Kunal Nayyar’s net worth is estimated in the $45 million range. A huge swathe of that portfolio comes from his work on The Big Bang Theory, which made him one of the highest paid people on television through the last few years of the CBS sitcom. Despite the money he already has in the bank, he’s still working crazy 16-hour days on the regular.
Such is the life of an actor, as Nayyar would be the first to tell us. In fact, he did tell fans in an interview with Fortune, mentioning he’s still lucky to be in the Hollywood business after so many years.
I don’t have a regular nine-to-five job, so it’s different. When I’m shooting, then I’m a slave to whatever my schedule is. Those days can lead into 16-hour days, with six-hour turnarounds.
A lot of the work the actor has done in recent years are projects that would still appeal to a lot of The Big Bang Theory fans. In the last couple of years he popped up with his former co-star Melissa Rauch, in the now (sadly) canceled Night Court. More recently, he made a splashy-but-short appearance in an early episode of Stuart Fails to Save The Universe.
In between that, he’s a mainstay in the Trolls franchise, he filmed a holiday movie, and he has one give Up and Comer currently in post-production. When he’s not bopping around, he does admit life is pretty simple. He likes waking up at 5 a.m. and having a coffee. He likes napping from 3-5 p.m. every day, and he eats dinner at home every week night.
Otherwise, it’s easy to just sleep all day—or not sleep all day, but relax all day—because you’re exhausted from shooting.
So, sure, his net worth is impressive, but the actor is still working hard. In a separate, but related story, the actor said some months ago he’s started using his wealth to pay others’ medical bills. He said at the time, money has given him “greater freedom,” which is true both of his daily schedule and his ability to do things for others.
Meanwhile, it's not as if The Big Bang Theory cast just quit working hard after the show ended in 2019. Kaley Cuoco's been no. 1 on the call sheet for several subsequent TV shows, including the acclaimed The Flight Attendant, and again with Based on a True Story and her latest Vanished. Jim Parsons taken key roles in films like Spoiler Alert, and also done a large swathe of theater work over the last seven years. Rauch starred in Night Court. Mayim Bialik tried her hand at Jeopardy!. Simon Helberg's been all over small TV roles.
Even if they weren't working, though? They do have that crazy re-run money coming in, and I doubt that will change anytime soon.
