USA TODAY International Edition
Nayyar: ‘ Big Bang’ guys likely fantasy busts
When you star on TV’s most popular sitcom, are married to a former Miss India and release a memoir that is as hilarious as it is inspiring, it’s safe to say you’re doing something right. Such is the case with actor Kunal Nayyar, who plays the charmingly awkward astrophysicist Raj Koothrappali on the CBS show The Big Bang Theory. For even more laughs and an uplifting moment or two, check out his book Yes, My Accent is Real: And Some Other Things I Haven’t Told You. We sat down with Nayyar, a Temple alum and Philly fan, to discuss nerding out over fantasy football, a foreigner’s take on Thanksgiving and the unexpected way he became a fan of American football.
Q. If Chip Kelly were on “The Big Bang Theory,” what would his character be like?
A. I bet you Chip Kelly would be the biggest nerd out of everyone. Because he’s so fascinated with numbers and schemes, I bet he and Sheldon would have a great time talking about the physics of football. I bet you Chip Kelly is a bigger nerd than all of us.
Q. Which of the characters from “The Big Bang Theory” would win a fantasy football league and why?
A. The problem with these guys is that they’re so overanalytical that they would all be bad at fantasy football because they would all just overanalyze the hell out of the teams and they would be destroyed. These guys can’t even change a tire without breaking down. So I don’t think any one of them would be actually good at it.
Q. How did you become an NFL fan?
A. I started playing Madden, that’s how I got into football. I lived in a house with these two guys who played Madden all the time, they taught me and I got obsessed with it. So by the time I even started watching football, I knew all of the rules more so than even the people who watch football ( regularly).
Q. How would someone who wasn’t born in America describe Thanksgiving?
A. It’s like Christmas, that’s how they would describe it because it’s this wonderful tradition of family getting together.