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In Marvels upcoming Eternals , Kumail Nanjiani will play Kingo, a haughty cosmic being living on Earth as a beefy Bollywood star. Najianis transformation for the rolebecoming beefyhas since thirst-trapped the entire internet and changed the face (literally, like, re-sculpted the visage) of the former comedic character actor. Nanjiani is jacked now? Hell yes he is.
In Mens Healths April cover story , Nanjiani takes us through that transformation. He says he knew exactly how he wanted to play Kingo: light, but also tense at the same time. He wanted Kingo to be Bollywood Bruce Willis. Marvels John McClane.
I was like, How can a character crack wise but still have tension, and not make it fee; like youre making fun of the whole thing? Nanjiani explains.
Before Die Hard, Willis wasnt the badass action star hes since become; he was a rom-com TV actor. And so its not just Willis yippee-ki-yah attitude Nanjiani wants to capture. Its also the actors genre turnaround.
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Kumail Nanjiani Says He Went Marvel John McClane
In fact, Nanjiani has been gunning for a superhero roll for some time. Before Silicon Valley, Nanjiani auditioned for Marvels Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. A fan of comics, Nanjiani was gutted when he didnt get the part. It was a pipe dream, he says. So he played it smart. He started turning down side roles in comic-book projects, waiting for his break.
In 2018, he met with Marvel producers and that break came. But then with a huge task ahead of him: look the part.
He knew he wanted Willis action star charm. As for Kingos body, Kumail had a different source of inspiration, one straight out of Bollywood. I went to my trainer and said, I want to look like this guy, Nanjiani says. This guy was Bollywood mega star Hrithik Roshan. If Nanjiani was going to be the first South Asian superhero, he didnt want to be the schlubby brown guy. He wanted the Roshan bod.
Mission accomplished. Question is: will Nanjiani stay on Earth with in his newly-acquired form?