The Big Bang Theory
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$45 Million
“The Big Bang Theory” had several people on the cast that many had known from prior experience like Kaley Cuoco or Johnny Galecki. However, there were also some relative unknowns that made their way to starring roles. Among them is Kunal Nayyar, who didn’t have much acting experience at all before landing the role as Rajesh Koothrappali on the series that lasted for more than a decade, eventually finding himself among the highest paid actors on television. Now that the series is over, many are excited to see what the future holds for Nayyar.
Though he spent much of his childhood in India, Nayyar was born in London, England on April 30, 1981. Once he finished high school in India, Nayyar moved to the other side of the world to attend college at the University of Portland. When he started there, Nayyar wanted to get into the financial world, but began an interest in acting.
“I was pretty awkward when I was young,” Nayyar said. “But I was never afraid of putting myself out there. I would say stupid things but then they would laugh at me and possibly find it endearing.”
Nayyar began appearing in stage productions at Oregon and once he finished his degree, started a graduate education in theater, heading to Temple University. With two degrees to fall back on, Nayyar was ready to kick off his on-screen acting career. “No one ever sees the sleepless nights, the years of studying and 14 hour days earning your dues,” Nayyar said. “I spent three years isolated in an academic environment to be the best actor I could.”
Nayyar’s acting career didn’t start big, appearing in an independent film called “S.C.I.E.N.C.E.” in 2004. Three years later, he had a guest spot on the series “NCIS”. That same year, Nayyar also took on the role of Raj on “The Big Bang Theory” that changed his career forever. “When we first started ‘The Big Bang Theory’, I would get incredibly nervous because it’s such a big show and I was just out of graduate school,” he said. “I’d come in and have this huge responsibility for the one line that everyone hopes will bring down the house.”
“I have the good fortune of being one of those people on the show who has a lot of one-liners,” Nayyar said. “So I get to come in and say a funny thing. I’m like the monkey. I say exactly what’s on the page and I get paid for it. It’s great.” During the audition process, Nayyar added that he signed a long contract without looking at it. “I was like, ‘I don’t want to see it. I don’t want to see what I’m going to make. I just want to sign the papers,’” he said. “Then of course you read it, and it’s like, ‘Wow, this is life changing.’”
His character is an astrophysicist that was part of the main cast throughout the show’s entire run that suffered from selective mutism. This means that he struggled to talk to women unless he was under the influence of alcohol, making for some awkward situations. Unlike the other characters, Raj never did find that relationship he was looking for in the final episode.
Nayyar spent 12 years on “The Big Bang Theory”, which tied up a lot of his time. He did make some rare guest appearances on television, including “The Mindy Project” and TV movies for both “Ice Age” and “Trolls”. That’s because Nayyar had experience in the big screen versions of those films, with a voice role in 2012’s “Ice Age: Continental Drift” being his first feature film.
While he was still with “The Big Bang Theory”, Nayyar also had movies such as “The Scribbler”, “Dr. Cabbie” and “Consumed”, as well as the first “Trolls” movie. After his famous show wrapped up, Nayyar focused on future movie projects with a “Trolls” sequel, as well as “Sweetness in the Belly” and “Think Like a Dog” that are set to be released.
After spending so long playing one character, Nayyar says that Raj is much like he is these days. “Sometimes I’ll be sitting with my friends; I’ll say something Koothrappali-esque and make a face,” Nayyar said. “There is a lot of Koothrappali in me as a human being. A lot of mannerism, humor, mischievousness, my innocence. So I don’t know if I bring him home so much as I (brought) myself to him at work.”
Unlike his character, Nayyar has been able to find love in real life. The Miss India winner in 2006, Neha Kapur, has been in a relationship with Nayyar for around a decade. The two tied the knot in 2011 and have settled in California. “Neha left her country as an adult to move here for marriage, and I really commend her on her ability to start a company, to make friends outside of my circle of friends, to make a life here on her own,” Nayyar said of his wife.
All of his success happened because Nayyar described himself as being lonely as a youngster. “I arrived in America 15 years ago to study business,” he said. “I didn’t know anyone and I looked, sounded and smelled different to everyone. I wanted to do something where people were forced to interact with me. A lot of people gravitate towards the theater because you can feel safe about not being what society expects.”
While having overnight fame might change a lot of people, that hasn’t been the case for Nayyar. One of his former college professors said that “He’s the same person he was,” adding that “Hollywood has not changed him.”
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