Malil was born in Kerala, India. He emigrated with his family in 1974 to the United States at the age of 10. He started acting in high school, often earning awards in district competitions in Texas. As a child, he had hoped to become a comedic actor like Bob Hope, whom he had first seen on a neighbor’s TV set, the only one in his fishing village in Kerala at the time.
Malil came to Hollywood in 1995, after a two-year stint at New York's American Academy of Dramatic Arts. He had supporting roles in The 40-Year-Old Virgin (2005), Holes (2003), Collateral Damage (2002), Getting There (2002), Boys From Madrid (2000), My Favorite Martian (1999), Columbus Day (2008), and Just Can't Get Enough (2002). Malil had roles on television shows such as Scrubs, Reba, NYPD Blue, The West Wing, The Jamie Foxx Show, and ER .
He was selected as one of the "Top 10 Overlooked Performances of 2005" by the Associated Press for his performance in The 40-Year-Old Virgin. He is the recipient of a Clio Award (for the Budweiser beer commercials) and a Los Angeles Ovation Award as Best Featured Actor for his performance as Bottom in A Midsummer Night's Dream, and he was nominated for the Los Angeles Ovation Award for his performance in SubUrbia.
Malil was tried for attempted murder with premeditation, causing great bodily injury; residential burglary; and use of a deadly weapon. On August 13, 2008, Malil pleaded 'not guilty' to attempted murder charges. On September 16, 2010, he was convicted of attempted murder and assault with a deadly weapon, but was found not guilty of burglary. On December 16, 2010, in San Diego County Superior Court, he was sentenced to life imprisonment (with the possibility of parole after 14 years). He was incarcerated at Chuckawalla Valley State Prison in Riverside County, California. before being paroled in January 2018, and released.
In 2010, Malil was convicted of attempted premeditated murder and assault with a deadly weapon on a former girlfriend, and after serving less than eight years of a 14 year to life term at Chuckawalla Valley State Prison in Southern California, was paroled in January of 2018.
In 2012, the events of the attack were chronicled on the Lifetime Movie Network show I Survived.... In 2013, the Investigation Discovery channel aired an episode of Dates From Hell entitled "Blood Red Carpet", chronicled the attack. Another dramatization appeared on an Investigation Discovery show, Who The (Bleep) Did I Marry, titled "Scarred By Love."
