Kumail Nanjiani jokes his viral abs made his parents ‘vocally proud’ for the first time

Last year, comedic actor Kumail Nanjiani, who was most well-known for his roles in Silicon Valley and The Big Sick, broke the internet with the most unexpected glow-up ever: the man spent a year bulking up for his role in the upcoming Marvel universe film The Eternals. With one thirst trap picture posted to social media of his glorious six-pack abs, the world lost its collective mind. Turns out, his own parents were the most impressed, and they expressed that to him with words they’ve never used before.“The only time that they’ve said vocally that they’re proud of me!” he joked during a video-chat round table celebrating Asian Pacific American Heritage Month. The Zoom call, which included host Hasan Minhaj, director Jon M. Chu, actors Ally Maki and Lulu Wang, was the first installment of “#REPRESENT,” a series spearheaded by Variety to discuss issues of race and culture in Hollywood.

In Variety's #Represent roundtable conversation, @kumailn jokes that the only time his parents have told him that they were proud of him was when his abs went viral #APAHM https://t.co/ztRY3Of1Oo pic.twitter.com/0vSmaRhUk0

— Variety (@Variety) May 26, 2020

[video_embed id='1857813']RELATED: Kumail Nanjiani’s ripped bod for Marvel movie has fans upset[/video_embed]As Kumail regaled the giggling group with stories of his dad getting custom made socks fashioned with his son’s ripped body on them (weird but okay), he added that his father had distant relatives and aunts texting him, “we’re so proud of you,” something that, according to him, just wasn’t done before.After comparing him to Bollywood beefcake Hrithik Roshan, Hasan Minhaj asked the question that has been on everyone’s minds as we try to get lean for the summer: was getting ripped worth it?

 

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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

“Uh, yes,” he deadpanned, before continuing, “But the hard thing is, it’s not like a video game where you just hit save and then it’s done. It’s every day! You have to keep doing it! What have I got myself in to?”Although he has in the past cheated on his diet for our viewing pleasure, the Pakistani American star said he only started to feel like a success once he began to get roles that weren’t, as he put it, “brown guy roles.”When offered the role of a taxi driver in an unnamed film, Nanjiani recalls the director instructing him to play up his accent which the actor refused. “Then that movie was hugely successful. And still, I don’t regret it,” he told the roundtable. “In Hollywood, success is not permanent. You’re only as good as the last thing, so I still feel that pressure all the time. Especially right now, as soon as you make something, people are like, ‘All right, what’s next? What’s the next thing you’re going to do?”We know what we’re going to do – watch The Eternals when it comes out just to drool over his abs.[video_embed id='-1']BEFORE YOU GO: Pup is just so confused by owner's mocking sounds [/video_embed]