Kayvan Novak gives foolish characters a sweetness that makes laughing at them less comfortable than it first appears. His voices are skilful; we rate him most for the vulnerability he brings to Waj in Four Lions.
Fi1m perspective
Waj in Four Lions (2010) is dim enough to invite easy laughter, but Kayvan Novak makes that laughter awkward. He gives the character an innocence that stops the performance becoming a simple demonstration of stupidity. We laughed, then felt uneasy, because Waj seems so sweet in a comedy whose men remain dangerous however foolish they are. Novak makes it possible to feel for him without forgetting the harm that incompetence can do.
Chris Morris puts that balance to good use, with Riz Ahmed and Nigel Lindsay helping to keep the film unsettling. Novak's contribution is the sympathy: Waj would be a much easier joke if there were nothing to like about him. The middle repeats jokes that have already done their work, and the film does not always know when another display of foolishness is enough. We recommend it warmly, with that caveat; Novak's performance is a substantial part of the reason.
His breakthrough, Fonejacker (2007), put his voices at the centre of the joke. Co-created with Ed Tracy, the prank-call series followed small television drama roles that had often confined him through typecasting. Facejacker (2010–2012) carried the character comedy on, and the two programmes developed his skill with impressions. With Waj, that comic timing had to accommodate sympathy, and Morris gave him a part in which being funny was not enough.
What We Do in the Shadows (2019–2024) gave him a sustained role as Nandor the Relentless and brought international recognition. Alongside Harvey Guillén, he again found room for goofiness and vulnerability, supported by physical comedy and improvisation. We prefer that combination to a demonstration of how many voices he can do, however accomplished they may be. The risk with a foolish character is that repetition makes the foolishness predictable, and we would not want Novak confined to it. Start with Waj, then give Nandor the longer acquaintance a television character allows.
Biography
Kayvan Novak is a British actor and comedian of Iranian descent. He was born on 23 November 1978 in Cricklewood, North London, and trained at Highgate School, the Fine Arts College in Hampstead, and the Webber Douglas Academy of Dramatic Art.
He began appearing in British television series such as Family Affairs, Holby City and Spooks before co-creating and starring in the prank-call comedy series Fonejacker (2006–2008) and its follow-up Facejacker (2010–2012). For the former he shared the 2008 BAFTA Television Award for Best Comedy (Programme or Series). He played Waj in the 2010 film Four Lions, for which he won Best Comedy Performance in a British Film at the British Comedy Awards.
Novak is known for his role as Nandor the Relentless in the series What We Do in the Shadows (2019–2024) and voices Fabian Kingsworth in Archer (2020–2023). His film credits include Syriana (2005), Paddington (2014), Men in Black: International (2019) and Cruella (2021).
