Kumail Nanjiani has a strong case for the most high-profile guest that has ever featured on Taskmaster UK. The Pakistani-American Hollywood actor rose to stardom with his roles on Silicon Valley, The Big Sick, and Eternals, not to mention playing briefer characters in Bob’s Burgers, The Boys, and Obi-Wan Kenobi, to name a few.
Taskmaster, on the other hand, is a British comedy panel show where contestants must compete against one another in ridiculous, often nonsensical tasks. Hosted by comedians Greg Davies and (Little) Alex Horne, the show has typically only featured U.K.-based guests. In season 19, Jason Mantzoukas bucked that trend, and Nanjiani has followed suit.
However, Davies tells Polygon that they didn’t change anything because of Nanjiani’s arrival, despite his fame:
The wonderful thing about Kumail is that, as soon as he arrived, there were no airs and graces or expectations that he be treated any differently. He’s a fan of the show so he just mucked in and joined in with the show in a very full-throated manner.
This show that Alex created is a leveler, it’s a universe within itself. As I’ve said many times, we have our own rules and everybody has to fit in. He fit in beautifully, but he was also unabashed in his enthusiasm. He landed and was ready to go; we like it when people throw themselves into it.
Watch Kumail Nanjiani nail it in one in this hilarious, relatable Taskmaster clip
A man of the people
Many of the show’s tasks take place in a three-bedroom bungalow in Chiswick, London, which used to be a groundskeepers’ cottage on the periphery of a golf course. As a result, it’s probably not quite what Nanjiani is used to. Horne describes it as “small and slightly dirty; they’ve got a tiny little green room, there’s no trailer, no Hollywood treatment. But he did not care in the slightest. I was pretty nervous showing him around, but he just wanted to do the things [tasks].”
For those outside of the United Kingdom, you can watch the entirety of Taskmaster’s season 21 on the official YouTube channel. Residents of the U.K. can watch it via Channel 4.