Spotlight on actor Kumail Nanjiani
The funnyman makes it all the way from geekdom in Silicon Valley to a mainstream romcom
COMPILED BY DENNIS CAVERNELIS
LOVEBIRDS The stand-up comedian, writer and actor stars in the romantic action comedy The Lovebirds. It was due for release in cinemas a month ago but, like many other films, has been shifted to streaming services instead.
Kumail (42) plays Jabran, and the movie kicks off the morning after his night before with Leilani (Issa Rae). Their onenight hook-up turns into brunch and it’s clear this couple is falling in love.
The story jumps ahead four years, and they’re on the brink of splitting up. Their plans to join friends at a dinner party go badly wrong when they land up in the middle of a murder mystery.
ON LIVING COLOUR Both Kumail and Issa acknowledge it’s unusual for a mainstream Hollywood romcom to have an African-American and a Pakistani-American in the lead roles.
“I’m very aware of my race and how I’m coming across at all times,” Kumail told The New York Times. “We wanted this movie to reflect that it’s very different when it’s two white people being accused of murder and running from the cops as opposed to two people who aren’t white.”
GETTING RIPPED He’s best known as brainiac Dinesh in the comedy series Silicon Valley. Kumail’s next big role marks quite a change from that geeky role – he stars as Kingo in Marvel’s The Eternals, which is set for release next year. To prepare for the superhero epic Kumail spent months training for a couple of hours every single day. But he says that wasn’t the hardest part – the real torture was giving up refined sugar and most carbohydrates for more than a year. When he posted a pic of his toned physique on Instagram it went viral and led to stories appearing in newspapers in his native Pakistan. It was the first time his parents told him they were proud of him, he says. “Only time they’ve said vocally that they’re proud of me. It’s the only time. My dad got socks with [pictures of] my shirtless body on them,” he said. “I had aunts texting me, ‘We’re so proud of you, you’ve worked so hard!’”