KUMAIL NANJIANI

The Big Sick and Silicon Valley actor, 42, joins Issa Rae, 35, in the romantic action comedy The Lovebirds (coming to theaters soon) as a couple on a trip to New Orleans who accidentally become suspects in a murder.

Do you see yourself as a romantic leading man? No, but I do love romantic comedy movies. When Harry Met Sally, Four Weddings and a Funeral, Notting Hill—the usual suspects—are among my favorites.

What’s the relationship between your character, Jibran, and Rae’s Leilani? It can be very easy after a while to forget why you got together in the first place. Their relationship has gotten stuck in a rut, and whose fault is it? But because of the life-and-death stakes, they end up having to actually listen to each other. And in listening to each other about how to go about solving this mystery, they’re also listening to each other about how to solve the problems in their relationship.

Why did you want to be a producer on Little America [Apple TV+], which is based on real-life stories of

immigrants in America? I wanted to tell fun, interesting stories from a perspective that people might not have seen. But mostly, we just wanted to entertain people and tell stories that were funny or emotional, moving or exciting. All people are looking for love, or a place to live, or food, or to take care of their family, or to find a family.

Who is Kingo, the role you play in Marvel Studios’ upcoming Eternals [Nov. 6]? Kingo is at least 7,000 years old. He was sent to Earth to defend humanity against the Deviants, who are monsters. He’s supposed to keep a low profile, but he’s decided to go become a Bollywood star. He just really enjoys all of it. He enjoys being famous. He enjoys having superpowers. He is, in a way, like a big kid.