Kumail Nanjiani’s physique and its various degrees of shreddage since he became an Eternal has been a source of trending news in recent years. So when it was announced that he would star in a Hulu limited series about the world of male stripping called Welcome to Chippendales, people came to the wrong conclusions about what Nanjiani’s role would be. At this year’s Vulture Festival in Los Angeles, the show’s creator, Robert Spiegel, told Nanjiani that people “assumed you were a stripper … because of your abs.†Co-showrunner and executive producer Jenni Konner confirmed that people still assume he’s going to be playing one of the famous buff dancing studs. Nanjiani actually plays Chippendales founder Steve Banerjee, and he’s “so thankful†for the role.
“I keep my shirt on the entire time. And they have to watch me eat cheesecake,†Nanjiani said. “It was great. More of this. I loved it.†That is, he loved it until he ate so much he had to start sleeping with a CPAP machine: “It’s a huge thing on your face. It’s a loud machine that’s keeping you alive all night.â€
But if Nanjiani happened to become a male stripper, hypothetically, he knows exactly what his routine would be: “I would be a baker. There’s so much you can do with baguettes. And those donuts that are …â€
Nanjiani did a long stretching motion, and co-star Annaleigh Ashford knew exactly what he was talking about. “Éclairs. Long John.â€
“Bear claws if you’re having a really good day,†added Nanjiani. Ashford, meanwhile, knows exactly the song she’d want to strip to: “Barbra Streisand and Donna Summer singing ‘No More Tears.’†Does Feintsein’s 54 Below host strip nights?