Kunal Nayyar (, ; born 30 April 1981) is an actor. He gained recognition with his portrayal of

Raj Koothrappali Rajesh Ramayan "Raj" Koothrappali, Doctor of Philosophy, Ph.D. is a fictional character and one of the protagonists on the 2007–2019 CBS television series ''The Big Bang Theory'', portrayed by British-Indian actor Kunal Nayyar. He is one of ...

on the

CBS CBS Broadcasting Inc., commonly shortened to CBS (an abbreviation of its original name, Columbia Broadcasting System), is an American commercial broadcast television and radio network serving as the flagship property of the CBS Entertainme ...

sitcom ''

The Big Bang Theory ''The Big Bang Theory'' is an American television sitcom created by Chuck Lorre and Bill Prady for CBS. It aired from September 24, 2007, to May 16, 2019, running for 12 seasons and 279 episodes. The show originally centered on five charact ...

'' (2007–2019), and voiced Vijay on the

Nickelodeon Nickelodeon (nicknamed Nick) is an American pay television channel and the flagship property of the Nickelodeon Group, a sub-division of the Paramount Media Networks division of Paramount Global. Launched on April 1, 1979, as the first ca ...

animated sitcom '' Sanjay and Craig'' (2013–2016). He was nominated for Best Supporting Actor at the 2021

British Academy Television Awards The BAFTA TV Awards, or British Academy Television Awards, are presented in an annual award show hosted by the British Academy of Film and Television Arts. They have been awarded annually since 1955. Background The first-ever Awards, given in ...

for his role in '' Criminal: UK''. ''

Forbes ''Forbes'' () is an American business magazine founded by B. C. Forbes in 1917. It has been owned by the Hong Kong–based investment group Integrated Whale Media Investments since 2014. Its chairman and editor-in-chief is Steve Forbes. The co ...

'' listed him 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. His current net worth is estimated to be $45 million. The asteroid 8627 Kunalnayyar is named after him.

Early life

Nayyar was born on 30 April, 1981 in the

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. It ...

district of

West London West London is the western part of London, England, north of the River Thames, west of the City of London, and extending to the Greater London boundary. The term is used to differentiate the area from the other parts of London: Central London, N ...

, to Indian parents. When he was three years old, his family returned to India and he grew up in

New Delhi New Delhi (; ) is the Capital city, capital of India and a part of the Delhi, National Capital Territory of Delhi (NCT). New Delhi is the seat of all three branches of the Government of India, hosting the Rashtrapati Bhavan, New Parliament ...

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

badminton Badminton is a racquet sport played using racket (sports equipment), racquets to hit a shuttlecock across a net (device), net. Although it may be played with larger teams, the most common forms of the game are "singles" (with one player per s ...

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

Bachelor of Business Administration A Bachelor of Business Administration (BBA) is an undergraduate degree in business administration awarded by colleges and universities after completion of four years and typically 120 credits of undergraduate study in the fundamentals of busine ...

Finance Finance refers to monetary resources and to the study and Academic discipline, discipline of money, currency, assets and Liability (financial accounting), liabilities. As a subject of study, is a field of Business administration, Business Admin ...

at the

University of Portland The University of Portland (UP) is a private Catholic university in Portland, Oregon, United States. It was founded in 1901 and is affiliated with the Congregation of Holy Cross, which also founded UP's sister school, the University of Notre Da ...

Oregon Oregon ( , ) is a U.S. state, state in the Pacific Northwest region of the United States. It is a part of the Western U.S., with the Columbia River delineating much of Oregon's northern boundary with Washington (state), Washington, while t ...

. He started taking acting classes and appeared in several school plays while working on his degree. After participating in the American College Theater Festival at the

Kennedy Center The John F. Kennedy Memorial Center for the Performing Arts, commonly known as the Kennedy Center, is the national cultural center of the United States, located on the eastern bank of the Potomac River in Washington, D.C. Opened on September 8, ...

Washington, D.C. Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly known as Washington or D.C., is the capital city and federal district of the United States. The city is on the Potomac River, across from Virginia, and shares land borders with ...

, Nayyar decided to become an actor. He then attended

Temple University Temple University (Temple or TU) is a public university, public Commonwealth System of Higher Education, state-related research university in Philadelphia, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States. It was founded in 1884 by the Baptist ministe ...

Philadelphia, Pennsylvania Philadelphia ( ), colloquially referred to as Philly, is the List of municipalities in Pennsylvania, most populous city in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania and the List of United States cities by population, sixth-most populous city in the Unit ...

, where he received his

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 admi ...

degree in

Acting Acting is an activity in which a story is told by means of its enactment by an actor who adopts a character—in theatre, television, film, radio, or any other medium that makes use of the mimetic mode. Acting involves a broad range of sk ...

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

drama ''

NCIS NCIS or N.C.I.S. may refer to: Law enforcement * National Criminal Intelligence Service, the predecessor to the Serious Organised Crime Agency of the United Kingdom * Naval Criminal Investigative Service, a United States law enforcement and intelli ...

'' in the season four episode " Suspicion", in which he played Youssef Zidan, an

Iraq Iraq, officially the Republic of Iraq, is a country in West Asia. It is bordered by Saudi Arabia to Iraq–Saudi Arabia border, the south, Turkey to Iraq–Turkey border, the north, Iran to Iran–Iraq border, the east, the Persian Gulf and ...

i 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 astrophysicist

from its premiere in September 2007 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. From 2007 to 2019, he played Howard Wolowitz on the CBS sitcom ''The Big Bang Theory'' (2007–2019), and won the Critics' Choice Television Award for Best Support ...

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, '' Dr. Cabbie'', produced by Bollywood actor

Salman Khan Abdul Rashid Salim Salman Khan (; born 27 December 1965) is an Indian actor, film producer, and television personality who predominantly works in Hindi films. In a career spanning over three decades, his awards include two National Film Awa ...

. In 2013, he produced a documentary called ''Beyond All Boundaries'', which focuses on three individuals and their love for cricket in India: Sudhir bikes across the country to support his team; Prithvi is a young cricket prodigy; and Akshaya is a female cricketer from the Mumbai slums. From 5 May to 29 June 2015, Nayyar performed in an off-Broadway production, ''The Spoils'', written by and starring actor

Jesse Eisenberg Jesse Adam Eisenberg ( ; born October 5, 1983) is an American actor, filmmaker, and playwright. Recognized for playing smart but awkward characters in both comedies and dramas, his accolades include a British Academy Film Award and nominati ...

. Nayyar played Kalyan, a

Nepal Nepal, officially the Federal Democratic Republic of Nepal, is a landlocked country in South Asia. It is mainly situated in the Himalayas, but also includes parts of the Indo-Gangetic Plain. It borders the Tibet Autonomous Region of China Ch ...

ese 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 A troll is a being in Nordic folklore, including Norse mythology. In Old Norse sources, beings described as trolls dwell in isolated areas of rocks, mountains, or caves, live together in small family units, and are rarely helpful to human be ...

'', 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 over-the-top streaming service owned by Apple. The service launched on November 1, 2019, and it offers a selection of original production film and television series called Apple Originals. The service w ...

, 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 misrep ...

'', alongside

Uma Thurman Uma Karuna Thurman (born April 29, 1970) is an American actress. 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 and May 1986 cover ...

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

and Elyes Gabel. 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 and Christina Hendricks, an adaptation of the best-selling novel by Gabrielle Zevin. In 2024, Nayyar reunited with ''Big Bang Theory'' costar, Melissa Rauch, making a guest appearance on an episode of ''

Night Court ''Night Court'' is an American television sitcom that premiered on NBC on January 4, 1984, and ended on May 31, 1992, after nine seasons consisting of List of Night Court episodes, 193 episodes. The show is set in the night shift of a Manhattan ...

''. ''Night Court'' is a revival of the '80s NBC sitcom of the same name.

Personal life

In December 2011, Nayyar married Neha Kapur, a model and

Femina Miss India Miss India, also known as Femina Miss India, is a national beauty pageant in India that selects representatives to compete in the Miss World competition, one of the Big Four international beauty pageants. It is organized by ''Femina (India), F ...

2006. According to the University of Portland, Nayyar and his wife have given scholarships for University of Portland students in Performing & Fine Arts and paid for guest artists at the university.

Filmography

Film

Television

Theatre

Awards

References

External links

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