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Not every sitcom star who gets in superhero shape goes back to comedy, but Kumail Nanjiani, who undertook an intense fitness regimen for his role in Eternals, is very much still a comedian. He’s currently on his Doing This Again Tour and had a memorable turn in the most recent season of Only Murders in the Building.
And yes, he still works out, even on tour. “It hasn’t been hard for me to keep it up, because I get so much out of it. And I actually enjoy working out now.” The actor, comedian, and writer teamed up with Quest Nutrition to promote their new Bake Shop line, and Nanjiani has been a fan of the brand for years.
“When I first started sort of getting in shape, 5 years ago, in this kind of way, I realized how bad simple sugars would make me feel. My energy was always up and down. The Quest stuff gives me even energy all day, especially on set. When you’re working 13, 14 hours a day, you can’t afford to have like a sugar crash at 2 pm.”
Even though he isn’t keeping up with his workouts to get in shape for a role, Nanjiani is still working out every day. “It’s not even a goal anymore, a means to an end. It’s just like sort of part of my life now, and I think it always will be.”
He has a pretty regular routine at home — work in the morning, workouts in the late morning, and then lunch. Nanjiani manages to stick to a routine even on tour, the type of lifestyle that’s better associated with fast food than fitness. “When I pick hotels I look at their gym to make sure it’s a gym that has the stuff I need. Because it gives me energy. Like, if I can work out at 4. Come back, shower, lay down, look at my notes, go do a show at 7.”
Nanjiani appeared in the latest season of Only Murders in the Building as Rudy Thurber, a Christmas-obsessed resident from the wrong side of the Arconia, and despite the high profile cast, Nanjiani described it as a welcoming group. “I’ve been on competitive comedy sets, and I think that that’s it’s awful for the work. It’s awful for the mental state of the people. It’s awful for the vibe of the set.”
“That set is very supportive and very generous, and I think you have to be that way if you’re in a big comedy ensemble like that. And the show’s so well written, and the people in it are so funny that everybody sort of knows what niche they fill. I’ve been in situations where people are sort of fighting for the same scraps. This show understands it’s like a symphony. They sort of know what role everybody plays.”
And while Nanjiani’s character, Rudy, (spoiler alert) reveals that his love of Christmas is an act, Nanjiani’s own feelings about the holidays aren’t ambivalent. “We have a list of movies we watch every year. We add to it all the time. We watch all the Lord of the Rings, the extended editions. We watch Elf every year, we watch Scrooge every year.”
His enthusiasm extends to New Year’s, too. “I like the countdown. I like doing the resolutions. You know, I like the whole thing of it. I absolutely love the holidays, genuinely. My favorite time of the year.”
Daniel D`Amico for SANREMO.FM
