Did you notice Dinesh looking slimmer in the final season of HBO’s Silicon Valley? That’s because actor Kumail Nanjiani — a comic actor known for his TV work and stuff like the 2017 movie The Big Sick — has secretly been ripped for a while, so he can play a superhero in Marvel’s The Eternals. The other day, he shared the fruits of his labor, and the internet frothed over:
True story: when I first saw these photos on Twitter I thought they were photoshopped.
“I never thought I’d be one of those people who would post a thirsty shirtless, but I’ve worked way too hard for way too long so here we are,” Nanjiani wrote. “I found out a year ago I was going to be in Marvel’s Eternals and decided I wanted to transform how I looked. I would not have been able to do this if I didn’t have a full year with the best trainers and nutritionists paid for by the biggest studio in the world. I’m glad I look like this, but I also understand why I never did before. It would have been impossible without these resources and time.”
The internet loves a good glow-up narrative, and Nanjiani looks tremendous. But I like that he points out how this was only possible because of the time and resources Marvel afforded him. His physique is tremendous, but physiques like that don’t just happen.
Nanjiani’s wife Emily V. Gordon, with whom he wrote The Big Sick, also helped put things in context:
Anyway, The Eternals is about a group of superpowered beings charged with protecting the Earth and its inhabitants from their evil counterparts, the Deviants. Besides Nanjiani, the movie also stars the likes of Richard Madden, Angelina Jolie, Salma Hayek, Kit Harington, and others. If Disney has its way, The Eternals will be the next big thing in the Marvel Cinematic Universe.
The Eternals comes out on November 6, 2020. Harington and Madden, if you wanna try and match Nanjiani here, you’re welcome to give it a go.
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