Kumail Nanjiani Talks ‘Silicon Valley,’ ‘The Big Sick’ and Dealing With the Fear of Failure

In this special episode, we listen in to the hilarious interview Kumail Nanjiani with Entrepreneur.

By Dan Bova May 03, 2018
Presley Ann | Getty Images

How Success Happens is a podcast featuring innovators, authors, ultramarathoners, artists and more to better understand what connects dreaming and doing. Listen below or click here to read more shownotes.

Last year, writer/actor/comedian Kumail Nanjiani spoke with Entrepreneur magazine as the fourth season of Silicon Valley was about to premiere and The Big Sick, the film he co-wrote with his wife, Emily V. Gordon, was starting to get major buzz at the Sundance Film Festival.

Since then, as you may know, Kumail and Emily’s film went huge. Among other things, it won Best Comedy at the Critic Choice Awards, best first screenplay at the Film Independent Spirit Awards and was nominated for best original screenplay at the 2018 Academy Awards. Not too shabby!

Related: Silicon Valley’s’ Kumail Nanjiani on Never Playing It Safe

As the fifth hilarious season of Silicon Valley continues on HBO, we thought it’d be fun to revisit that interview. So much of the conversation wound up on the cutting room floor for the print version, and we figured you’d enjoy hearing Kumail’s extended thoughts on productivity, his working process with his wife Emily, the tolerance for risk taking he says all performers and entrepreneurs need to have, and of course, He-man. (Note: This wasn’t recorded with the intention of being a podcast, so please forgive me laughing over everything he says.)

How Success Happens is a podcast featuring innovators, authors, ultramarathoners, artists and more to better understand what connects dreaming and doing. Listen below or click here to read more shownotes.

Last year, writer/actor/comedian Kumail Nanjiani spoke with Entrepreneur magazine as the fourth season of Silicon Valley was about to premiere and The Big Sick, the film he co-wrote with his wife, Emily V. Gordon, was starting to get major buzz at the Sundance Film Festival.

Since then, as you may know, Kumail and Emily’s film went huge. Among other things, it won Best Comedy at the Critic Choice Awards, best first screenplay at the Film Independent Spirit Awards and was nominated for best original screenplay at the 2018 Academy Awards. Not too shabby!

Related: Silicon Valley’s’ Kumail Nanjiani on Never Playing It Safe

As the fifth hilarious season of Silicon Valley continues on HBO, we thought it’d be fun to revisit that interview. So much of the conversation wound up on the cutting room floor for the print version, and we figured you’d enjoy hearing Kumail’s extended thoughts on productivity, his working process with his wife Emily, the tolerance for risk taking he says all performers and entrepreneurs need to have, and of course, He-man. (Note: This wasn’t recorded with the intention of being a podcast, so please forgive me laughing over everything he says.)

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Dan Bova

VP of Special Projects at Entrepreneur.com
Entrepreneur Staff
Dan Bova is the VP of Special Projects at Entrepreneur.com and host of the How Success Happens podcast. He previously worked at Jimmy Kimmel Live, Maxim, and Spy magazine. His latest books for kids include This Day in History, Car and Driver's Trivia Zone, Road & Track Crew's Big & Fast Cars, The Big Little...

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