Kumail Nanjiani says he has “trauma” from reaction to ‘Eternals’
Actor Kumail Nanjiani says the reviews and reactions to his Marvel film Eternals, released in 2021, in which he played the character Kingo, had an adverse effect on his mental health.
Nanjiani appeared on the Inside of You with Michael Rosenbaum podcast and spoke of Eternals, directed by Chloe Zhao. The film also starred Gemma Chan, Richard Madden, Barry Keoghan, Kit Harrington, Salma Hayek and Angelina Jolie.
“The reviews were bad, and I was too aware of it,” Nanjiani said. “I was reading every review and checking too much.”
He continued, “It was really, really hard because Marvel thought that movie was going to be really, really well reviewed, so they lifted the embargo early and put it in some fancy movie festivals and they sent us on a big global tour to promote the movie right as the embargo lifted.”
The superhero movie proved to be one of the least popular Marvel releases to date, which Nanjiani believes is partially linked to timing. He also recalled how the press circuit took place during the pandemic, which further added to an uncomfortable feeling in the air.
“I think there was some weird soup in the atmosphere for why that movie got slammed so much, and I think not much of it has to do with the actual quality of the movie,” Nanjiani said.
“It was really hard, and that was when I thought it was unfair to me and unfair to [my wife] Emily, and I can’t approach my work this way anymore. Some shit has to change, so I started counselling. I still talk to my therapist about that,” he continued.
Nanjiani continued: “Emily says that I do have trauma from it. We actually just got dinner with somebody else from that movie and we were like, ‘That was tough, wasn’t it?’ and he’s like ‘Yeah, that was really tough,’ and I think we all went through something similar.”
Listen to Nanjiani’s appearance on the Inside of You with Michael Rosenbaum podcast below.
Never Miss A Scene
The Far Out Film Newsletter
All the latest film news from the independent voice of culture.
Straight to your inbox.