Kumail Nanjiani, who has been tapped to to play Kingo Sunen in The Eternals, was offered $15,000 to participate as a host and a stripper for an upcoming male revue show. It’s one of the more unconventional examples of how an actor’s life can change after signing on to star as one of the leads in a huge blockbuster. The role will likely lead to further prominence for Nanjiani, particularly if Eternals proves to be a hit. He might get recognized more walking down the street, stopped by fans eager to take a selfie with one of Marvel’s superheroes. As has been the case with Chris Pratt, following the success of Guardians of the Galaxy and Jurassic World, he might get presented with the opportunity to spearhead other high-profile movies. These were all outcomes which the actor might have reasonably anticipated. But an invitation from a gentleman’s club seems like it would be fairly unexpected.
Click the button below to start this article in quick view.
Nanjiani has been a familiar face to audiences. For six seasons, he’s appeared as Dinesh Chugtai on HBO’s Silicon Valley. He’s had memorable guest roles on Veep and Community, as well as lending his voice to animated shows like Adventure Time and Archer. On the big screen, Nanjiani has received rave reviews for The Big Sick. A romcom, which the actor co-wrote with his wife Emily V. Gordon, the story was loosely based on the couple’s own experiences in dealing with cultural differences and difficult times. Nominated for Best Original Screenplay at the Oscars, The Big Sick became one of the highest-grossing independent films of 2017.
Still, even with his impressive list of credits, and the fact that his star has been on the rise for a while, the level of attention that Nanjiani has received since sharing out photos of his ripped physique on social media is on a whole other level. Charlie Day, Chelsea Handler, and Zachary Levi have expressed their support. Now, Sapphire Gentleman’s Club is the latest to reach out to the buff comedian, offering Nanjiani $15,000 to host one of their upcoming events and also to strip for those in attendance. Seriously. Check out a copy of the letter from Andrew Zarian, the Vice President of Sapphire, below.
In his initial Instagram post, where the photos were first posted, Nanjiani acknowledged that he wouldn’t have been able to achieve the goals he wanted for his body without the resources of Marvel Studios. Even with that caveat though, Sapphire have been impressed enough that they reached out to Nanjiani with a pretty solid proposal. Those attending would be in for a memorable experience, and the money would go to a charity of Nanjiani’s choice.
Getting in shape to play a superhero is nothing new, of course. In Nanjiani’s case, however, given that he’s known for sometimes playing characters which are a bit more on the timid side, it serves to make his transformation even more notable. For fans who are eager to see Nanjiani, without attending a gentleman’s club, he has a number of upcoming projects. In addition to The Eternals and serving as an executive producer on Little America for AppleTV+, he will star in the romantic comedy The Lovebirds.
Source: Andrew Zarian
- Black Widow (2020) release date: May 01, 2020
- Eternals (2020) release date: Nov 06, 2020
- Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings (2021) release date: Feb 12, 2021
- Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness (2021) release date: May 07, 2021
- Spider-Man: Homecoming 3 (2021) release date: Jul 16, 2021
- Thor: Love and Thunder (2021) release date: Nov 05, 2021
- Black Panther 2 (2022) release date: May 06, 2022
