Kunal Nayyar

Early life

Nayyar was born on 30 April, 1981 in the Hammersmith district of West London, to Indian parents. When he was three years old, his family returned to India and he grew up in New Delhi, where his parents live.

In 1999, Nayyar moved to the United States to pursue a Bachelor of Business Administration in Finance at the University of Portland in Oregon. He started taking acting classes and appeared in several school plays while working on his degree.

After participating in the American College Theater Festival at the Kennedy Center in Washington, D.C., Nayyar decided to become an actor. He then attended Temple University in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, where he received his Master of Fine Arts degree in Acting.

Career

After graduating, Nayyar found work doing American television ads and plays on the London stage. 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.

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.

In 2007, Nayyar's agent heard about a role as a scientist in an upcoming CBS pilot and encouraged him to audition for the part. 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.

In 2011, he co-hosted the Tribute to Nerds show with co-star Simon Helberg at the comedy festival Just for Laughs.

Nayyar voiced Gupta in Ice Age: Continental Drift in 2012. During the same year, he completed the shooting of the film, Dr. Cabbie, produced by Bollywood actor Salman Khan.

In 2013, he produced a documentary called Beyond All Boundaries, which focuses on three individuals and their love for cricket in India: Sudhir bikes across the country to support his team; Prithvi is a young cricket prodigy; and Akshaya is a female cricketer from the Mumbai slums.

From 5 May to 29 June 2015, Nayyar performed in an off-Broadway production, The Spoils, written by and starring actor Jesse Eisenberg. Nayyar played Kalyan, a Nepalese student and roommate of the protagonist Ben, played by Eisenberg. The production transferred to London's West End in 2016.

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.

He voiced another animated movie character named Guy Diamond in DreamWorks' Trolls, released in November 2016.

In 2020, Nayyar played a convicted serial killer named Sandeep on the Netflix UK production Criminal: UK. He appeared in the final episode of Season 2, which was released in August 2020. In the same year, he joined the cast of the thriller TV series Suspicion on Apple TV+, based on the Israeli thriller TV series False Flag, alongside Uma Thurman, Elizabeth Henstridge and Elyes Gabel.

In 2021, he was announced as having been picked to play the title role of A. J. Fikry in the upcoming comedy-drama The Storied Life of A.J. Fikry, alongside Lucy Hale and Christina Hendricks, an adaptation of the best-selling novel by Gabrielle Zevin.

In 2024, Nayyar reunited with Big Bang Theory costar, Melissa Rauch, making a guest appearance on an episode of Night Court. Night Court is a revival of the '80s NBC sitcom of the same name.

Nayyar potrayed Eshaan Sood, an Indian take on Scrooge in the 2025 film Christmas Karma.

Personal life

In December 2011, Nayyar married Neha Kapur, a model and Femina Miss India 2006. According to the University of Portland, Nayyar and his wife have given scholarships for University of Portland students in Performing & Fine Arts and paid for guest artists at the university.

Filmography

Film

Television

Theatre

Awards

References

References

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3. McGarth, Maggie. "The World's Highest-Paid TV Actors".
4. Robehmed, Natalie. "Highest-Paid TV Actors 2018".
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8. Mike Rose, cleveland com. (2024-04-30). "Famous birthdays list for today, April 30, 2024 includes celebrities Kirsten Dunst, Ana de Armas".
9. Kapoor, Kritika. (25 June 2010). "I'd rather do social movies: Kunal Nayyar". Daily News and Analysis.
10. Ahmed, Sana. (28 June 2008). "Going places". [[The Hindu]].
11. (8 March 2012). "25 Fun Facts About Kunal Nayyar {{!}} The Big Bang Theory".
12. Singh, Prashant. (14 October 2013). "Salman Khan has done such amazing things for our industry: Kunal Nayyar". Hindustan Times.
13. [http://www.backstage.com/news/successful-actors-talk-about-their-training Successful Actors Talk About Their Training] {{Webarchive. link. (11 November 2012 . backstage.com. Retrieved on 17 November 2012.)
14. Nayyar, Kunal. (2015). "Yes, My Accent Is Real: And Some Other Things I Haven't Told You". Atria Books.
15. (19 November 2007). "Making it as a nerd". Rediff.
16. Sahgal, Natasha. (16 September 2009). "Geek God". Indian Express.
17. Chander, Romesh. (16 June 2006). "Staging the fluff of dreams". [[The Hindu]].
18. D'Arminio, Aubry. (29 March 2016). "7 NCIS Guests Who Went on to Become Stars (PHOTOS)". tvinsider.com.
19. Banerjee, Sudeshna. (7 July 2008). "Mr Big Bang". The Telegraph.
20. Wyatt, Nelson. (26 July 2011). "'Big Bang Theory' stars say most people can relate to being nerds". Winnipeg Free Press.
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22. Brantley, Ben. (2 June 2015). "'Review: 'The Spoils' Stars Jesse Eisenberg as Narcissist". New York Times.
23. (11 March 2020). "Uma Thurman To Headline Apple Drama Series 'Suspicion', Based On Israeli Thriller 'False Flag'". Deadline.
24. Diana Lodderhose. (16 June 2021). "Kunal Nayyar, Lucy Hale & Christina Hendricks To Star In 'The Storied Life Of A. J. Fikry', Mister Smith Launching Sales – Cannes Market". Deadline.
25. (2024-02-06). "Everything to Know About Actor Kunal Nayyar".
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