Kumail Nanjiani: 'Migration' character resists 'his essential nature'

Kumail Nanjiani voices a duck who resists migrating for the winter in Migration, in theaters Friday.

The duck, Mack (Nanjiani), reluctantly leads his family as they fly to Jamaica after staying put on their New England pond for several winters.

"He's found a way to suppress his essential nature," Nanjiani, 45, told UPI in a Los Angeles interview. "As he had kids, I think he slowly became more and more neurotic."

Mack's family includes wife Pam (Elizabeth Banks) and children Dax (Caspar Jennings) and Gwen (Tresi Gazal). Even Pam seems to have grown tired of Mack's overprotectiveness.

Nanjiani said he suspects Mack had changed a lot since he and Pam met.

"I think he was probably very romantic," Nanjiani said. "He's still romantic, but I think he was a little more daring and exciting."

Nanjiani said he first met Illumination CEO Chris Meladandri and Migration screenwriter Mike White six years ago. Nanjiani said they wanted his real voice, not to attempt a caricature of a duck voice.

"They said, 'We want the duck to sound exactly like you,'" Nanjiani said. "I said, 'Easy, I sound like me.'"

Nanjiani had lent his voice to animated TV shows and movies before. However, playing the lead in a feature film required conveying Mack's entire character arc, Nanjiani said.

Migration co-director Benjamin Renner gave Nanjiani specific direction in the recording studio -- direction like "Can you add 10% more sadness and then a little bit of this feeling underneath?"

In one scene, Mack inhales helium. For the lines in which the duck speaks with a high-pitched voice, Nanjiani tried multiple techniques, some involving real helium.

"They had me do it without helium, with helium, and then they adjusted it later," Nanjiani said. "So we actually did that a whole bunch of times."

Nanjiani said that focus on the subtleties of performance distinguished Migration from animated TV shows. He was a regular voice on Adventure Time and Bless the Hearts, and appeared on episodes of The Simpsons, Bob's Burgers and more.

"All these shows really try to be very, very just very casual," Nanjiani said. "I can go do a whole episode of Adventure Time in 15 minutes because they don't want you to clean up the dialogue. They like that messiness."

Over the six years of production, Migration evolved subtly, Nanjiani said. While animated films like Elemental might change the entire plot, Migration's changes were smaller.

Nanjiani said ducks originally were flying to the Bahamas instead of Jamaica. He also noticed supporting characters evolve as voice actors were hired to play them.

Awkwafina plays a pigeon whom the ducks meet in the city, complete with a New York accent and attitude. Danny De Vito plays the ducks' Uncle Dan, who is tagging along on the flight.

"When Awkwafina came in, the characterization of the pigeon changed a little bit," Nanjiani said. "When Danny DeVito came in, Uncle Dan became a lot more specific. My arc was always this."

It was a big step for Mack to leave the pond. He remains neurotic as the ducks have adventures in New York and on a duck farm on their way south, but he discovers the value in having those experiences.

The film's message of leaving one's comfort zone is one with which humans deal, too. Nanjiani said the COVID-19 pandemic made him think about how he can be safe without giving up experiences.

"I'm always computing that," Nanjiani said. "These last few years really made me think about that a lot."

Nanjiani is married to Emily V. Gordon, who is immunocompromised because of Still's disease, an inflammatory disorder. The couple co-wrote the film The Big Sick about their relationship and her diagnosis.

Still, Nanjiani and Gordon go to public events wearing masks.

"I always tell myself it's about risk mitigation," Nanjiani said. "You can't live a no-risk life."

Nanjiani appeared in person for Migration interviews. Though the film encourages people similar to Mack the duck to try new things, Nanjiani said he supports any precautions people want to take in real life.

"Just do whatever makes you feel safe," Nanjiani said. "I don't judge people. If you feel like you need to stay in your comfort zone because of some medical reason, go for it. I completely, completely relate with that."