the Marvel Studios superhero film Eternals (2021), which is set in the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU), starred as street-level con artist Haja Estree in the Disney+ miniseries Obi-Wan Kenobi and played celebrity scientist Vik in the television series The Boys Presents: Diabolical and The Boys. In 2022, he starred in the lead role of the Hulu miniseries Welcome to Chippendales. In 2023, he was nominated for a Primetime Emmy Award in the Outstanding Lead Actor in a Limited or Anthology Series or Movie category for his work in Welcome to Chippendales.

Early life

Nanjiani grew up in Karachi, the first of two sons of a Sindhi Muslim couple Shabana and Aijaz Nanjiani. The BBC radio presenter Shereen Nanjiani is his second cousin. During his childhood, he lived in Karachi and attended St. Michael's Convent School for his O-Levels and graduated from Karachi Grammar School to complete his A-Levels, where he was the class-fellow of Sharmeen Obaid Chinoy. At 18, he moved to the U.S. and enrolled at Grinnell College in Grinnell, Iowa, where he graduated in 2001 with a double major in computer science and philosophy. He then moved to Chicago and began performing stand-up comedy at open-mic events.

Career

In 2007, Nanjiani wrote and staged an original autobiographical one-man show in Chicago, New York, and Los Angeles. After moving to New York, he continued to perform stand-up and made occasional appearances on shows including Michael & Michael Have Issues and The Colbert Report. In 2009, he performed at the Just for Laughs comedy festival. In 2011, Nanjiani and X-Play staffer Ali Baker began hosting a video game-themed podcast, titled The Indoor Kids. In late August the same year, Baker left the show and Nanjiani began hosting with his wife, Emily V. Gordon. Until other commitments took over, he appeared regularly on Dan Harmon's podcast Harmontown, where he played Dungeons & Dragons with Harmon as a character named Chris de Burgh. He played a delivery man in the 2013 film The Kings of Summer. In addition to guest-starring in comedy shows like Portlandia, Nanjiani was featured in a supporting role in the TNT series Franklin & Bash. He played the role of Pindar Singh, an agoraphobic fiction nerd working for the title characters.

Nanjiani guest-starred on HBO's Veep as a statistician. He had the recurring roles of Amir Larussa on Newsreaders and Prismo on Adventure Time. His Comedy Central special Beta Male aired in July 2013. In late June 2013, Comedy Central announced the pickup of The Meltdown with Jonah and Kumail, hosted by Jonah Ray and Nanjiani. The show, featuring Nerd Melt comedy regulars and various comedians, began airing in July 2014. In April 2014, he began playing the character Dinesh in the HBO sitcom Silicon Valley. He voiced Reggie in the video game The Walking Dead: Season Two. In July 2014, Nanjiani hosted a weekly podcast titled The X-Files Files, dedicated to discussion and reminiscences about The X-Files. Each episode features Nanjiani and a guest, including former The X-Files writers, producers, actors and directors, in light-hearted banter about one or two episodes of the series. On July 30, 2014, Nanjiani appeared on Ken Reid's TV Guidance Counselor Podcast.

In 2015, Nanjiani guest-starred in the Broad City episode "In Heat". Starting on March 22, 2015, he provided his voice for the character of Mshak Moradi in the Hunt the Truth audio drama, part of the marketing campaign for Halo 5: Guardians. On May 5, 2015, he appeared on the Inside Amy Schumer episode "12 Angry Men Inside Amy Schumer", a parody of 12 Angry Men, as one of the jurors. In July 2015, Nanjiani provided guest voices on Aqua Teen Hunger Force and Penn Zero: Part-Time Hero.

In 2017, Nanjiani starred in the romantic comedy film The Big Sick, which he wrote with Gordon. The film is about their relationship, with Nanjiani playing himself and Zoe Kazan playing Gordon (renamed Emily Gardner). The film was one of the most acclaimed of 2017, and was chosen by American Film Institute as one of the top 10 films of the year and nominated for the Academy Award for Best Original Screenplay. The film was also the third-highest-grossing independent film released in 2017, grossing over $40 million.

In 2018, he was invited to the actors and writers branch of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences.

Kumail Nanjiani 2019
Nanjiani at South by Southwest, 2019

In 2019, Nanjiani headlined the first episode of the CBS All Access revival of the anthology series The Twilight Zone. For his role on The Twilight Zone, Nanjiani received a nomination for the Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Guest Actor in a Drama Series. In film, Nanjiani voiced the alien Pawny in Men in Black International, which was released on June 14. Nanjiani stated, "I play an alien so you won't see my face but you'll hear my voice, I'm a little alien frog/lizard... thing." Nanjiani also stars in the action comedy film Stuber, released on July 12. In 2020, Nanjiani lent his voice to Plimpton, an ostrich, in the adventure comedy film Dolittle. He also wrote for and produced the Apple TV+ anthology series Little America, which premiered in January 2020. The series is based on the story collection of the same name from Epic Magazine which focuses on stories from immigrants. To promote the series, Nanjiani appeared at the Apple Event of March 25, 2019. Nanjiani starred with Issa Rae in the comedy-chase film The Lovebirds, directed by Michael Showalter, produced by Paramount Pictures, and released by Netflix in May 2020.

In March 2020, during the COVID-19 pandemic, Nanjiani and his wife Emily Gordon launched a podcast, Staying In with Emily and Kumail. The series chronicles their experiences as a couple forced to live in isolation during the global pandemic. The podcast has been widely acclaimed in the media, as a welcome respite during a period of high anxiety. GQ described it as "consistently endearing, actually useful, and often hilarious." New York magazine relates that "all advice is shared via cute and charming banter."

He starred in the Marvel Cinematic Universe film Eternals, as Kingo, which was released on November 5, 2021. Nanjiani received widespread attention and went viral after sharing pictures of his body transformation for the shooting of Eternals in 2019. Speaking with GQ, he noted how he has since become less comfortable to speak about his body due to the intense amount of attention it received online. In March 2021, Nanjiani was announced as cast in an upcoming Obi-Wan Kenobi series for Disney+. In February 2020, Nanjiani signed on to star in The Independent, a political thriller to be directed by Amy Rice, though he ultimately dropped out of the role.

In 2022, Nanjiani starred in the Hulu miniseries Welcome to Chippendales in the lead role of Somen Banerjee, founder of the Chippendales dance troupe.

On March 24, 2023 it was confirmed that Nanjiani had joined the cast of Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire.

Personal life

In 2007, Nanjiani married author, producer, and former couples and family therapist Emily V. Gordon at Chicago City Hall. She was the producer of The Meltdown with Jonah and Kumail (2014–2016).

Despite being a devout Muslim for most of his life, Nanjiani now identifies as an atheist. Nanjiani is an avid video gamer.

Filmography

Film

Year Title Role Notes
2010 Life as We Know It Simon
2012 The Five-Year Engagement Pakistani Chef
2013 The Kings of Summer Gary the Delivery Guy
Hell Baby Cable Guy
Bad Milo Bobbi
2014 The Last of the Great Romantics George the Counter Guy
... Tape Punit
2015 Loaded Reza
Hot Tub Time Machine 2 Brad
Addicted to Fresno Damon
Hello, My Name Is Doris Nasir
Hell and Back Dave the Demon Voice role
Goosebumps Foreman
2016 Central Intelligence Jared the Airport Security Guard Cameo
Mike and Dave Need Wedding Dates Keanu
Brother Nature Riggleman
Flock of Dudes Ro
The Late Bloomer Rich
2017 The Big Sick Kumail Nanjiani Also writer and executive producer
Fist Fight Officer Mehar
A Happening of Monumental Proportions HR Rep Perry
Funny: The Documentary Himself
The Lego Ninjago Movie Jay Voice role
2018 Duck Butter Jake
2019 Stuber Stu Prasad
Men in Black: International Pawny Voice role
2020 Dolittle Plimpton Voice role
The Lovebirds Jibran Also executive producer
2021 Eternals Kingo
2023 Migration Mack Voice role
2024 Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire Nadeem Razmaadi Post-production
TBA Ella McCay Filming

Television

Year Title Role Notes
2008 Saturday Night Live Indian Reporter Episode: "James Franco/Kings of Leon"; uncredited
2009 The Colbert Report Various characters 2 episodes
Michael & Michael Have Issues Kumail Main role
100 Most Shocking Music Moments panelist 5 episodes
2010 Ugly Americans Neilando Patel Voice role; episode: "Treegasm"
2011 Traffic Light Paul Episode: "Where the Heart Is"
CollegeHumor Originals Vendor Episode: "Batman Chooses His Voice"
Googy Dwayne Main role
2011–2014 Franklin & Bash Pindar Singh Main role (seasons 1–3), guest role (season 4)
2011–2018 Portlandia Various characters Recurring role; 13 episodes
2012–2016 Adventure Time Prismo Recurring voice role; 7 episodes
2013–2015 Newsreaders Amir Larussa Correspondent; 11 episodes
2013 Burning Love Zakir Main role (seasons 2–3)
Veep Statistician Episode: "Midterms"
... History Lakota Chief Episode: "Nashville"
Ghost Ghirls Mr. Mattoo Episode: "I Believe in Mira-ghouls"
Kumail Nanjiani: Beta Male Himself Stand-up special
2014 Math Bites Showoff Guy Episode: "Math Heads: Do Math in Your Head"
The Pete Holmes Show Dhalsim Episode: "Erin Hamlin and Kate Hansen"
TripTank Dick Genie Voice role; 4 episodes
Garfunkel and Oates Jordan Episode: "Hair Swap"
Key & Peele College Kid #1 Episode: "Scariest Movie Ever"
2014–2015 Bob's Burgers Skip Voice role; 2 episodes
Community Custodian Lapari 2 episodes
2014–2016 The Meltdown with Jonah and Kumail Himself Host; also executive producer
2014–2019 Silicon Valley Dinesh Chugtai Main role
2015 Broad City Benny Calitri Episode: "In Heat"
Archer Farooq Ashkani Voice role; episode: "Sitting"
Inside Amy Schumer Juror #11 Episode: "12 Angry Men Inside Amy Schumer"
Scheer-RL Mariah Carey Episode: "Mariah Carey"
Penn Zero: Part-Time Hero Cuteling Mayor Voice role; episode: "The Ripple Effect"
Aqua Teen Hunger Force Frylock's bees Voice role; episode: "Sweet C"
The Grinder Prosecutor Leonard 2 episodes
2016 The X-Files Pasha Episode: "Mulder and Scully Meet the Were-Monster"
Animals Rusty Voice role; episode: "Dogs."
31st Independent Spirit Awards Himself Host
2016–2017 HarmonQuest Eddie Lizard 2 episodes
2016–2022 Bee and PuppyCat: Lazy In Space Howell Voice role; 2 episodes
2017 Saturday Night Live Himself Host; episode: "Kumail Nanjiani/Pink"
2018 RuPaul's Drag Race Judge; episode: "Drag Con Panel Extravaganza"
2019 The Twilight Zone Samir Wassan Episode: "The Comedian"
2019–2021 Bless the Harts Jesus Christ Main voice role
2020 Little America Executive producer and writer
Kal Penn Approves This Message Himself Episode: "Kal Penn Approves Education"
Death to 2020 Bark Multiverse Television special
2021 Big Mouth Himself Voice role; Episode: "No Nut November"
2022 Murderville 1 episode
The Simpsons Theo Voice role; "You Won't Believe What This Episode Is About..."
The Boys Presents: Diabolical Vik Voice role; "Boyd in 3D"
Obi-Wan Kenobi Haja Estree Miniseries; 3 episodes
Bee and PuppyCat Howell Wizard Voice role; 3 episodes
The Boys Vik Cameo; "Herogasm"
2022–2023 Welcome to Chippendales Somen "Steve" Banerjee Miniseries; main cast; also executive producer
2023 History of the World, Part II Vātsyāyana Episode: "I"
The Eric Andre Show Himself 1 episode
2024 Krapopolis Spartan Army Leader Episode: “Contagion”

Video games

Year Title Voice role
2013 The Walking Dead: Season Two Reggie
2017 Mass Effect: Andromeda Jarun Tann
Middle-earth: Shadow of War The Agonizer

Web

Year Title Role Notes
2009 Jake and Amir Kumail 4 episodes
2015 Hunt the Truth Mshak Moradi
2013–2017 Harmontown Himself
2017 Game Grumps 1 episode; on the same episode as Paul Scheer
Movie Fights 1 episode; on the same episode as Paul Scheer
2019 Achievement Hunter 1 episode
Gay of Thrones 1 episode; "Gay Of Thrones S8 E4 Recap"
Hot Ones 1 episode
2020 Reunited Apart 1 episode; "Ghostbusters"

Awards and nominations

Year Association Category Project Result Ref.
2017 Academy Awards Best Original Screenplay The Big Sick Nominated
Critics' Choice Movie Awards Best Original Screenplay Nominated
Best Actor in a Comedy Nominated
Detroit Film Critics Society Best Screenplay Nominated
Best Ensemble Nominated
Kanbar Award for Storytelling Won
Gotham Awards Best Screenplay Nominated
Washington D.C. Area Film Critics Association Best Original Screenplay Nominated
Independent Spirit Awards Best First Screenplay Won
NAACP Image Awards Outstanding Writing in a Motion Picture Nominated
Screen Actors Guild Award Outstanding Cast in a Motion Picture Nominated
Critics' Choice Television Awards Best Supporting Actor in a Comedy Series Silicon Valley Nominated
San Diego International Film Festival Auteur Award Self Won
2019 Primetime Emmy Awards Outstanding Guest Actor in a Drama Series The Twilight Zone Nominated
2021 NAACP Image Awards Outstanding Writing in a Comedy Series Little America (episode: "The Rock") Nominated
Independent Spirit Awards Best New Scripted Series Little America Nominated
British Academy Television Awards International Program Nominated
2023 Primetime Emmy Awards Outstanding Lead Actor in a Limited or Anthology Series or Movie Welcome to Chippendales Nominated

See also

Kids robot.svg In Spanish: Kumail Nanjiani para niños

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