Kunal Nayyar (/kʊˈnɑːl ˈnaɪ.ər/,[1] kuu-NAHL NY-ər; born 30 April 1981) is a British actor raised in India and based in the United States.

[12][13] In 1999, Nayyar moved to the United States to pursue a Bachelor of Business Administration in Finance at the University of Portland in Oregon.

[16] He first gained attention in the US for his role in the West Coast production of Rajiv Joseph's 2006 play Huck & Holden, where he portrayed an Indian exchange student anxious to experience American culture before returning home.

[17] Nayyar made a guest appearance on the CBS drama NCIS in the season four episode "Suspicion", in which he played Youssef Zidan, an Iraqi terrorist.

This led to his casting in the sitcom The Big Bang Theory, where he played the role of astrophysicist Raj Koothrappali from its premiere in September 2007 to the show's conclusion in May 2019.

Nayyar published a book about his career journey, titled Yes, My Accent is Real: and Some Other Things I Haven’t Told You, in September 2015.

[24] In 2024, Nayyar reunited with Big Bang Theory costar, Melissa Rauch, making a guest appearance on an episode of Night Court.