On a recent episode of NPR’s Wild Cards with Rachel Martin, Kumail Nanjiani spoke candidly about his experience working on the critically acclaimed Marvel film Eternals, saying the film changed the way he approaches his work and that he is “so grateful.”
“I’m very proud of my performance in it,” he said. “I don’t say it often, but the truth is, I wouldn’t change anything about who I was in that movie.”
The actor and comedian played the superhero Kingo in the 2021 fantasy film alongside other stars Kit Harington, Richard Madden, Gemma Chan and Angelina Jolie. Despite its star-studded cast, the film was a disappointing box office success and opened to lukewarm reviews from critics.
On the podcast, Nanjiani went on to share his biggest lessons from the experience, including the importance of distinguishing between “the experience of something and the outcome of something.”
“When you’re in something, most of the time you can’t tell how good it’s going to be,” the “Silicon Valley” star explained. “I can’t choose how audiences receive it. I can’t choose how much money that movie makes. I can’t choose what critics think of it. What I can choose is whether I learn from it, right? So for me, is something I have to tell myself over and over again: Failure is not a failure. It’s really an opportunity to learn…What I can control is learning from every task. And I enjoy every task. ”
Nanjiani has been candid about his feelings about the project in the past, opening up about how the negative reviews for “Eternals” led him to seek therapy on fellow stand-up comedian Mike Birbiglia’s podcast “Working It Out.”
“I signed on for six movies,” Nanjiani said. “They make you sign up for all this stuff…and then nothing happened.”
Most recently, the actor returned to the stage for the first time in 10 years in the newly released Hulu comedy special “Night Thoughts.”
