Kumail Nanjiani reveals he wanted his Eternals character to break down Middle Eastern stereotypes

Eternals, the eagerly awaited superhero film, marks the MCU debut of several stars, including Kumail Nanjiani.

The 43-year-old actor plays the character of Kingo in the Chloé Zhao-directorial.

In an interview with Los Angeles Times, Nanjiani said he wanted to use his character Kingo to break down the typical stereotypes of Middle Eastern characters in films.

“I have been in this industry for about a decade and I looked at the usual opportunities that the brown dudes get. We get to be nerdy. I wanted him to be the opposite of that — I wanted him to be cool,” he said.

“With nerdy goes “weakling,” and I wanted him to be the opposite of that and to be strong physically. Or we get to be terrorists, and I wanted him to be the opposite of that. I wanted him to be this character full of joy,” he added.

“We were like, let us take every single thing that I have not gotten to do and make a character who is the exact opposite of the way a lot of American pop culture see people from Pakistan or the Middle East.”

The casting of Nanjiani comes as Marvel Studios is trying to improve diversity and inclusion on both sides of the camera, after receiving backlash for lacking in those departments over the years.

Also featuring Gemma Chan, Richard Madden, Lia McHugh, Brian Tyree Henry, Lauren Ridloff, Barry Keoghan, Don Lee, Harish Patel, Kit Harington, Salma Hayek, and Angelina Jolie, Eternals is dated to hit screens on November 5.

The release of the film was delayed in its release due to the coronavirus pandemic as it was originally slated to hit the marquee a year ago.