Kumail Nanjiani

A Pakistani-American stand-up comedian, actor and podcast host, Kumail Nanjiani was born on 21 February 1978 in Karachi. He received his early education at Karachi Grammar School. He then moved to the United States and attended Grinnell College in Iowa from which he graduated in 2001. He completed a double major in Computer Science and Philosophy.

In July 2011, he and X-Play staffer Ali Baker began hosting a video game-themed podcast, titled The Indoor Kids. In late August of the same year Baker left the show and Nanjiani began hosting with his wife, Emily V. Gordon. He also appears regularly on Dan Harmon's podcast Harmontown, where he plays Dungeons & Dragons with Harmon as a character named Chris de Burgh. He played a delivery man as a cameo in the 2013 film, The Kings of Summer.

In addition to guest-starring in various comedy shows like Portlandia, Nanjiani was featured in a supporting role in the TNT series Franklin & Bash. He played the role of Pindar Singh, an agoraphobic science fiction nerd working for the title characters. In 2015 Nanjiani guest-starred in an episode of Broad City called; “In Heat” and also he guest-starred on HBO's Veep as a statistician. He currently has the recurring role of Amir Larussa on Newsreaders, as well as Prismo on Adventure Time. His Comedy Central special titled Beta Male aired in July 2013.

In late June 2013, Comedy Central announced the pickup of a show The Meltdown with Jonah and Kumail hosted by Jonah Ray and Nanjiani. The show, featuring Nerd Melt comedy regulars and various comedians, began airing in July 2014.

In April 2014, he began playing the character Dinesh in the HBO sitcom Silicon Valley. He voiced Reggie in the video game The Walking Dead: Season Two.

In July 2014, Nanjiani hosted a weekly podcast titled The X-Files Files, dedicated to discussion and fond reminiscences about The X-Files. Each episode features him and a guest, including former The X-Files writers, producers, actors and directors, in light-hearted banter centred around either one or two episodes of the series M. On July 30, 2014, Nanjiani appeared on Ken Reid's TV Guidance Counsellor Podcast.

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. He is also reprising his role in Season 2 of the same.

On May 5, 2015, he appeared on Inside Amy Schumer in the episode "12 Angry Men inside Amy Schumer", a parody of 12 Angry Men, as one of the members of the jury. In July 2015, Nanjiani provided guest voices on Aqua Teen Hunger Force and Penn Zero: Part-Time Hero.

In November 2015 he starred in an Old Navy TV commercial together with Julia Louis-Dreyfus and Snoop Dogg. He starred on the TNT series Franklin & Bash and co-hosts the show The Meltdown with Jonah and Kumail. He is also a regular on HBO's Silicon Valley. On top of his television and film work, he hosts two podcasts; The Indoor Kids and The X-Files Files.

Kumail is married to Emily V. Gordon, an author, comedy producer, and former couples and family therapist. She is the booker and producer of The Meltdown with Jonah and Kumail, a comedy show that began airing on Comedy Central in July 2014.

Kumail Nanjiani is related to the Pakistani-Scottish radio presenter Shireen Nanjiani.