Ray Romano weighs in on the success of 'The Big Sick'
The film is based on the real-life love story of Kumail Nanjiani and his wife.
— -- Ray Romano stars in the critically acclaimed film "The Big Sick," in theaters now.
He told ABC News it's based on a real-life couple who turned their unusual love story into a movie.
"It’s based on a Pakistani comedian, who fell in love with an American woman," he said. "His parents wanted him to have an arranged marriage just like everybody in the family did and he didn’t tell them ... that he’s in love with her."
"And then she went into a coma!" he said with a laugh. "It’s a comedy! It’s the funniest movie with a coma in it you’ll ever see."
The movie was written by Kumail Nanjiani and his wife Emily V. Gordon. Nanjiani stars in the film, essentially playing himself. Romano and Holly Hunter play the parents of Emily, Kumail's girlfriend-now-wife, who's played by Zoe Kazan.
"It’s got comedy, heart, drama, everything," Romano said, joking, "I never thought it would get this kind of response when I did it 'cause I’m in it. But they actually like it."
Romano said the movie is for those who want to see "a human story," rather than just "superheroes and Transformers and Spider-Man."
"Sometimes you want to just see a story about human connection and relationships," he said. "The message, without trying to have a message, is how we’re all the same and how love transcends all. And it’s very funny."
Romano also stars in the new EPIX series "Get Shorty," which debuts next month. He was most recently seen in the HBO series "Vinyl," in which he played a record executive in the "sex, drugs and rock 'n roll" era of the 1970s.