Nik Dodani Explained

Nik Dodani
Birth Date:19 December 1993
Birth Place:Dallas, Texas, U.S.[1]
Years Active:2008–present

Nik Dodani (born December 19, 1993) is an American actor, writer, and comedian known for his roles as Zahid in the Netflix comedy-drama series Atypical, and Pat Patel in the revival of the popular CBS sitcom Murphy Brown.[2] [3]

Career

Acting

Nik Dodani began his acting career in Phoenix-area community theater, his first notable role being Zero in a staged production of Holes based on the novel by Louis Sachar. Dodani made his television debut in season 2 of HBO’s The Comeback starring Lisa Kudrow.

On television, Dodani has also appeared in ABC's Big Sky,[4] Netflix's Trinkets, TBS's Angie Tribeca, Comedy Central's Idiotsitter,[5] Freeform's Kevin from Work, and NBC's The Player, among others.[6]

In film, Dodani has appeared in Netflix’s Alex Strangelove,[7] Joshua Leonard's independent film Dark Was the Night opposite Marisa Tomei and Charlie Plummer,[8] the Sony Pictures thriller Escape Room,[9] Hannah Marks' feature film Mark, Mary & Some Other People,[10] and Stephen Chbosky's film adaptation of Broadway musical Dear Evan Hansen as Jared, who was re-conceived as "Jared Kalwani" to celebrate Dodani's casting.[11] [12] In July 2024, he appeared in Lee Isaac Chung's Twisters, a follow up to the 1996 film Twister.[13]

In March 2022, it was announced he would lead the New Line Cinema comedy The Parenting, opposite Brandon Flynn, Lisa Kudrow and Brian Cox. The release date is not yet publicly known.[14]

Dodani has voiced characters on numerous animated programs, including Nickelodeon's Big Nate, Disney's The Owl House and Hailey's On It!, and Disney Junior's Mira, Royal Detective.[15] [16] [17] [18] Dodani also voiced a character in the 2022 Disney animated film Strange World.[19]

He made his Broadway debut as Ogie in Waitress from October 19 to November 27, 2021.[20]

Stand-up comedy

Dodani began performing stand-up comedy in 2015 and made his late-night stand-up comedy debut on The Late Show with Stephen Colbert on September 28, 2018.[21]

Writing and producing

In October 2018, it was announced that Dodani would write the screenplay for the film adaptation of Rakesh Satyal's novel Blue Boy.[22] In March 2022, Dodani launched his own production banner, Cosmic Pomegranate, with creative partner Joey Long.[23]

In 2023, Dodani served as a co-producer of Life of Pi on Broadway, a play written by Lolita Chakrabarti as an adaptation of the novel by Yann Martel. Dodani served as an architect of The Power of Pi Project, "a first-of-its-kind effort from a Broadway production to connect with the AAPI community in New York and beyond."[24]

Advocacy

During the 2016 presidential election, Dodani was a producer for MoveOn, where he organized a political comedy tour called Laughter Trumps Hate.[25] He previously worked as a communications consultant at RALLY, an issue advocacy firm based in Hollywood, and as a graphic designer and student organizer on Elizabeth Warren's 2012 Senate campaign.[26]

In 2019, Dodani co-founded The Salon along with Bash Naran and Vinny Chhibber. The Salon is a forum for South Asian creatives in western creative arts. Dodani told The Hindu in 2021, "Our vision is to help the next generation of South Asian talent."[27]

Dodani was active in organizing the South Asian community in support of the Joe Biden 2020 presidential campaign and in support of Kamala Harris.[28] [29] He also played an active role in organizing other entertainers for the Black Lives Matter movement.[30] [31]

Personal life

Dodani is of Indian descent and openly gay.[32] [33] He graduated from BASIS Scottsdale in 2011 and studied politics at Occidental College in Los Angeles.[34] [35]

Filmography

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Denotes works that have not yet been released

Film

Year Title Role Notes
2016Other PeopleRon
The Good NeighborSanjay
2018Alex StrangeloveBlake
Dark Was the NightSeamus
2019Escape RoomDanny Khan
2021Mark, Mary & Some Other PeopleKyle
Dear Evan HansenJared Kalwani
2022Strange WorldKardezVoice role
2024The A-Frame[36] Rishi
TwistersPraveen
TBARohanPost-production

Television

Year Title Role Notes
2008 Living with Abandon Paku TV movie
2014 The Comeback Harry 2 episodes
Selfie Bookstore Employee 1 episode
2015 Kevin from Work Paul Garfunkle 2 episodes
The Player Solomon Desai 1 episode
2017 Idiotsitter 1 episode
2017–2021 Atypical Zahid Raja 37 episodes
2018 Murphy Brown Pat Patel 13 episodes
Angie Tribeca CRISPIN_GLOVES0FF295 1 episode
2019–2020 Trinkets Chase 6 episodes
2021 The Owl House Gavin (voice) Episode: "Through the Looking Glass Ruins"
2022 Big Nate Randy Betancourt (voice) Recurring cast
Mira, Royal Detective Anish (voice) Episode: "Mikku and Chikku's Hometown Mystery"
2023 Hailey's On It!Thad (voice) Recurring cast

External links

Notes and References

  1. Web site: Nik Dodani – Murphy Brown Cast Member. CBS.
  2. News: Atypical Creator Robia Rashid on Autism: 'I Had to Do a Lot of Real Learning'. Fernandez. Maria Elena. Vulture. August 15, 2017. en.
  3. Web site: Andreeva. Nellie. March 16, 2018. 'Murphy Brown': Jake McDorman To Play Son Avery in CBS Revival; Nik Dodani Cast. December 1, 2020. Deadline. en-US.
  4. Web site: March 14, 2022 . Nik Dodani, Fresh Off Broadway, Is Ready to Be the Main Character . February 11, 2024 . Teen Vogue . en-US.
  5. https://deadline.com/2017/06/caitlin-mehner-the-best-of-enemies-priyanka-bose-mortal-nik-dodani-alex-stangelove-1202113883/ "Nik Dodani Boards 'Alex Strangelove'"
  6. http://www.broadwayworld.com/bwwtv/article/Scoop-THE-PLAYER-on-NBC-Today-October-22-2015-20151021 "Scoop: The Player on NBC – Tonight, October 22, 2015"
  7. http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/nri/us-canada-news/netflix-original-alex-stangelove-to-feature-indian-american-actor-nik-dodani/articleshow/59190044.cms "Netflix original 'Alex Stangelove' to feature Indian-American actor Nik Dodani"
  8. https://variety.com/2015/film/news/marisa-tomei-timothy-olyphant-charlie-plummer-behold-my-heart-1201656579/ "Marisa Tomei, Timothy Olyphant Starring in 'Behold My Heart'"
  9. News: Tyler Labine, 'Insecure's Jay Ellis & Nik Dodani Join Sony's 'The Maze'. N'Duka. Amanda. September 22, 2017. Deadline. November 7, 2017. en-US.
  10. Web site: N'Duka. Amanda. February 20, 2020. 'Riverdale's Hayley Law, Ben Rosenfield To Star in Open Relationship Comedy 'Mark, Mary & Some Other People' From Hannah Marks. December 1, 2020. Deadline. en-US.
  11. Web site: Kroll . Justin . August 19, 2020 . Nik Dodani and Colton Ryan Join Universal's 'Dear Evan Hansen' Adaptation . August 19, 2020 . Deadline Hollywood.
  12. Web site: Lakritz. Talia. How old the stars of the 'Dear Evan Hansen' movie are compared to their characters. June 1, 2021. Insider. en-US.
  13. Web site: Grobar . Matt . May 17, 2023 . 'Twisters': Maura Tierney, Sasha Lane, Kiernan Shipka & David Corenswet Among Final Additions To Lee Isaac Chung's Disaster Pic For Uni, Amblin And Warner Bros . February 11, 2024 . Deadline . en-US.
  14. Web site: Kit . Borys . March 21, 2022 . Nik Dodani, Brandon Flynn Join New Line Comedy 'The Parenting' (Exclusive) . July 26, 2022 . The Hollywood Reporter . en-US.
  15. Web site: Dar . Taimur . June 26, 2023 . New characters make their debut in Big Nate Season 2 . February 11, 2024 . The Beat . en-US.
  16. Web site: Petski . Denise . May 17, 2021 . 'The Owl House' Renewed For Season 3 By Disney Channel Ahead Of Season 2 Premiere . February 11, 2024 . Deadline . en-US.
  17. Web site: June 8, 2023 . 'Hailey's On It' starring Auli'i Cravalho, Manny Jacinto premieres on Disney Channel . February 11, 2024 . Yahoo News . en-US.
  18. Web site: Yount . Stacey . April 6, 2022 . Mira, Royal Detective to feature four extended-length specials that celebrate Bollywood music and dance . February 11, 2024 . BollySpice.com - The latest movies, interviews in Bollywood . en-US.
  19. Web site: November 23, 2022 . Strange World (2022) (B+) . February 11, 2024 . The A.V. Club . en.
  20. Web site: October 19, 2021 . Nik Dodani . December 9, 2021 . Playbill.
  21. News: Murphy Brown Star Jokes About Being Gay and Indian on Stephen Colbert. September 29, 2018. October 1, 2018. en.
  22. https://variety.com/2018/film/news/murphy-brown-star-nik-dodani-writing-blue-boy-script-1202979041/ "Film News Roundup: 'Murphy Brown' Star Nik Dodani Writing 'Blue Boy' Script"
  23. Web site: March 14, 2022 . Nik Dodani, Fresh Off Broadway, Is Ready to Be the Main Character . July 26, 2022 . Teen Vogue . en-US.
  24. Web site: Kumar . Arun . May 1, 2023 . Life of Pi initiative for South Asian and AAPI community - The American Bazaar . February 11, 2024 . en-US.
  25. http://theinterrobang.com/comedy-competition-will-focus-on-taking-down-trump/ "Comedy Competition Will Focus on Taking Down Trump"
  26. http://www.oxy.edu/magazine/fall-2012/newsmakers%E2%80%A8 "Newsmakers"
  27. News: Bhavani . Divya-Kala . September 24, 2021 . Nik Dodani, Sujata Day, Kiran Deol on the evolving space for Indian-origin creatives in western cinema . The Hindu.
  28. News: Janes . Chelsea . Americans react to Kamala Harris's historic victory: 'Look baby, she looks like us.' . December 1, 2020 . The Washington Post . en-US . 0190-8286.
  29. Web site: November 23, 2020 . Kamala Harris as Auntie: How Art Helped Fashion an Iconic Role . December 1, 2020 . KQED . en-us.
  30. Web site: Ramos . Dino-Ray . October 26, 2020 . Padma Lakshmi, Aasif Mandvi, Nik Dodani And More Celebrate Kamala Harris As First South Asian VP Candidate, Discuss Power Of Voting . December 1, 2020 . Deadline . en-US.
  31. Web site: Ramos . Dino-Ray . October 12, 2020 . 'Atypical' Cast, Biden Campaign And White People 4 Black Lives Team For Election Events . December 1, 2020 . Deadline . en-US.
  32. Web site: September 29, 2018. 'Murphy Brown' Star Nik Dodani Explains How Being Gay is a Lot Like Being Indian. November 3, 2019. Hornet. en.
  33. News: IANS. February 6, 2019. LGBTQ lives being reflected on screen: Nik Dodani. Business Standard India. November 4, 2019.
  34. Web site: Homegrown . Gay, Indian And Disappointed: Check Out Nik Dodani's Brand Of Stand-Up Comedy . July 3, 2022 . homegrown.co.in . June 8, 2021 . en.
  35. Web site: Alumni Spotlight on Actor/comedian/activist Nik Dodani '11 – News – BASIS Alumni Association . July 3, 2022 . basisalumni.org . en-us . December 3, 2022 . https://web.archive.org/web/20221203174719/https://www.basisalumni.org/news/14195 . dead.
  36. https://www.tribecafilm.com/films/a-frame-2024 The A-Frame Midnight World Premiere

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