Kumail Nanjiani
Kumail Ali Nanjiani[1] (/kʊˈmeɪl ˌnɑːndʒiˈɑːni/;[2] Sindhi: ڪوميل علي ننجياڻي; Urdu: کمیل علی ننجیانی; born May 2, 1978)[3] 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.[4] 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.[5]
Kumail Nanjiani
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.[5]
Early life[edit]
Nanjiani grew up in Karachi, the first of two sons of a Sindhi Shia Muslim couple Shabana and Aijaz Nanjiani.[6] The BBC radio presenter Shereen Nanjiani is his second cousin.[7][8][9] 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.[10][11][12] He then moved to Chicago and began performing stand-up comedy at open-mic events.[10]
Personal life[edit]
In 2007, Nanjiani married author, producer, and former couples and family therapist Emily V. Gordon at Chicago City Hall.[54] She was the producer of The Meltdown with Jonah and Kumail (2014–2016).[6] They reside in Larchmont, Los Angeles.[55]
Despite being a devout Muslim for most of his life, Nanjiani now identifies as an atheist.[56] Nanjiani is an avid video gamer.[57][58]