In 'Chippendales,' actor Kumail Nanjiani embraces a complicated, criminal role

https://www.npr.org/2022/12/07/ [login to see] /in-chippendales-actor-kumail-nanjiani-embraces-a-complicated-criminal-role
When Kumail Nanjiani was first offered a part in Welcome to Chippendales, he didn't jump at it. It was 2017, and President Trump was putting travel bans in place. The role was Somen "Steve" Banerjee, the founder of Chippendales who was undone by his own corrupt business practices. "I didn't know whether me playing an Indian immigrant who's such a bad guy was the right thing to do," Nanjiani says. He worried that playing "a brown guy who does bad things might not help the cause."

Nanjiani grew up in Karachi, Pakistan, soaking up as much American pop culture as he could; he has since become a part of American pop culture himself. He started his performing career in the U.S. as a stand-up comic and became well-known for co-starring in the HBO comedy series Silicon Valley.