Biography

Maulik Navin Pancholy (/moʊliːk nɑːvɪnpænˈtʃoʊli/, born January 18, 1974) is an American actor. He is best known for his roles as Jonathan on 30 Rock, Baljeet Tjinder in Phineas and Ferb, Neal in the first season of Whitney, and as characters named Sanjay Patel in both Weeds and Sanjay and Craig. His debut novel, The Best at It (from Balzer + Bray/HarperCollins), is about a gay, Indian American boy coming into his own. In 2022, he released Nikhil Out Loud, which tells the story of eighth-grade theatre kids rising against homophobia in their community. It won the 2023 Lambda Literary Award for Middle-Grade Literature.