By pure coincidence, Kumail Nanjiani appeared in two comedies this season in which quirky folks solve a regional murder. In Hulu’s “Only Murders in the Building,” the two-time Emmy nominee plays a supporting role as Rudy “Christmas Guy” Thurber, a furtive resident of the Arconia building who wears garish holiday sweaters and plays up his year-round yuletide obsession on social media.
In “Poker Face,” he guest-stars as Gator Joe, a Florida policeman and influencer with a pet alligator who becomes the target of a rival cop (Gaby Hoffmann). TheWrap spoke with the busy actor about visiting comedy Rushmore and why “Columbo” inspired him to take on these fun guest spots.
GETTING THE “CHRISTMAS GUY” GIG
“I asked to be on “Only Murders in the Building.” Steve Martin, Martin Short — I’ve been watching them my whole life. If there’s a comedy Rushmore, those guys are on it. It’s so different from anything I’ve done. The ideas for the costume, they’re pretty over-the-top. The guy is also an influencer, and the way he dresses is part of that. It’s the intersection of Christmas and influencing. Finding that balance is really interesting. I have a sweater that plays music. So it’s about: How far can we push it and have it be believable?”
GOING ALL IN ON “POKER FACE”
“I’m friends with Natasha [Lyonne, the series’ star and EP], and she just texted me out of the blue and was like, ‘Hey, do you want to do the show next week?’ ‘Yes, of course I want to do the show next week.’ I got very into “Columbo” during the pandemic. So as soon as this show came out, I was like, Oh, this is exactly the kind of show I love. It’s got a little bit of comfort and safety to it. It doesn’t ignore the darkness that’s in the world, but it makes it more manageable knowing that in 45 minutes, this particular darkness on screen is going to be shown the light. They call them cozy murder-mystery shows.”
SMOOCHING A ROBO-GATOR
“I did not work with an actual alligator. I only worked with an animatronic, and it was [made by] Legacy [Effects], the guys who did Baby Yoda. They’re fantastic. If I kissed the alligator, it would wink its eyes. It felt very alive.”
PAGING PITTSBURGH
“I would love to be on “The Pitt.” I was not an “ER” person, so I did not know how absolutely fantastic Noah Wyle is. There’s a lot of layers to his character that get revealed, but even before you start to see everything that’s underneath his exterior, what he’s doing from Episode 1 is absolutely phenomenal and he makes it look so easy. All the acting on that show is so special.”
A version of this story first ran in the Comedy issue of TheWrap’s awards magazine. Read more from the issue here.
