COMEDIAN KUMAIL NANJIANI went viral in 2020 when he underwent a jaw-dropping physical transformation for his role in Marvel’s Eternals, ditching the nerdy persona he had cultivated in projects like Silicon Valley in favor of a strapping action hero look.
But, as Nanjiani recently explained to Michael Rosenbaum on the Inside of You podcast, that period in his life was accompanied by a huge internal shift too, as he was getting to grips iwth his mental
“I do have anxiety, and it’s been an issue for many, many years,” he said. “It was a few years ago, actually, that I realized ‘oh, this is untenable, it’s too much anxiety.’ And it was a few things: I realized that I had associated work with stress and nerves and anxiety.”
He recalled how he had developed a series of habits during his time as a standup comic that had bled into other areas of his life, including his relationship with his wife and creative collaborator, Emily Gordon.
“Right before you do standup… your heart is beating, I used to smoke back then, I would just smoke four cigarettes and drink a Red Bull and go on stage completely wired and so up,” he explained. “So I sort of associated that body feeling with my work, and it was really hard for Emily, and it was really hard for me, and my work suffered.”
The turning point came, Nanjiani continued, just as his acting career was about to blow up:
“It was right before Eternals, actually, where I was like, this is by far the biggest thing I’ve ever done, and maybe the biggest thing I’ll ever do, this is so important to me, but if I’m nervous or anxious about this, I’m going to choke the fuck up about it. So I need to relax.”
Nanjiani began seeing a therapist so he could begin to learn how to “really let things go,” and it made a huge difference. He added that while he still has anxiety and struggles with “those middle of the night thoughts,” he has now learned the tools to help contextualize and deal with what he’s feeling, including meditating every day. “I’ve realized that when I’m relaxed, I’m better at my job,” he said. “I’m better at acting, now I’m better at standup, I’m a better husband, all that stuff.”
Philip Ellis
Philip Ellis is News Editor at Men’s Health, covering fitness, pop culture, sex and relationships, and LGBTQ+ issues. His work has appeared in GQ, Teen Vogue, Man Repeller and MTV, and he is the author of Love & Other Scams.
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