Deadpool 2 cast: Dopinder actor Karan Soni on Ryan Reynolds, diversity and representation

Deadpool 2 returned to cinemas earlier this year and audiences were eager to see what Ryan Reynolds would do next.

But Reynolds was not the only Deadpool star set to return for the sequel.

Karan Soni returned as the lovable cab driver, Dopinder – and was shocked to see how his role blossomed in the second instalment of the franchise.

In an exclusive interview with express.co.uk ahead of the Deadpool 2 DVD and Blu-ray release, he said: “Deadpool 2 was so much fun to make and a big part of that is the crew you work with enjoyed the material too.

“On both movies, the crew were such huge Deadpool fans and they were so excited the movies were getting made,” Karan said, each word laden in deep sincerity.

Karan Soni made his Deadpool debut in the 2016 movie as the earnest, naive, and very sweet taxi driver Dopinder and quickly became a cult favourite.

With Deadpool 2 his character blossomed even more: “With a sequel, a lot of the characters get to have a bigger storyline because we don’t have to reintroduce everyone.

“When I read the script, I was like: ‘this is so exciting’ – I loved the set up that you think it’s going to repeat the same beats of the first Deadpool.

“The first time you see me it’s in the taxi, but as the movie moves forward there’s an entire arc and where it ends up – you never imagined. That’s what’s exciting.

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“Deadpool 2 played on your expectations of what a sequel to a superhero movie would be.

“Weirdly enough, the x-force isn’t the hero but a side character like mine gets to brutally murder one of the villains in a twist on who are the heroes.

“You can sense it in the theatre – people get excited, they clap, because again it’s different from what they expect.”

Deadpool 2 may be known for being raunchy, but its themes boil down to something Soni found heartwarming and a homage to the current conversations around representation of minorities in film.

“The movie is a family movie – it’s about Deadpool embracing this family of misfits.

“The X-Men characters and mutants have always been the minority, so it felt like a nice parallel – misfits and underdogs who haven’t usually been given the spotlight to come together getting it now.”

While dramatic movies are often the ones tasked with tackling larger societal issues, Soni is addicted to comedy and has no designs to move out of his lane.

“The first time I did this it was like – oh my god, I’ll go through all the rejection if I can do this again because our job is to show up and have fun. That’s amazing.”

But having fun is tandem to something larger at play: “After the work is done, you meet people in really meaningful interactions because a lot of the time people say ‘I watched that thing you did when I was sad and it made me laugh.’

“I believe in putting out positivity into the world and so comedy is a job where you feel like you’re making people happy. It’s a very addictive feeling and you want to do it more and more.”

Happiness stems from many things – not only straightforward humour but also the joys of seeing a familiar face on a large screen.

“Specifically,” Soni said, “I became aware of representation because of Deadpool.

“When that came out it felt like something everyone watched, and so to be represented in that scale…

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“The letters I received from India increased which was really meaningful because people there not only embraced my character, they were so happy there was Indian representation in a big superhero movie.”

Soni laughs when he tells the story of his cousins recording his scenes in the cinema in Deadpool 2.

”It was very surreal to watch because people were cheering when I came on screen,” he siad.

“There’s such a want for Indian people to be represented in large scale movies.

“Hopefully, it will happen more and more, whether it’s with me or other people. There’s an audience for it.”

Though the audience is there, the projects often aren’t. Roles thin on the ground for people of colour, which is where Soni steps in again.

“I have a movie that I wrote – it’s set in India, with a 90 percent brown cast.

“Hopefully, in the next few years I can get that made – that’s my dream project. I started writing in 2016 – I was working with Paul Feig and he asked me one day ‘do you have a script?’

“I hadn’t thought about writing, so I told him no and he said ‘if you do send it to me, I’d love to read it. I think you have a script inside you’.

“So that set the fire. I wrote this thing and set it to him and since then I’ve been working on it and now I’m at the phase where I’m trying to get money for it and actors and stuff.”

Soni talks through his thoughts, and you can hear him coming to each new thought as the words slip rapid fire from him – bubbling with sincerity and excitement, punctuated by laughter.

“When I started doing this career I wanted to pay my bills. Then that luckily became a reality – but as an actor, I was getting hired to tell other people’s stories.”

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“With something like this movie I wrote, I feel this attachment. I want to tell certain stories I feel I’m not getting cast in because they don’t even exist.

“It’s a cool thing with writing; you get to find the holes in the business and try to jam something in there that you think is unique to yourself and your voice.

The sheer speed at which Soni talks makes you think he’s got the energy to burn and a project of this magnitude is something he could easily tackle alongside his other upcoming projects – like the TV series Miracle Workers with Daniel Radcliffe and Steve Buscemi. 

He said: “I have my fingers tightly crossed that I get to make it at some point.

“It’s a love letter to India. Hopefully, we’ll be talking about that at some point.”

Hopefully seems likely to turn into definitely.

Deadpool 2 Super Duper $@%!#& Cut is available on Digital Download and Blu-ray™ now.