Kumail Nanjiani's star is on the rise, and Eternals promises to be his biggest project to date. The actor plays a reinvented version of Kingo in the film, and his role makes him the Marvel Cinematic Universe's first Pakistani superhero.
That means a lot to him, as he explained during an interview with The Hollywood Reporter.
"It was very significant because it was something that I really, really wanted to do," Nanjiani started. "Now on top of that, there's this other pressure in that I'm the first. But that stuff is a little harder to negotiate because I can only represent myself. So, I do feel the pressure, but the only way to relieve it is just to have more people have these opportunities. I, one person, cannot represent a whole group of people because all of our experiences and backgrounds are completely different."
"That said, when I got that part, I was like, 'I want to look like someone who could take on the traditional Hollywood-looking superhero — someone who could take on Thor or Captain America,'" he continued. "To me, that was an important part of getting to play the superhero, and for me it was important because I was the first one."
Looking like Captain America is something which has seen Nanjiani receive a lot of attention, with his ripped physique going viral and making the actor a widely discussed topic online. However, the Eternals star admits that, "had known it was going to be like that, I probably wouldn't have done it because, I'll tell you, I have come to hate that picture."
"You get a weird body dysmorphia when the whole world is concentrating on how you look," he added. "And listen, I am very, very grateful and I put those pictures out for a reason, right? I did that because I wanted that reaction, obviously. But then when you get that reaction, it's a little weird. You're like, 'People are really judging little bits of your physical being.' And I know a lot of people have it a lot worse than me, but it makes you feel naked and I became shallow. I got obsessed with how I look and then all I would see are what I perceive as flaws."
Despite those reservations, Nanjiani has the full support of comic book fans, and even though Eternals has been pushed back to next February, fans remain hugely excited to see him as Kingo.
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