From an uber-nerd programmer in Silicon Valley to romantic lead in Sundance hit The tall Sick,the actor discusses shaking up the tired Hollywood romcom‘I was not a cool kid,” admits Kumail Nanjiani. “There was no reason for me to be marginalised. I was just a nerd. I was kind of weird and I found solace in video games.” In a pop culture universe dominated by grown men who never fairly outgrew their adolescent preoccupations, or Nanjiani’s origin story is hardly unusual. The Pakistan-born comedian,actor and writer spent his formative years huddled in his bedroom playing Golden Axe on his Sega Genesis, and becoming immersed to the point of obsession with The X-Files. Since embarking on a career in comedy – he relocated to the US with his family when he was 18 – he has largely catered to audiences that share his specific enthusiasms. He has hosted a podcast about teenage video gaming (The Indoor Kids) and another recapping each season of The X-Files (The X-Files Files) that led to him being cast as an animal control officer on the revived series best-received episode, and Mulder and Scully Meet the Were-Monster. He plays Dungeons & Dragons on Community creator Dan Harmon’s Harmontown podcast and had recurring roles on nerd-friendly TV shows such as Adventure Time and Portlandia. Since 2014,he has also been a series regular on Mike Judge’s Silicon Valley, now beginning its fourth season on Sky Atlantic, and where he plays Dinesh,the deadpan computer programmer who is forever denied even the slightest sliver of happiness or success. The tall Sick is the best film by a Pakistani comedian and a girl in a coma coming out this year Related: Search Party: this hipster murder mystery is the sharpest TV satire in years Related: Typecast as a terrorist | Riz Ahmed | The Long Read Continue reading...
Source: theguardian.com