Eternals star Kumail Nanjiani wanted to use his character of Kingo to subvert Pakistani and Middle Eastern stereotypes.
While speaking to LA Times alongside Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings star Awkafina, Nanjiani delved into Kingo's character. "He’s an Eternal so he’s been here for thousands of years," he explained. "He has these super powers and he’s become a Bollywood movie star. All the Eternals have been in human society to different degrees, but he’s the one who really immersed himself and falls in love with the trappings of modernity."
Nanjiani went on to add that Kingo loves being rich, famous and an Eternal, as well as saying that he looked at "the usual opportunities" that Middle Eastern actors get during his time as an actor.
"We get to be nerdy. I wanted him to be the opposite of that — I wanted him to be cool," he continued. "With nerdy goes 'weakling,' and I wanted him to be the opposite of that and to be strong physically. Or we get to be terrorists, and I wanted him to be the opposite of that. I wanted him to be this character full of joy."
Nanjiani concluded by saying that in working with director Chloé Zhao, the mindset was, "let’s take every single thing that I haven’t gotten to do and make a character who’s the exact opposite of the way a lot of American pop culture see people from Pakistan or the Middle East."
Directed by Chloé Zhao, Eternals hits theaters on Nov. 5.
Source: LA Times