Kumail Ali Nanjiani[1] (/kʊˈmeɪl ˌnɑːndʒiˈɑːni/;[2] Sindhi: ڪميل علي نانجياڻي‎; Urdu: کمیل علی نانجیانی; born May 2, 1978)[3] is a Pakistani-American stand-up comedian and actor.

[4] 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.

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.

[10] In 2007, Nanjiani wrote and staged an original autobiographical one-man show in Chicago, New York, and Los Angeles.

[10] In 2011, Nanjiani and X-Play staffer Ali Baker began hosting a video game-themed podcast, titled The Indoor Kids.

In late August the same year, Baker left the show and Nanjiani began hosting with his wife, Emily V.

[14] In addition to guest-starring in comedy shows like Portlandia, Nanjiani was featured in a supporting role in the TNT series Franklin & Bash.

[22] Starting on March 22, 2015, he provided his voice for the character of Mshak Moradi in the Hunt the Truth audio drama, part of the marketing campaign for Halo 5: Guardians.

[24] In July 2015, Nanjiani provided guest voices on Aqua Teen Hunger Force and Penn Zero: Part-Time Hero.

For his role on The Twilight Zone, Nanjiani received a nomination for the Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Guest Actor in a Drama Series.

In film, Nanjiani voiced the alien Pawny in Men in Black International, which was released on June 14.

[38][39] Nanjiani starred with Issa Rae in the comedy-chase film The Lovebirds, directed by Michael Showalter, produced by Paramount Pictures, and released by Netflix in May 2020.

[45] Nanjiani received widespread attention and went viral[46] after sharing pictures of his body transformation for the shooting of Eternals in 2019.

[50] In February 2020, Nanjiani signed on to star in The Independent, a political thriller to be directed by Amy Rice, though he ultimately dropped out of the role.

In 2023, Nanjiani donated proceeds of the LA Largo show in October 2023 to help fund Doctors Without Borders in the Israeli invasion of the Gaza Strip.