Kumail Nanjiani Got Absolutely Shredded to Star in Marvel’s ‘The Eternals’

When actor Kumail Nanjiani signed up to play Kingo in The Eternals, someone at Marvel Studios must have forgotten to tell the Big Sick star that CGI exists, because he spent an entire year training like his life depended on it. And holy crap, did Dinesh from Silicon Valley get jacked.  

“I found out a year ago I was going to be in Marvel’s Eternals and decided I wanted to transform how I looked,” Nanjiani wrote on an Instagram post showing off his chiseled physique.

The Eternals, which is set to hit theaters on Nov. 6, 2020, is based on the comic book series of the same name. Although there’s not much detail about the plot just yet, “The Eternals are a race of god-like beings locked in a millennium-old conflict with the less evolved Deviants and their originators, the Celestials,” according to Marvel. So far, Angelina Jolie and Salma Hayek are set to star in the film alongside Nanjiani.

It’s clear that the funnyman was serious about getting in shape for the role. In the picture, he’s sporting a thick chest, six-pack abs, and some cartoonish deltoids. His body-fat percentage is also so low that there are visible veins across his arms and abs. As any M&F reader knows, a transformation this extreme takes a long time (again, he said it took a year) and an unwavering work ethic.

What’s really great about this, though, is Nanjiani’s willingness to talk about the advantages that money and fame afforded him.

“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,” he wrote. “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.”

This is a similar sentiment that Rob McElhenney, the star of It’s Always Sunny In Philadelphia, shared when he got shredded for season 13 of the FX show. 

Nanjiani is right: having a team behind you makes the process a whole lot easier, but you still have to give the man some serious props. Now, If Nanjiani’s acting career ever takes a dive, he could always throw on a pair of board shorts and sign up for a men’s physique competition.