What is it with Hollywood trying to stereotype Asians, particularly Pakistanis? Recently, Hollywood’s popular Pakistani-origin actor Kumail Nanjiani revealed that he was asked to exaggerate his accent for a movie to make it sound ‘more Pakistani-ish.’
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In a recent interview, the Silicon Valley star shared how he once auditioned for a role in a movie where the director asked him to play up his Pakistani accent. Kumail stated that he refused to do so and is not happy about how Hollywood stereotypes South Asians.
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The Academy award-nominated actor spoke during a virtual roundtable discussion on Variety’s #REPRESENT: Success Stories where he discussed how he still struggles to find auditions that don’t require him to exaggerate his accent to fit Hollywood’s “stereotypical brown guy roles.”
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“I have a Pakistani accent, but they would be like, ‘Could you make it funnier? Lean in a little bit.’ And at some point, I decided I just wasn’t going to do that. There are certain parts that require a thicker Pakistani or Indian accent, and that’s totally fine, but I just didn’t want the comedy to just be coming from someone exaggerating their accent.”
Without name dropping the movie or director, the 42-year-old actor shared a story in which he was again asked to play up his accent, which he refused.
“So there was a really, really big movie, actually, that I auditioned for, and I was a taxi driver, and the director was like, ‘Hey, could you play up the accent a little bit?’ And I was like, ‘I’m sorry, I won’t.’ And then the guy felt really bad. And I was like, ‘No, it’s fine. I’m just not going to do it. If that’s what you want, I’m not your guy.’ And then that movie was hugely successful.”
Kumail Nanjiani is still in demand
Regardless, the talented actor is one of the most in-demand actors in Hollywood as Marvel Studios cast him for the role of ‘Kingo’ in the highly anticipated The Eternals.
Check out this post, as Kumail showcased his transformation from being a stereotypical brown guy in TV shows to a proper hero:
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So true regarding Pakistani Accent in Hollywood and also that if he was not provided resources by the studio he would not be able to transform his body for The Marvel Movie The Eternals. More Respect for him from Pakistani Sag Aftra Colleague Actor