Known for playing Dinesh on the HBO series "Silicon Valley," Pakistani-American stand-up comedian Kumail Nanijani, 37, is set to play a guest role named Pasha in "The X-Files" Season 1 episode 3 titled "Murder and Scully Meet the Were-Man." Directed by Darin Morgan, the episode will air on Feb. 1.
Playing Pasha, Nanijani will join main cast members David Duchovny as Fox Mulder, Gillian Anderson as Dana Scully and Mitch Pileggi in "The X-Files" Season 1 episode 3. In the same episode, Rhys Darby will also play a guest character named as Guy Mann along with D.J. Pierce as Annabelle and Virgil Davies as a truck driver.
"The X-Files" Season 1 episode 3 will be the first TV series Nanijani appeared in since he played Prosecutor Leonard in the pilot episode of "The Grinder," which was directed by Jake Kasdan and aired on Sept. 29, 2015.
"The X-Files" is a continuation of the sci-fi horror drama series of the same name, which was created by Chris Carter. The original series aired on Fox from 1993 to 2002 for nine seasons.
Aside from "The X-Files" Season 1 episode 3, Nanijani is also set to appear "Animals" Season 1 episode 4 titled "Dogs." The new TV series stars Mike Luciano, Phil Matarese and Indian American actor Aziz Ansari.
Before being cast for "The X-Files," Nanijani launched a podcast titled "The X-Files Files" in June 2014. In a recent interview with Mother Jones, the "Silicon Valley" alum said he identified with Duchovny's character the first time he watched the original series but he connected more with the story of Anderson's character by the third time.
"It had been a while since a grounded, non-'Star Trek' sort of sci-fi thing really worked in the mainstream, and the idea of telling one long story over the course of many seasons," Nanijani said when asked what he thought made "The X-Files" more than just another TV show.
Meanwhile, Nanjiani is set to host the Independent Spirit Awards with "Saturday Night Live" alum Kate McKinnon. The annual ceremony, which recognizes artistic achievement in independent film, will air on IFC on Feb. 27, according to Entertainment Weekly.
Watch "The X-Files" trailer here: