Kumail Nanjiani Reveals Key Details

The beloved cat of actor-comedian Kumail Nanjiani, named Bagel, passed away three months ago at the age of seventeen. During a recent visit to Meow Parlour, a cat café in the Lower East Side, Nanjiani shared his grief. He described the loss as the saddest moment of his life. Keeping him company was a tortoiseshell named Honeybee.

Kumail Nanjiani’s Return to Stand-up Comedy

Nanjiani, who wore a navy-blue shirt and jeans, was in New York to promote his new stand-up special titled “Night Thoughts,” available on Hulu. This project marks his return to stand-up after a twelve-year hiatus. He expressed that although he didn’t miss stand-up, he missed being good at it, leading him to explore whether it was still something he enjoyed.

Notable Performances and Roles

Since the release of his previous special, “Beta Male,” in 2013, Nanjiani has appeared in various acclaimed projects. These include:

• Coder on HBO’s “Silicon Valley”
• Christmas-obsessed influencer on “Only Murders in the Building”
• His role in the film “The Big Sick”
• Abraham Lincoln in the play “Oh, Mary!”

At 47, Nanjiani described his time in “Oh, Mary!” as both joyful and exhausting. Drag queen Jinkx Monsoon, who co-starred with him, praised his energy and humor, stating, “His masculinity doesn’t need to be proved.”

Transformation for “Eternals” and Personal Reflections

In the late 2010s, Nanjiani underwent a significant physical transformation to portray Kingo, a character in the 2021 Marvel film “Eternals,” directed by Chloé Zhao. He noted that many believed he had changed as a person due to the transformation, but he insists he is still the same.

His earlier special, “Beta Male,” focused on humor, including cultural observations about animals. However, with “Night Thoughts,” Nanjiani delves deeper into personal themes, including the grief surrounding Bagel’s illness, which takes up approximately ten minutes of the hour-long special. He revealed that this material was particularly challenging for him to present and inspired his ambition to perform a dramatic play in the future.

Life After Bagel and New Beginnings

Recently, Nanjiani and his wife, writer Emily V. Gordon, adopted a kitten named Biscuit. He humorously contrasted Biscuit’s lack of dignity with Bagel’s composed demeanor. Nanjiani shared his feelings on adopting pets, saying, “I don’t like human names for animals.” He visited other cats during his café outing, expressing a longing for a cat-filled life.

Kumail Nanjiani continues to blend his comedy with personal stories, exploring themes of loss and identity. As he navigates this new chapter, both his work and his pets play essential roles in his life.