Kunal Nayyar (, ; born 30 April 1981) is a British actor. He portrayed

Raj Koothrappali Rajesh "Raj" Ramayan Koothrappali, Ph.D. is a fictional character on the CBS television series '' The Big Bang Theory'', portrayed by British actor Kunal Nayyar. He is one of four characters in the show, alongside Howard Wolowitz, Sheldon Co ...

on the CBS sitcom ''

The Big Bang Theory ''The Big Bang Theory'' is an American television sitcom created by Chuck Lorre and Bill Prady, both of whom served as executive producers on the series, along with Steven Molaro, all of whom also served as head writers. It premiered on CBS ...

'' (2007–2019) and voiced Vijay on the Nickelodeon animated sitcom ''

Sanjay and Craig ''Sanjay and Craig'' is an American animated sitcom created by Jim Dirschberger, Jay Howell, and Andreas Trolf for Nickelodeon. Produced by Will McRobb and Chris Viscardi, the series revolves around Sanjay, voiced by Maulik Pancholy, and his bes ...

'' (2013–2016). Nayyar also appeared in the films '' Ice Age: Continental Drift'' (2012), '' The Scribbler'' (2014), ''

Dr. Cabbie ''Dr. Cabbie'' is a 2014 Canadian-Indian English-language romantic comedy film directed by Jean-François Pouliot and co-produced by Salman Khan. The film stars Kunal Nayyar, Vinay Virmani, and Adrianne Palicki. The story revolves around a newl ...

'' (2014), '' Consumed'' (2015), '' Trolls'' (2016) and ''

Sweetness in the Belly ''Sweetness in the Belly'' is a 2019 drama film directed by Zeresenay Berhane Mehari, based on the novel of the same name by Camilla Gibb. It had its world premiere at the 2019 Toronto International Film Festival. Plot In the 1960s, Lilly, a Bri ...

'' (2019). ''

Forbes ''Forbes'' () is an American business magazine owned by Integrated Whale Media Investments and the Forbes family. Published eight times a year, it features articles on finance, industry, investing, and marketing topics. ''Forbes'' also r ...

'' listed Nayyar as the world's third-highest-paid television actor in 2015 and 2018, with earnings of US$20 million and US$23.5 million, respectively.

Early life

Nayyar was born on 30 April 1981 in

Hammersmith Hammersmith is a district of West London, England, southwest of Charing Cross. It is the administrative centre of the London Borough of Hammersmith and Fulham, and identified in the London Plan as one of 35 major centres in Greater London ...

, London, to a family of Indian immigrants. When he was three years old, his family returned to India and he grew up in

New Delhi New Delhi (, , ''Naī Dillī'') is the capital of India and a part of the National Capital Territory of Delhi (NCT). New Delhi is the seat of all three branches of the government of India, hosting the Rashtrapati Bhavan, Parliament Hous ...

, where his parents live. He attended St. Columba's School, where he played

badminton Badminton is a racquet sport played using racquets to hit a shuttlecock across a net. Although it may be played with larger teams, the most common forms of the game are "singles" (with one player per side) and "doubles" (with two players p ...

for the school team. In 1999, Nayyar moved to the United States to pursue a

Bachelor of Business Administration Bachelor of Business Administration (BBA) is a bachelor's degree in business administration awarded by colleges and universities after completion of undergraduate study in the fundamentals of business administration and usually including advanced ...

in finance from the University of Portland in Oregon. He started taking acting classes and appeared in several school plays while working on his degree. After participating in the

American College Theater Festival The Kennedy Center American College Theater Festival (KCACTF) is a national theatre program dedicated to the improvement of collegiate theatre in the United States. Focused on the celebration of diverse and exciting theatre, KCACTF involves student ...

, Nayyar decided to become an actor. He then attended

Temple University Temple University (Temple or TU) is a public state-related research university in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. It was founded in 1884 by the Baptist minister Russell Conwell and his congregation Grace Baptist Church of Philadelphia then calle ...

Philadelphia Philadelphia, often called Philly, is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, the sixth-largest city in the U.S., the second-largest city in both the Northeast megalopolis and Mid-Atlantic regions after New York City. Since ...

, Pennsylvania, where he received a

Master of Fine Arts A Master of Fine Arts (MFA or M.F.A.) is a terminal degree in fine arts, including visual arts, creative writing, graphic design, photography, filmmaking, dance, theatre, other performing arts and in some cases, theatre management or arts ...

in acting.

Career

After graduating, Nayyar found work doing American television ads and plays on the London stage. He first gained attention in the US for his role in the West Coast production of Rajiv Joseph's 2006 play ''Huck & Holden'', where he portrayed an Indian exchange student anxious to experience American culture before returning home. In 2006, Nayyar teamed up with Arun Das to write the play ''Cotton Candy'', which premiered in New Delhi to positive reviews. Nayyar made a guest appearance on the CBS drama '' NCIS'' in the season four episode " Suspicion", in which he played Youssef Zidan, an Iraqi terrorist. In 2007, Nayyar's agent heard about a role for a scientist in an upcoming CBS pilot and encouraged him to audition for the part. This led to his casting in the sitcom ''

'', where he played the role of an astrophysicist

from its premiere in September of that year to the show's conclusion in May 2019. In 2011, he co-hosted the ''Tribute to Nerds'' show with co-star

Simon Helberg Simon Maxwell Helberg (born December 9, 1980) is an American actor and comedian. He is known for playing Howard Wolowitz in the CBS sitcom ''The Big Bang Theory'' (2007–2019), for which he won the Critics' Choice Television Award for Best Sup ...

at the comedy festival Just for Laughs. Nayyar voiced Gupta in '' Ice Age: Continental Drift'' in 2012. During the same year he completed the shooting of the film, ''

'', produced by Bollywood actor

Salman Khan Abdul Rashid Salim Salman Khan (; 27 December 1965) is an Indian actor, film producer, and television personality who works in Hindi films. In a film career spanning over thirty years, Khan has received numerous awards, including two Nation ...

. From 5 May to 29 June 2015, Nayyar performed in an off-Broadway production, ''The Spoils'', written by and starring actor Jesse Eisenberg. Nayyar played Kalyan, a Nepalese student and roommate of the protagonist Ben, played by Eisenberg. The production transferred to London's West End in 2016. Nayyar published a book about his career journey, titled ''Yes, My Accent is Real: and Some Other Things I Haven’t Told You'', in September 2015. He voiced another animated movie character named Guy Diamond in DreamWorks' '' Trolls'', released in November 2016. In 2020, Nayyar played a convicted serial killer named Sandeep on the Netflix UK production '' Criminal: UK''. He appeared in the final episode of Season 2, which was released in August 2020. In the same year, he joined the cast of the thriller TV series '' Suspicion'' on

Apple TV+ Apple TV+ is an American subscription streaming service owned and operated by Apple Inc. Launched on November 1, 2019, it offers a selection of original production film and television series called Apple Originals. The service was announced ...

, based on the Israeli thriller TV series ''

False Flag A false flag operation is an act committed with the intent of disguising the actual source of responsibility and pinning blame on another party. The term "false flag" originated in the 16th century as an expression meaning an intentional misr ...

'', alongside

Uma Thurman Uma Karuna Thurman (born April 29, 1970) is an American actress and former model. She has performed in a variety of films, from romantic comedies and dramas to science fiction and action films. Following her appearances on the December 1985 an ...

Elizabeth Henstridge Elizabeth Frances Henstridge (born 11 September 1987) is an English actress, model and director. She is best known for starring as Jemma Simmons in the ABC superhero action drama series '' Marvel's Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.'' (2013–2020), set ...

and

Elyes Gabel Elyes Cherif Gabel (; born 8 May 1983) is an English actor. He gained recognition for his portrayal of Dr Gurpreet "Guppy" Sandhu in the BBC medical drama ''Casualty'' (2004–2007), computer genius Walter O'Brien in the CBS series ''Scorpion' ...

. In 2021, he was announced as having been picked to play the title role of A. J. Fikry in the upcoming comedy drama ''The Storied Life Of A. J. Fikry'', alongside

Lucy Hale Karen Lucille Hale (born June 14, 1989) is an American actress, singer, and television personality. She has received various accolades, including seven Teen Choice Awards (the most for any actress in a single series), a Gracie Award, a People ...

and Christina Hendricks, an adaptation of the best-selling novel by

Gabrielle Zevin Gabrielle Zevin (born October 24, 1977) is an American author and screenwriter. Personal life Zevin was born in New York City. Zevin's father, who is American-born, has Ashkenazi Jewish, Russian, Lithuanian, and Polish ancestry. Her mother w ...

Personal life

In December 2011, Nayyar married

Neha Kapur Neha Kapur (born 31 March 1984) is an Indian model, actress, and former beauty queen who won Femina Miss India in 2006 and represented India at the Miss Universe pageant that year. She is married to Kunal Nayyar. Early life Kapur was born in ...

, a model, actress, and

Femina Miss India Miss India or Femina Miss India is a national beauty pageant in India that annually selects representatives to compete in Miss World, one of the Big Four major international beauty pageants. It is organised by '' Femina'', a women's magazine p ...

2006.

Filmography

Film

Television

Theatre

Awards

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Nayyar, Kunal 1981 births Living people 21st-century British male actors 21st-century Indian male actors British expatriate male actors in the United States British expatriates in India British male actors of Indian descent British male film actors British male television actors British male voice actors British people of Indian descent British people of Punjabi descent Indian male film actors Indian male television actors Indian male voice actors Male actors from London Male actors from New Delhi People from Hounslow People from New Delhi St. Columba's School, Delhi alumni Temple University alumni University of Portland alumni