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Kunal Nayyar (, ; born 30 April 1981) is a British-born Indian actor. He is known for portraying Rajesh Koothrappali on the sitcom The Big Bang Theory (2007–2019). Forbes listed Nayyar as the world's third-highest-paid TV actor in 2015 and 2018, with earnings of US$20 million and US$23.5 million, respectively.

Early life
Nayyar was born in Hounslow, West London, to a family of Indian immigrants. When he was 4 years old, his family returned to India, and he grew up in New Delhi. He attended St. Columba's School, where he played badminton for the school team. His parents live in New Delhi.

In 1999, Nayyar moved to the United States to pursue a Bachelor of Business Administration in finance from the University of Portland, Oregon. He started taking acting classes and appeared in several school plays while working on his degree.

After participating in the American College Theater Festival, Nayyar decided to become a professional actor. He then attended Temple University in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, where he received a Master of Fine Arts in acting.

Career
After graduating, 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 made a guest appearance on the CBS drama NCIS in the season four 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, where he played the role of an astrophysicist Rajesh Koothrappali.

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

Nayyar voiced Gupta in Ice Age: Continental Drift in 2012. During the same year he completed the shooting of his first film, Dr. Cabbie, produced by Bollywood actor Salman Khan.

From 5 May to 29 June 2015, Nayyar performed in an off-Broadway production, The Spoils, written by and starring actor Jesse Eisenberg. Nayyar played Kalyan, a Nepalese student and roommate of the protagonist Ben, played by Eisenberg. The production transferred to London's West End in 2016.

Nayyar published a book about his career journey, titled Yes, My Accent is Real: and Some Other Things I Haven’t Told You, in September 2015.

He voiced Guy Diamond in DreamWorks' animated movie Trolls, released in November 2016.

In 2020 Kunal played a convicted serial killer named Sandeep, alongside many other famous actors from big TV shows in the US, on a Netflix UK production named Criminal: UK showcasing interview techniques. He appears in the final episode of Season 2 which was released in August 2020.

Personal life
In December 2011, Nayyar married Neha Kapur, a model, actress, and Femina Miss India 2006.