# Karan Soni (करण सोनी)
**Karan Soni** (करण सोनी; born 1989) is an Indian-born American actor, writer, and director based in Los Angeles, best known for playing the cab driver Dopinder in the *Deadpool* films and for voicing Spider-Man India ([Pavitr Prabhakar](https://www.edgepedia.org/spider-man-pavitr-prabhakar)) in *Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse*.[1](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm4175221/) • [2](https://sites.disney.com/disney-television-discovers/karan-soni/) • [3](https://www.vogue.in/content/in-a-nice-indian-boy-actor-karan-soni-questions-why-two-gay-men-cant-have-their-own-ddlj) In 2025 he took his second lead film role, in the queer romantic comedy *[A Nice Indian Boy](https://www.edgepedia.org/a-nice-indian-boy)*, directed by his partner [Roshan Sethi](https://www.edgepedia.org/roshan-sethi).[4](https://news.sky.com/story/a-nice-indian-boy-roshan-sethi-and-karan-soni-on-representation-and-identity-on-screen-13247433)
| Key fact | Detail |
|---|---|
| Born | 1989, New Delhi, India; based in Los Angeles[1](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm4175221/) • [2](https://sites.disney.com/disney-television-discovers/karan-soni/) |
| Education | BA, USC School of Dramatic Arts, class of 2011[5](https://dramaticarts.usc.edu/alumni-qa-karan-soni-ba-11/) |
| Breakout role | Dopinder, a cab driver, in *Deadpool* (2016); reprised in *Deadpool 2* (2018) and *Deadpool & Wolverine* (2024)[1](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm4175221/) • [6](https://www.indiatoday.in/movies/celebrities/story/karan-soni-would-cast-ranveer-singh-as-a-marvel-villain-exclusive-2573676-2024-07-30) |
| Voice role | Pavitr Prabhakar, Spider-Man India, in *Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse*[3](https://www.vogue.in/content/in-a-nice-indian-boy-actor-karan-soni-questions-why-two-gay-men-cant-have-their-own-ddlj) |
| Writing and producing | Co-wrote, starred in, and produced the Independent Spirit Award-winning feature *7 Days*[2](https://sites.disney.com/disney-television-discovers/karan-soni/) |
| Directing | Episodes of HBO's *Room 104* and ABC's *Abbott Elementary*[2](https://sites.disney.com/disney-television-discovers/karan-soni/) |
| Lead roles | *7 Days*, then *A Nice Indian Boy* (2025), opposite Jonathan Groff[4](https://news.sky.com/story/a-nice-indian-boy-roshan-sethi-and-karan-soni-on-representation-and-identity-on-screen-13247433) |
## Early life and education
Soni was born in New Delhi and moved to the United States in 2007.[1](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm4175221/) • [7](https://navbharattimes.indiatimes.com/entertainment/interviews/karan-soni-exclusive-deadpool-and-wolverine-fame-actor-he-wants-to-work-with-alia-bhatt-ranvir-singh-ranbir-kapoor/amp_articleshow/112190243.cms) He attended the [University of Southern California](https://www.edgepedia.org/university-of-southern-california), graduating from the School of Dramatic Arts in 2011; in a later alumni interview he recalled that his acceptance letter arrived the day he returned home from a campus tour.[5](https://dramaticarts.usc.edu/alumni-qa-karan-soni-ba-11/)
His first screen appearance was as Kemal in Yusuf Sumer's short comedy *Kaka Nirvana* (2010), co-starring Rachel Quinn.[1](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm4175221/) He has described his early auditioning years as narrow: starting professionally in 2010, he was up only for co-star parts of five lines or fewer, at a time when he saw [Mindy Kaling](https://www.edgepedia.org/mindy-kaling) on *The Office* and [Aziz Ansari](https://www.edgepedia.org/aziz-ansari) on *Parks and Recreation* as the extent of South Asian representation on American television.[4](https://news.sky.com/story/a-nice-indian-boy-roshan-sethi-and-karan-soni-on-representation-and-identity-on-screen-13247433)
## Deadpool and Dopinder
Soni's international breakthrough came as Dopinder in Tim Miller's *Deadpool* (2016), a cab driver who tells [Ryan Reynolds](https://www.edgepedia.org/ryan-reynolds)'s Wade Wilson about his love problems; the character was not in the comics, and Soni has said he was nervous fans would question who he was.[1](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm4175221/) • [8](https://www.cinemaexpress.com/stories/interviews/2018/may/15/i-get-to-do-action-this-time-deadpool-2-actor-karan-soni-6007.html) When he signed on for the first film, the studio optioned him for four more, and a week before release Reynolds emailed him, "See you in the sequel."[8](https://www.cinemaexpress.com/stories/interviews/2018/may/15/i-get-to-do-action-this-time-deadpool-2-actor-karan-soni-6007.html)
**A larger part in the sequel.** In David Leitch's *Deadpool 2* (2018), Dopinder returned as Deadpool's full-time getaway driver. Soni worked about three weeks on the first film and three months on the second, which had a bigger budget and larger action sequences, and his character got to do some action.[8](https://www.cinemaexpress.com/stories/interviews/2018/may/15/i-get-to-do-action-this-time-deadpool-2-actor-karan-soni-6007.html) He appeared again in *Deadpool & Wolverine* (2024), in a smaller role than he had hoped for; he said that after seeing the finished film he was happy to be part of it and would gladly return if asked.[7](https://navbharattimes.indiatimes.com/entertainment/interviews/karan-soni-exclusive-deadpool-and-wolverine-fame-actor-he-wants-to-work-with-alia-bhatt-ranvir-singh-ranbir-kapoor/amp_articleshow/112190243.cms)
## Film and television work
Beyond *Deadpool*, Soni's screen credits include *Safety Not Guaranteed*, *Ghostbusters*, *Detective Pikachu*, *Office Christmas Party*, *Always Be My Maybe*, *Like A Boss*, *The People We Hate at the Wedding*, and *Four Samosas*, with television appearances on *Will & Grace*, *Brooklyn Nine-Nine*, *The Goldbergs*, *Abbott Elementary*, and *Nobody Wants This*.[5](https://dramaticarts.usc.edu/alumni-qa-karan-soni-ba-11/) • [9](https://www.whattowatch.com/watching-guides/a-nice-indian-boy-release-date-trailer-cast-and-everything-we-know-about-the-rom-com) From 2019 he was a series regular as Sanjay/Lord Vexler on the TBS comedy *Miracle Workers* opposite [Daniel Radcliffe](https://www.edgepedia.org/daniel-radcliffe) and [Steve Buscemi](https://www.edgepedia.org/steve-buscemi), completing a four-season run; the second season filmed in Prague for three months.[2](https://sites.disney.com/disney-television-discovers/karan-soni/) • [5](https://dramaticarts.usc.edu/alumni-qa-karan-soni-ba-11/)
**Behind the camera.** Soni directed his first television episode for HBO's *[Room 104](https://www.edgepedia.org/room-104)* and later an episode of ABC's *Abbott Elementary*.[2](https://sites.disney.com/disney-television-discovers/karan-soni/) • [5](https://dramaticarts.usc.edu/alumni-qa-karan-soni-ba-11/) He co-wrote, starred in, and produced *7 Days*, a romantic comedy made with Roshan Sethi, which won an Independent Spirit Award.[2](https://sites.disney.com/disney-television-discovers/karan-soni/) He has said that an executive producer credit lets him contribute in prep, particularly casting, where he can bring in actors he knows to independent productions.[10](https://www.out.com/interviews/karan-soni-out-about)
## Spider-Man India
Soni voiced Pavitr Prabhakar, the Indian Spider-Man, in *Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse* (2023). He auditioned two or three years before release without knowing the role was [Spider-Man](https://www.edgepedia.org/spider-man), and after being cast worked with the filmmakers to rewrite lines so the character felt authentically Indian; the production also employed Indian animators and VFX artists.[3](https://www.vogue.in/content/in-a-nice-indian-boy-actor-karan-soni-questions-why-two-gay-men-cant-have-their-own-ddlj) • [7](https://navbharattimes.indiatimes.com/entertainment/interviews/karan-soni-exclusive-deadpool-and-wolverine-fame-actor-he-wants-to-work-with-alia-bhatt-ranvir-singh-ranbir-kapoor/amp_articleshow/112190243.cms) He has said he feels pride when non-Indian children name the Indian Spider-Man as their favorite.[7](https://navbharattimes.indiatimes.com/entertainment/interviews/karan-soni-exclusive-deadpool-and-wolverine-fame-actor-he-wants-to-work-with-alia-bhatt-ranvir-singh-ranbir-kapoor/amp_articleshow/112190243.cms)
## A Nice Indian Boy and work with Roshan Sethi
*A Nice Indian Boy*, based on Madhuri Shekar's play, stars Soni as Naveen, an introverted doctor who brings his fiancé Jay, played by [Jonathan Groff](https://www.edgepedia.org/jonathan-groff), home to his traditional Indian family.[4](https://news.sky.com/story/a-nice-indian-boy-roshan-sethi-and-karan-soni-on-representation-and-identity-on-screen-13247433) • [10](https://www.out.com/interviews/karan-soni-out-about) It was Soni's second lead role after *7 Days*, and both projects were directed by Roshan Sethi, his partner in life and work; the two met on a dating app.[4](https://news.sky.com/story/a-nice-indian-boy-roshan-sethi-and-karan-soni-on-representation-and-identity-on-screen-13247433) Soni came out to his parents at 19, and has described the film's subject, bringing a partner home to an Indian family, as drawn from his own experience.[3](https://www.vogue.in/content/in-a-nice-indian-boy-actor-karan-soni-questions-why-two-gay-men-cant-have-their-own-ddlj)
The film premiered on the festival circuit in 2024, screening at BFI London, NewFest, SXSW, and the Hamptons International Film Festival, and opened in US theaters on April 4, 2025.[3](https://www.vogue.in/content/in-a-nice-indian-boy-actor-karan-soni-questions-why-two-gay-men-cant-have-their-own-ddlj) • [9](https://www.whattowatch.com/watching-guides/a-nice-indian-boy-release-date-trailer-cast-and-everything-we-know-about-the-rom-com) Sethi has said the film was passed on by every major studio and every major financier except two, and that despite Soni's franchise credits the production still needed a white lead to be financeable, because independent films depend heavily on foreign pre-sales in the UK and Europe.[4](https://news.sky.com/story/a-nice-indian-boy-roshan-sethi-and-karan-soni-on-representation-and-identity-on-screen-13247433) Soni has made the same point from the actor's side: when he started in 2010 the studio executives he knew were all white, and that had changed only a little.[3](https://www.vogue.in/content/in-a-nice-indian-boy-actor-karan-soni-questions-why-two-gay-men-cant-have-their-own-ddlj)
## References
1. [Karan Soni, IMDb](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm4175221/)
2. [Karan Soni, Disney Television Discovers biography](https://sites.disney.com/disney-television-discovers/karan-soni/)
3. [In A Nice Indian Boy, actor Karan Soni questions why two gay men can't have their own DDLJ, Vogue India](https://www.vogue.in/content/in-a-nice-indian-boy-actor-karan-soni-questions-why-two-gay-men-cant-have-their-own-ddlj)
4. [A Nice Indian Boy: Roshan Sethi and Karan Soni on representation and identity on screen, Sky News](https://news.sky.com/story/a-nice-indian-boy-roshan-sethi-and-karan-soni-on-representation-and-identity-on-screen-13247433)
5. [Alumni Q&A: Karan Soni BA '11, USC School of Dramatic Arts](https://dramaticarts.usc.edu/alumni-qa-karan-soni-ba-11/)
6. [Karan Soni: Would cast Ranveer Singh as a Marvel villain, India Today](https://www.indiatoday.in/movies/celebrities/story/karan-soni-would-cast-ranveer-singh-as-a-marvel-villain-exclusive-2573676-2024-07-30)
7. [करण सोनी Exclusive, Navbharat Times](https://navbharattimes.indiatimes.com/entertainment/interviews/karan-soni-exclusive-deadpool-and-wolverine-fame-actor-he-wants-to-work-with-alia-bhatt-ranvir-singh-ranbir-kapoor/amp_articleshow/112190243.cms)
8. [I get to do action this time: Deadpool 2 actor Karan Soni, Cinema Express](https://www.cinemaexpress.com/stories/interviews/2018/may/15/i-get-to-do-action-this-time-deadpool-2-actor-karan-soni-6007.html)
9. [A Nice Indian Boy: how to watch, reviews, cast and everything we know, What to Watch](https://www.whattowatch.com/watching-guides/a-nice-indian-boy-release-date-trailer-cast-and-everything-we-know-about-the-rom-com)
10. [Out and About with Karan Soni, Out.com](https://www.out.com/interviews/karan-soni-out-about)
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*Topic: Encyclopedia › Arts and culture › Screen and stage › Film and television › Screen people and creators › Screen actors of South Asia › Indian screen actors, 2000s onward › Surnames Sh to S*
*Initially written Sep 17, 2026 · Reviewed: Sep 17, 2026; Sep 18, 2026; Oct 25, 2026 · Edited: Sep 18, 2026; Oct 12, 2026; Oct 25, 2026 · Last review: Oct 25, 2026*
*Copyright 2026 EdgeChat AI, a subsidiary of Biostate AI.*
License: Edgepedia Community License 1.0, https://www.edgepedia.org/edgepedia/license