Kumail Nanjiani Got Totally Ripped For Marvel Role And Celebs Are In Awe

By Dave Basner

December 17, 2019

Kumail Nanjiani is known for being funny as "Dinesh" on HBO's Silicon Valley and for being critically acclaimed in The Big Sick, the film he co-wrote and starred in, but he's never been known for his body... until now.

Last year, the actor was cast as "Kingo Sunen" in the upcoming flick The Eternals, part of the Marvel Cinematic Universe, and he chose to transform how he looked for the part. He spent the last year working out and eating healthily and now Kumail is absolutely jacked. He posted photos of his new body and it is ripped.

In the incredibly honest caption, Kumail wrote:

"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. You either die a hero, or you live long enough to see yourself become the villain. 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."

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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. You either die a hero, or you live long enough to see yourself become the villain. 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. So big thanks to @grantrobertsfit who started working with me at the beginning of the year and made me understand true physical pain for months and months. Then, once we started shooting, a massive thanks to @davidhigginslondon and his team (@ellispartridge, @thebeardypt, @tomcheesemanfitness) for training me almost every day and making me strong, limber and injury free. I can almost touch my toes now. (And thank you for forcing me to do cheat meals David.) Matthews Street Catering for their delicious and healthy meals. And finally, the biggest thanks goes to @emilyvgordon for putting up with me complaining and talking about only working out and dieting for the last year. I promise I’ll be interesting again some day. #thirstyshirtless (Photo by @markupson.) (edit: I left off one very important person: @lancecallahan who trained me for 6 years and helped me build the foundation I could use to do this. Thank you!)

A post shared by @ kumailn on Dec 16, 2019 at 8:10am PST

The shocking photos got the attention not just of Kumail's fans, but of plenty of celebrities as well:

Kumail also addressed his wife in the IG caption, writing, "The biggest thanks goes to @emilyvgordonfor putting up with me complaining and talking about only working out and dieting for the last year. I promise I’ll be interesting again some day." She seems to be okay with it all, commenting on the pic, "Worth it."

You can see Kumail in The Eternals, which co-stars Angelina Jolie, when it hits theaters on November 6, 2020. In the meantime, you can follow him on Instagram here.

Photo: Getty Images