Nik Dodani
Dodani in 2018
Born (1993-12-19) December 19, 1993
Dallas, Texas, U.S.[1]
Occupations
  • Actor
  • comedian
Years active2008–present
Known for

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]

He also starred in the 2019 thriller Escape Room[4] and the 2021 film adaptation of Dear Evan Hansen.[5] He made his Broadway debut as Ogie in Waitress from October 19 to November 27, 2021.[6]

Career

Acting

In addition to Netflix's Atypical and CBS's Murphy Brown, Dodani has appeared in Netflix's Trinkets, TBS's Angie Tribeca, Comedy Central's Idiotsitter,[7] Freeform's Kevin from Work, and NBC's The Player.[8] He also appeared in the Netflix film Alex Strangelove,[9] Joshua Leonard's independent film Dark Was the Night opposite Marisa Tomei and Charlie Plummer,[10] and the Sony Pictures thriller Escape Room.[11]

In February 2020, he joined the cast of Hannah Marks' feature film Mark, Mary & Some Other People.[12] In August 2020, he joined the cast of 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.[5][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.[14]

Stand-up comedy

Dodani made his late-night stand-up comedy debut on The Late Show with Stephen Colbert on September 28, 2018.[15]

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.[16] In March 2022, Dodani launched his own production banner, Cosmic Pomegranate, with creative partner Joey Long.[14][17]

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."[18]

Political activities

Dodani was active in organizing the South Asian community in support of the Joe Biden 2020 presidential campaign and in support of Kamala Harris.[19][20] He also played an active role in organizing other entertainers for the Biden campaign as well as the Black Lives Matter movement.[21][22]

During the 2016 presidential election, Dodani was a producer for MoveOn, where he organized a political comedy tour called Laughter Trumps Hate.[23] 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.[24]

Personal life

Dodani is of Indian descent and openly gay.[25][26] He graduated from Basis Scottsdale in 2011 and studied politics at Occidental College in Los Angeles.[27][28]

Filmography

Key
† Denotes works that have not yet been released

Film

YearTitleRoleNotes
2016 Other People Ron
The Good Neighbor Sanjay
2018 Alex Strangelove Blake
Dark Was the Night Seamus
2019 Escape Room Danny Khan
2021 Mark, Mary & Some Other People Kyle
Dear Evan Hansen Jared Kalwani
2022 Strange World Kardez Voice role
2024 Twisters † Filming
TBA The Parenting † Rohan Post-production

Television

YearTitleRoleNotes
2008Living with AbandonPakuTV movie
2014The ComebackHarry2 episodes
SelfieBookstore Employee1 episode
2015Kevin from WorkPaul Garfunkle2 episodes
The PlayerSolomon Desai1 episode
2017–2021AtypicalZahid Raja37 episodes
2017Idiotsitter1 episode
2018Murphy BrownPat Patel13 episodes
2018Angie TribecaCRISPIN_GLOVES0FF2951 episode
2019–2020TrinketsChase6 episodes
2021The Owl HouseGavin (voice)Episode: "Through the Looking Glass Ruins"
2022Big NateRandy Betancourt (voice)Recurring cast
Mira, Royal DetectiveAnish (voice)Episode: "Mikku and Chikku's Hometown Mystery"
2023Hailey's On It!Thad (voice)Recurring cast

References

  1. ↑ "Nik Dodani – Murphy Brown Cast Member" – via www.cbs.com.
  2. ↑ Fernandez, Maria Elena. "Atypical Creator Robia Rashid on Autism: 'I Had to Do a Lot of Real Learning'". Vulture. Retrieved August 15, 2017.
  3. ↑ Andreeva, Nellie (March 16, 2018). "'Murphy Brown': Jake McDorman To Play Son Avery in CBS Revival; Nik Dodani Cast". Deadline. Retrieved December 1, 2020.
  4. ↑ N'Duka, Amanda (September 22, 2017). "Tyler Labine, 'Insecure's Jay Ellis & Nik Dodani Join Sony's 'The Maze'". Deadline. Retrieved December 1, 2020.
  5. 1 2 Kroll, Justin (August 19, 2020). "Nik Dodani and Colton Ryan Join Universal's 'Dear Evan Hansen' Adaptation". Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved August 19, 2020.
  6. ↑ "Nik Dodani". Playbill. October 19, 2021. Retrieved December 9, 2021.
  7. ↑ "Nik Dodani Boards 'Alex Strangelove'" Deadline Hollywood, and Netflix's Atypical. Retrieved July 6, 2017.
  8. ↑ "Scoop: THE PLAYER on NBC – Tonight, October 22, 2015" Broadway World. Retrieved April 28, 2016.
  9. ↑ "Netflix original 'Alex Stangelove' to feature Indian-American actor Nik Dodani" Times of India. Retrieved July 6, 2017.
  10. ↑ "Marisa Tomei, Timothy Olyphant Starring in 'Behold My Heart'" Variety. Retrieved April 28, 2016.
  11. ↑ N'Duka, Amanda (September 22, 2017). "Tyler Labine, 'Insecure's Jay Ellis & Nik Dodani Join Sony's 'The Maze'". Deadline. Retrieved November 7, 2017.
  12. ↑ 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". Deadline. Retrieved December 1, 2020.
  13. ↑ Lakritz, Talia. "How old the stars of the 'Dear Evan Hansen' movie are compared to their characters". Insider. Retrieved June 1, 2021.
  14. 1 2 Kit, Borys (March 21, 2022). "Nik Dodani, Brandon Flynn Join New Line Comedy 'The Parenting' (Exclusive)". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved July 26, 2022.
  15. ↑ "Murphy Brown Star Jokes About Being Gay and Indian on Stephen Colbert". September 29, 2018. Retrieved October 1, 2018.
  16. ↑ "Film News Roundup: 'Murphy Brown' Star Nik Dodani Writing 'Blue Boy' Script". Variety, October 12, 2018.
  17. ↑ "Nik Dodani, Fresh Off Broadway, Is Ready to Be the Main Character". Teen Vogue. March 14, 2022. Retrieved July 26, 2022.
  18. ↑ 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.
  19. ↑ Janes, Chelsea. "Americans react to Kamala Harris's historic victory: 'Look baby, she looks like us.'". Washington Post. ISSN 0190-8286. Retrieved December 1, 2020.
  20. ↑ "Kamala Harris as Auntie: How Art Helped Fashion an Iconic Role". KQED. November 23, 2020. Retrieved December 1, 2020.
  21. ↑ 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". Deadline. Retrieved December 1, 2020.
  22. ↑ Ramos, Dino-Ray (October 12, 2020). "'Atypical' Cast, Biden Campaign And White People 4 Black Lives Team For Election Events". Deadline. Retrieved December 1, 2020.
  23. ↑ "Comedy Competition Will Focus on Taking Down Trump" The Interroband. Retrieved October 1, 2016.
  24. ↑ "Newsmakers" Archived May 6, 2016, at the Wayback Machine Occidental College. Retrieved April 28, 2016.
  25. ↑ "'Murphy Brown' Star Nik Dodani Explains How Being Gay is a Lot Like Being Indian". Hornet. September 29, 2018. Retrieved November 3, 2019.
  26. ↑ IANS (February 6, 2019). "LGBTQ lives being reflected on screen: Nik Dodani". Business Standard India. Retrieved November 4, 2019.
  27. ↑ Homegrown (June 8, 2021). "Gay, Indian And Disappointed: Check Out Nik Dodani's Brand Of Stand-Up Comedy". homegrown.co.in. Retrieved July 3, 2022.
  28. ↑ "Alumni Spotlight on Actor/comedian/activist Nik Dodani '11 – News – BASIS Alumni Association". www.basisalumni.org. Archived from the original on December 3, 2022. Retrieved July 3, 2022.
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