Kumail Nanjiani can relate to his Only Murders in the Building season four character.
The actor stopped by Jimmy Kimmel Live! on Friday where he briefly teased the current season of the Emmy-winning series, in which he portrays the “Christmas-All-the-Time Guy,” aka Rudy Thurber, a resident of the Arconia.
“It’s a guy who’s really obsessed with Christmas, which is good,” he told the late night host. “I love Christmas very, very much. And so, for me, it was not hard, because you know what, I was like 20 when I moved here, I never had Christmas, and then suddenly, at 20, you have Christmas for the first time. It was awesome.”
However, unlike some Christmas fanatics, who begin decorating as soon as Halloween is over (or even earlier), Nanjiani waits until the beginning of December to deck the halls, like a “reasonable” person, he joked.
When Jimmy Kimmel said that he couldn’t imagine a roommate he’d less rather have than the Christmas-All-the-Time Guy, the Eternals actor agreed, especially in Los Angeles.
“It feels a little like, especially here, even in December, when you’re going around driving, and it’s like, super hot out, and ‘It’s beginning to look a lot like Christmas,’” he said, singing the popular Christmas song. “You’re like, ‘It’s really not. It kind of sounds like you’re spiraling, middle of July listening to Christmas songs.’”
Elsewhere in the talk show appearance, Nanjiani also recalled what it was like working with Steve Martin and Martin Short on Only Murders in the Building, which has already been renewed for season five.
He admitted that he was “very nervous” to co-star alongside the comedy legends because he grew up watching their movies and felt like he had to play it cool, so he wouldn’t appear like a fan boy.
“Their vibe is so good,” the Welcome to Chippendales star said. “I mean, you know, I saw Martin Short call Steve Martin, a white-haired asshole. I was like, ‘Wow, I’m really living the dream right now.’”
The current season of the comedy series follows the main trio of Charles Hayden-Savage, Oliver Putnam and Mabel Mora — portrayed by Martin, Short and Selena Gomez, respectively — as they investigate the murder of Charles’ longtime friend and stunt double, Sazz Pataki (Jane Lynch).
Nanjiani is one of many newcomers to the series for this installment. He joins Eva Longoria, Molly Shannon, Eugene Levy, Zach Galifianakis, Melissa McCarthy and more. Meryl Streep also reprises her season three role of Loretta Durkin.
New episodes of Only Murders in the Buildings season four currently drop on Hulu every Tuesday, leading up to the season finale on Oct. 29.
