Acting

Kumail Nanjiani

Kumail Ali Nanjiani (/kʊˈmeɪl ˌnɑːndʒiˈɑːni/; Sindhi: ڪميل علي نانجياڻي‎; Urdu: کمیل علی نانجیانی; 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, they were 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 and played various roles on the comedy series Portlandia. He also played Kingo in the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) superhero film Eternals and What If...? Episode What If... Agatha Went to Hollywood?, con artist Haja Estree in the Disney+ miniseries Obi-Wan Kenobi and 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.