Was Only Murders in the Building’s Kumail Nanjiani in Catch Me If You Can?

The following contains spoilers for Only Murders in the Building Season 4, Episode 6: “Blow Up”.

In Only Murders in the Building‘s latest documentary-style episode, Kumail Nanjiani’s Christmas-themed fitness guru Rudy Thurber brags about his illustrious acting career. According to Rudy, his credits include an extra role in Tom Hanks and Leonardo DiCaprio’s 2002 film Catch Me If You Can, leading Only Murders in the Building fans to wonder whether Nanjiani may have actually had a background role in the film that inspired the anecdote.

Was Kumail Nanjiani in Catch Me If You Can?

Not only was Nanjiani not in Catch Me If You Can, but as it turns out neither was his Only Murders in the Building character Rudy Thurber. As Thurber continues to describe his Catch Me If You Can credit, the show’s podcasting trio learns that his role as an extra in Hanks’ office was ultimately cut from the film. Rudy’s fellow Westie and retired actor Vince Fish helps soften the blow by proclaiming his neighbor’s role was only left on the cutting room floor because DiCaprio felt threatened by his innate talents.

As with Only Murders in the Building‘s many comedic tangents, this Catch Me If You Can anecdote doesn’t just exist as a joke at the expense of Rudy’s uneventful acting career. Rudy and Vince’s conversation about their shared performing background provides further clues about the season’s overarching murder mystery. Charles, Oliver, and Mabel’s trip to Vince’s apartment uncovers the connection between the suspects of Arconia’s West Tower and those involved in the in-universe film adaptation of Only Murders in the Building. Not only do both groups of suspects have a broad connection to filmmaking, but they share a specific touchstone in the form of film professor Milton Dudenoff.

Understanding the various suspects’ histories with Dudenoff has become even more crucial to the investigation in light of the podcaster’s bombshell discovery that the film professor was an additional victim of Sazz Pataki’s killer.

Only Murders in the Building’s Arconia Has Seen Its Share of Celebrity Tenants

Nanjiani and Kind have stepped into the role of eccentric tenants in Only Murders in the Building‘s fourth season, so it makes sense that their character’s filmographies don’t share actual overlap with their own acting careers. However, many actors and celebrities have played themselves throughout the show’s run including Sting, Amy Schumer, and Scott Bakula. This season adds another level to that meta-narrative with Eugene Levy, Zach Galifianakis, and Eva Longoria playing fictionalized versions of themselves who have been cast as the main roles in the film adaptation of Charles, Oliver, and Mabel’s titular podcast.