With a Keen Eye and a Razor Wit, Kumail Nanjiani Is Becoming an Inescapable Creative Force

Silicon Valley star shares his creative process, The Big Sick and his take on advertising

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Picture your classic Hollywood triple threat. Now, throw it out the window, in the garbage, wherever, and say hello to Kumail Nanjiani—the stand-up comedian who’s redefining what it means to be a modern-day triple threat. Everything about the Silicon Valley star—from his upbringing in Karachi, Pakistan, to his unorthodox love story with now-wife Emily Gordon, which inspired his upcoming film The Big Sick—is intriguing.

In the film, co-written by the couple based heavily on their whirlwind love story, Nanjiani plays a nearly identical version of himself—a Pakistani-American stand-up comedian slash Uber driver who falls for a white woman (played by Zoe Kazan), something his parents are wholly against.

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This story first appeared in the June 12, 2017, issue of Adweek magazine. Click here to subscribe.