We’re Audibly "Awwing" Over the Romantic Gift Nik Dodani Bought His Boyfriend


Image Source: Getty / Emma McIntyre

In our Q&A series POPSUGAR Crush, we get to know some of our favorite celebs’ more intimate details — from their favorite flirty emoji to their most valuable relationship advice. This month, we’re crushing on Nik Dodani.

Nik Dodani captured audiences with his starring role on Netflix’s Atypical, and he’s sure to do the same with Dear Evan Hansen. In the movie adaptation of the hit Broadway musical, the 27-year-old plays Jared, the family friend of the titular Evan Hansen, who acts as one of the few comics reliefs in the story. To perfectly capture the essence of who Jared is, Nik performed an equally “outrageous” song for his audition: “I Know Him” by King George in Hamilton. “I wanted to pick something that was fun, so I could distract from the fact that I’m not a singer,” he joked to POPSUGAR.

After learning he booked the role, Nik said one of the first things he did was track down a bootleg version of Ben Platt performing with the original Broadway cast. “I had listened to the music a bunch, and I was familiar with the story, but I hadn’t seen it,” he explained. “While I don’t always condone bootlegs, I’m very happy this one existed, because it was also during COVID, so I couldn’t go see it.” For the adaptation, Nik wanted to make the character of Jared — who was originally played by Will Roland in the Broadway musical — his own. “Every role that I do, I try to bring a piece of myself. Stephen Chbosky and Steven Levenson, the director and screenwriter, were really open in terms of bringing some of my own ideas and elements to Jared. So what you see on the screen is a nice mix of all of our visions for him.”

While the musical and film has received criticism for Evan Hansen’s flawed motives and choices throughout the story, Nik noted that the film does its best to acknowledge those criticisms with a new ending. “In the stage version, there wasn’t really any accountability for Evan,” he said. “It’s a very moving and uplifting film, but Evan does some really dark, questionable things. He’s not a flawless hero by any means. In the film, he acknowledges that, and there is a bit of accountability that we didn’t see in the original, which I really enjoy because I think it’s so important to be honest about the messages.”

Ultimately, Nik hopes people walk away from the film with the same reaction he did: “[that] it’s OK to not be OK.” “It’s OK to talk about it,” he added. “What’s been a really cool experience for me doing the film and then talking about it the past few weeks has been my comfort level with talking about my own struggles has just gone up. The conversations I’ve had with my family and my friends and my partner have gotten a lot more candid, and I hope people walk away with a similar feeling and experience.” Read more of Nik’s POPSUGAR Crush interview ahead, and be sure to check out Dear Evan Hansen when it releases on Sept. 24.


Image Source: Everett Collection

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