Kunal Nayyar Biography

Kunal Nayyar (born April 30, 1981) is a British Indian actor best known for his role as Rajesh Koothrappali on the CBS sitcom The Big Bang Theory.

Early life

Nayyar was born in London, England, and raised in New Delhi, India. He attended St Columba's School in New Delhi, where he played badminton for the school team. In 1999 he moved to the US to pursue a Bachelor of Science in Business (Finance) from the University of Portland, Oregon. Working on his degree, he started taking acting classes and appeared in several school plays. After participating in the American College Theater Festival, he decided to become a professional actor. He then attended Temple University, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States, where he received a Master of Fine 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 in the CBS drama NCIS in the episode "Suspicion" (season 4, episode 12), in which he played Youssef Zidan, an Iraqi terrorist. His 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 The Big Bang Theory, on which he plays astrophysicist Rajesh Koothrappali.

In 2011 he co-hosted the Tribute to Nerds show with co-star Simon Helberg at the Just for Laughs comedy festival. As of 2012, he is working on his first movie, Dr. Cabbie, in which he will be opposite famous Indian actress Katrina Kaif's sister, Isabell. He is shooting Dr.Cabbie in Toronto, Canada.

Personal life

Nayyar married Miss India 2006 winner Neha Kapur in December 2011.

Filmography

Film

Year	Film	Character
2004	S.C.I.E.N.C.E	Pizza Man
2012	Ice Age: Continental Drift	Gupta (voice)
2014	The Scribbler

Television

Year	Series	Role	Notes
2007	NCIS: Naval Criminal Investigative Service	Youssef Zidan	Uncredited Episode: "Suspicion"
2007"present	The Big Bang Theory	Rajesh Koothrappali	Main role
2010	The Late Late Show with Craig Ferguson	Rajesh Koothrappali
2013"present	Sanjay and Craig	Vijay (voice)	Recurring role
2013	Sullivan & Son	Neal	Episode: "Ladies Night"

Theater

Year	Title	Role	Notes
2006	Huck and Holden	Navin	Dahlia Theater, Los Angeles, United States
2006	Love's Labour's Lost	Other Parts	Royal Shakespeare Company, Stratford upon Avon, United Kingdom
2006	Love's Labour's Lost	Other Parts	Shakespeare Theatre Company, Lansburgh Theatre, Washington, DC, United States

Web television

Year	Title	Role	Notes
2010	CollegeHumor Originals	Kunal	Episode "Porn Tech Support"

Awards

List of awards and nominations

Year	Award	Category	Result	Title
2006	Garland Award	Best Male Lead in a Play on the West Coast	Won	Huck and Holden
2012	Screen Actors Guild Award	Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble in a Comedy Series	Nominated	The Big Bang Theory