Kunal Nayyar (1981)

 personal life

Nayyar was born in London to a Punjabi family and moved to India when he was four years old.

 career

After graduating from Temple University, Nayyar found work doing American television ads and plays on the London stage. He first gained attention in the US for his role in the West Coast production of Rajiv Joseph's 2006 play Huck & Holden where he portrayed an Indian exchange student anxious to experience American culture before returning home. In 2006, Nayyar teamed up with Arun Das to write the play Cotton Candy, which premiered in New Delhi to positive reviews. Nayyar then guest-starred in the CBS drama NCIS in the episode "Suspicion" , in which he played Youssef Zidan, an Iraqi terrorist. Nayyar's agent heard about a role for a scientist in an upcoming CBS pilot and encouraged him to audition for the part. This led to his casting in the sitcom The Big Bang Theory. Nayyar plays astrophysicist Rajesh Koothrappali on the TV show which is in its fifth season.

He appeared on The Bonnie Hunt Show on April 22, 2009, The Late Late Show with Craig Ferguson on May 8 and April 9, 2010, Lopez Tonight on November 25, 2010, Jimmy Kimmel Live! on April 22, 2011, and Conan on December 15, 2011.

In 2011 he co-hosted the "Tribute to Nerds" show with co-star Simon Helberg at Just For Laughs comedy festival.