Eternals Star Kumail Nanjiani Reveals He’s “Very Uncomfortable” Talking About His Body Transformation

After some pandemic-related delays, Marvels’s Eternals is finally hitting theaters next month. The movie is set to feature a star-studded cast of MCU newcomers, including Kumail Nanjiani as Kingo. The actor is known for an array of roles, typically in comedies, so fans were shocked when a 2019 photoshoot revealed he got absolutely shredded for the Marvel role. Nanjiani’s body transformation has been a huge topic of discussion for a while now, and it’s something he’s often asked about in interviews. However, the actor recently explained to GQ that discussing his body makes him “very uncomfortable.”

“I’ve found out over the last year and a half, since I did that picture, that I am very uncomfortable talking about my body – and it’s become less and less and less comfortable,” Nanjiani explained, adding that his discomfort with the discussion has to do with the message of toxic masculinity that these conversations can evoke. 

“It is aggression. It is anger. A lot of times, we are taught to be useful by using physical strength or our brain in an aggressive, competitive way. Not in an empathetic way. Not in an open, collaborative way,” he explained. “It’s the same thing when you have all these guys, like, asking people to debate them on Twitter. That’s the same as arm wrestling. It’s about defeating. And that’s what the male ideal has been: Dominating. Defeating. Crushing. Killing. Destroying. That’s what being jacked is.”

Nanjiani also revealed that men have started to respond to him more aggressively since his transformation, and shared the story of an altercation he had with a man at the gym after asking him to put on a mask. “It felt like I had printed out a picture of his grandmother and peed on it,” Nanjiani recalled. “I just see the little child inside them, like a little child pretending to be a big, strong man. It’s laughable, if it wasn’t so f*cking devastating – and causing so many problems in the world.” He added, “I just want to be like, ‘Dude, if you learn how to cry, you’d just be a lot happier.’”

In addition to Nanjiani, Eternals is set to star Richard Madden as Ikaris, Gemma Chan as Sersi, Angelina Jolie as Thena, Lia McHugh as Sprite, Lauren Ridloff as Makkari, Brian Tyree Henry as Phastos, Barry Keoghan as Druig, Don Lee as Gilgamesh, Kit Harington as Dane Whitman, and Salma Hayek as Ajak. In the film, a race of immortal beings with superhuman powers who have secretly lived on Earth for thousands of years reunites to battle the evil Deviants. 

Eternals is scheduled to hit on theatres on November 5th