Kumail Nanjiani
| Name: | Kumail Nanjiani |
| Also Known As: | |
| Occupation: | actor, podcast host, stand-up comedian |
| Medium: | podcast, live action television, movie |
| Works: | The X-Files, Silicon Valley |
| Official Website(s): | @kumailn - official Twitter profile |
| Fan Website(s): | The X-Files Files (podcast) |
| On Fanlore: | Related pages |
Kumail Nanjiani (born February 21, 1978 in Karachi, Pakistan) is an Big Name Fan X-Phile and guest star on the third episode of X-Files Revival Season X episode Mulder and Scully Meet the Were-Monster which was penned and helmed by fan fave Darin Morgan.
Career
Nanjiani is best known for his role in the HBO series Silicon Valley and 12 episodes of the show Portlandia. He has written and starred in the movie The Big Sick which is "loosely based on the real-life romance between Nanjiani and his now wife, actress Emily V. Gordon"[1]
Fannish Engagegement
Nanjiani is often referred to as X-Files superfan by media. For example:
The X-Files superfan Kumail Nanjiani gets the role of a lifetime in the show's 2016 revival."
Here’s How Kumail Nanjiani Went From ‘X-Files’ Superfan To Bona Fide Cast Member
Twitter argument with the X-Files fans over MSR
Nanjiani is a self-proclaimed big fan of The X-Files.[2] who referenced his love for the show even in his movie "The Big Sick"[3].
Since 2014 he hosts an X-Files focused podcast called "The X-Files Files" in which he discusses the show and it's episodes with various guests such as Darin Morgan or Dean Haglund. The show currently lists 57 episodes but is currently on hiatus.
In September 2015 it was announced that Nanjiani would guest star as "Pascha" in an episode of the X-Files Event Series [4].
In October 2015 he hosted a 20-minute panel discussion that featured Chris Carter, David Duchovny and Mitch Pileggi after a presentation of the first episode of the X-Files Revival My Struggle at the NYCC.
He took the opportunity to be on The X-Files set to record one installment of his podcast with and a joint interview with David Duchovny and Gillian Anderson which was released several months later after it has been approved by TPTB[5].
Initially warmly welcomed by the Philedom he later was considered problematic by some fractions of the fandom, especially the MSR shippers: Soon after joining the production in January 2016, he started to get into arguments with other X-Philes via his Twitter account as some people disagreed with his NoRomo views [6] after the news broke that showrunner Chris Carter decided to break up Mulder and Scully in Season 10.[7]. Some fans feared that Nanjiani could have influenced Carter in his decision to split the pairing up (which is very unlikely) or that Nanjinani could serve/be interpreted as a "voice of the whole X-Files fandom" by TPTB. In these arguments with the fans Nanjiani referred to some of the Mulder/Scully shippers "passive aggressive"[8] and "insane" [9] and started to block several twitter accounts in the process. Most of the more aggressive tweets directed at MSR supporters have been deleted by Nanjiani around the time.
See also
References
- ^ https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Big_Sick
- ^ https://twitter.com/kumailn/status/622554054137229312
- ^ http://www.indiewire.com/2017/07/the-big-sick-x-files-kumail-nanjiani-one-breath-1201850670/
- ^ Kumail Nanjiani will be on the new X-Files, proving that dreams do come true
- ^ Kumail Nanjiani's The X-Files Files Episode 55 – Kumail Talks To David Duchovny and Gillian Anderson on the set of The X-Files
- ^ https://twitter.com/kumailn/status/688811453902487553
- ^ Why The X-Files Broke Up Mulder and Scully
- ^ https://twitter.com/kumailn/status/691470120200187904
- ^ https://twitter.com/kumailn/status/689510706333417472