The actor appeared on Bialik Breakdown, the podcast hosted by his The Big Bang Theory co-star Mayim Bialik.
Born in England from Indian parents, Nayyar moved to New Delhi when he was only four years old. He then went to college in the US, where he decided he wanted to become a professional actor.
“I trained to be an actor for seven years, undergrad and then three years in master’s,” Nayyar said.
Kunal Nayyar On His TV Debut And Being Punched By Mark Harmon
Nayyar appeared in stage production Huck & Holden and also briefly moved back to the UK to star in a Shakespeare play. His first television role before TBBT was on CBS popular procedural NCIS.
“I had about ten months left on my work visa so I came to LA and I played a terrorist on NCIS,” Nayyar recalled.
“Mark Harmon punched me in the face, it was so cool,” he said.
Little did Nayyar know that, after a few commercials, his luck was about to change with his first-ever television pilot.
This Is When Nayyar Realized He Wanted To Become An Actor
Following his tremendous success on The Big Bang Theory, Nayyar reflected on achieving fame in the US.
“When I decided to become an actor, I took it very seriously,” he told Bialik.
“I remember telling my parents, ‘This is what I want to do,’” he continued.
There is a moment in time Nayyar pinpoints as the moment he decided he wanted to become an actor.
“I was on stage. I had a moment where I had completely, for the first time in my life, discovered what it means to be present, and it happened on stage,” he said.
“I finished the play and then went home and told my parents, ‘This is what I want to do for the rest of my life, and I’m going to do it,’” he added.
Nayyar’s parents were “very supportive” of his career choices.
“I was very lucky,” he said.
Nayyar recently appeared on Netflix anthology series Criminal: UK. He also voiced a character on Trolls World Tour, released in 2020.