"I am very uncomfortable talking about my body"
Kumail Nanjiani has admitted that he feels “very uncomfortable” talking about his body.
In December 2019, Kumail shared several shirtless photos of his muscular physique on Instagram.
At the time, the Pakistani-American actor had bulked up after a year of training for his role as Kingo in Marvel’s Eternals.
Kumail plays a superhero and becomes a popular Bollywood film star to blend in on Earth.
The photos quickly went viral.
However, the actor has now opened up and shared that he feels “very uncomfortable” talking about his body.
The actor said: “I’ve found out over the last year and a half, since I did that picture, that I am very uncomfortable talking about my body — and it’s become less and less and less comfortable.”
In his 2019 post, Kumail explained that he had “never thought” he’d be “one of those people who would post a thirsty shirtless”.
He also added that he had worked “way too hard for way too long” to not show off his results.
The star admitted that he posted the photos to Instagram because he wanted to change the way the public perceived him.
Kumail previously said: “I shared that specifically to be like, ‘Hey, I need to change how people saw me,’ so, I could have the type of opportunities I was excited about.
“And those did happen.
“Now I get those opportunities. I don’t just mean action stuff.
“I mean, like, now I get opportunities to play a normal guy. I was not seen as a normal guy before this.”
Kumail also shared that bulking up for the role was his decision.
View this post on Instagram
It had come as a surprise to the film’s director Chloe Zao.
As Kumail was playing the first South Asian superhero, he felt it was important to mirror other actors who played similar roles.
Kumail said: “I want to look like someone who can take on Thor or Captain America or any of those people.
“I was like, I want this to be believable. I want to feel that kind of power in this role.”
Kumail shared that he found learning the Bollywood dances challenging in preparation for a scene where Kingo has to perform.
He said: “I have zero rhythm. I had to take months and months of classes to do this.
“So it was very challenging, but I know that if we could pull this off and capture the joy and excitement of a Bollywood dance number in a Marvel movie, that would be special — because I grew up watching Bollywood movies.”
Eternals is set to release on November 5, 2021.
Kumail Nanjiani is commonly known for his role as Dinesh in the HBO comedy series Silicon Valley and for co-writing and starring in the romantic comedy film The Big Sick.
Loading ...