Kumail Nanjiani Praises the 'No Hazing' Set on 'Only Murders in the Building'

Transcript

00:00How did you get into the mindset of being a Christmas-all-the-time guy

00:03for Murders in the Building? Was that an easy thing for you to do?

00:08Very easy because I love Christmas. I'm a huge Christmas fan.

00:13Right after Thanksgiving is when we put our Christmas tree up, but I love Christmas. I

00:18love the Christmas songs. Every year we have rituals. We watch the Christmas movies and

00:25cartoons we love. I'm the guy who drives around listening to Christmas music in December

00:35the entire year. So for me, it was very, very easy to feel like.

00:40I mean, there's a reveal with the character that is actually out of character for me,

00:45but I just, and I love the aesthetic of Christmas. You know, I loved wearing those

00:51sweaters. I thought the sweaters looked actually really awesome. So I was thrilled that it's one

00:56of my favorite shows on TV to be able to work with people like Selena Gomez and Martin Short

01:03and Steve Martin, who I've been watching my entire life. I've been a fan of them my entire life. So

01:08then to be doing scenes with them, it's just a completely unbelievable turn of events.

01:15Yeah. What were they like pinch me moments and how did you kind of overcome those nerves

01:20starring alongside them? And I'm sure like, you know, Meryl Streep in the mix of all of this as

01:24well. Yeah, I didn't actually have any scenes with Meryl Streep. I just met her at the premiere and

01:29she was so nice. She was so nice to me. And my wife was with me and I was like, look, look,

01:36look what she's saying. You know, with Steve and Marty, I'm calling them Steve and Marty. That's

01:41what they are. You go in very intimidated because they are true comedy icons, true comedy geniuses.

01:49So you go in being like, OK, just pretend like they're normal people,

01:53pretend they're not fake. You have been in love with your entire life.

01:58What helps is they are so wonderful and kind and absolutely generous human beings like that's one

02:06of the best sets I've ever been on. It's the best set I've ever been on. I'll say that. And it's not

02:12I don't just say that every crew member says this is the best job I've ever had.

02:16And that comes from those three. And John Hoffman, the creator of the show,

02:22him and Steve created the show. So they kind of put you at ease, you know, they understand

02:27that they can be intimidating to people just by virtue of who they are. They go out of the way

02:34to make you feel comfortable to the point where I was like, you know what? Pretend they're normal

02:39people. And then two days later, when you guys were shooting Three Amigos, what was that like?

02:45I have questions and they answered all my questions. Absolutely wonderful.

02:49I love that. So no hazing on set then for the newbies.

02:52It is truly a no hazing set. It is, you know, absolutely, completely supportive and generous

03:01and kind. And it's just very, very joyful set. You know, what we do, what we get to do

03:10should be joyful. It's hard work, but that doesn't mean there shouldn't be joy in it.

03:15And those guys really understand that they've been doing it so long. I'm sure they've been

03:18on all kinds of sets and they've decided now if we're on a set, everyone is going to feel safe

03:26and joyful.