Kumail Nanjiani got candid about his experience working on the critically panned Marvel movie โEternalsโ on a recent episode of NPRโs Wild Card with Rachel Martin, saying that the film changed how he approached work โ something heโs โvery grateful for.โย
โIโm very proud of my performance in it,โ he said. โAnd itโs rare to say, but I actually wouldnโt change anything about how I am in that movie.โย
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 the stacked cast, the film opened to disappointing box office and lukewarm reviews from critics.ย
On the podcast, Nanjiani went on to share his biggest takeaways from the experience, including the importance of separating โmy experience of something versus the result of something.โย
โMost times if Iโm acting in something, I do not get to decide how good itโs gonna be,โ the โSilicon Valleyโ star explained. โI do not get to choose how the audience is going to receive it. I do not get to choose how much money itโs going to make. I do not get to choose what the reviewers are going to think of it. What I do get to choose is whether or not I learned from it, you know? So to me, thatโs been a thing that I have to remind myself over and over and over and over โ is that a failure is not a failure. It truly is an opportunity to learnโฆ What I can control is learning from every job and taking a joyful approach to every job.โย
In the past, Nanjiani has been open about his feelings around the project, discussing how the negative reception of โEternalsโ led him to therapy on fellow stand-up comedian Mike Birbigliaโs โWorking It Outโ podcast.ย
โI signed on for six movies,โ said Nanjiani. โThey make you sign up for all this stuffโฆ and then none of that happened.โ
Most recently, the actor returned to the stage for the first time in a decade for his newly released Hulu comedy special โNight Thoughts. โ
