Anoop Desai made Idol’s Top 7, then played Harrison Ford’s role

College solos led to Idol’s wild card

Desai graduated from the University of North Carolina in 2008 with a degree in political science and American studies. His musical work there included the Clef Hangers, the college a cappella group for which he served as music director in his junior year and president in his senior year. His solo on “She Has No Time” received BOCA 2007 recognition. In American Idol’s 2009 Wild Card round, he sang “My Prerogative” and advanced into the Top 13.

“Always on My Mind” earned Cowell’s praise

On Idol, “Beat It” brought criticism from Simon Cowell. Desai’s performance of “Always on My Mind” earned praise from Cowell and helped secure his place among the touring finalists. Singing remained his stated priority when Ryan Seacrest asked about acting on CNN’s Larry King Live on May 25, 2009. Desai said he had acted in high school and wanted to experiment with it. He described his position in a short sentence: “I’m a singer first.”

He and his manager paid for All Is Fair

By May 2010, Desai had released the independent EP All Is Fair, mixing pop, R&B and Indian musical influences. He co-wrote its songs with three groups of writers, using relationships and other personal experiences as material. The business required his own money as well. “I started the label with my manager,” he told Lavina Melwani. They created it to release the project and paid from their own pockets. The lead single, “My Name,” addressed his experience of being mocked for his name and his decision to embrace his identity.

TOTEM took his songs to Lollapalooza

In 2012, Desai began writing and performing as TOTEM. His first songs under that name appeared anonymously on small blogs. By 2016, he was performing at Lollapalooza in Chicago, where his BMI stage set included “Bubblegum.” He signed with Atlas Publishing that August. By November, his songs had reached two million Spotify streams, and he had released “Shadows.” His songwriting work extended overseas: by 2019, artists on three continents had recorded his music, and he was developing projects in Los Angeles, Stockholm and Seoul while working primarily from a Brooklyn studio.

The Secret Garden opened a route back to theater

Desai played Fakir in a developmental lab of The Secret Garden in 2018. The following year, he made his Off-Broadway debut in The Wrong Man at MCC Theater. Written by Ross Golan and directed by Thomas Kail, the musical followed Duran, a man accused of a murder he said he had never committed. Desai joined a company headed by Joshua Henry, Ciara Renée and Ryan Vasquez. Performances began on September 18, 2019, at the Robert W. Wilson MCC Theater Space. Travis Wall supplied the choreography, and Alex Lacamoire supervised the music.

A Djinn with a clipboard became a recurring role

Television roles followed: Desai played Dev Satyal in Billions and Ravi in Little Voice in 2020. In 2022, he appeared as Salim in Russian Doll and Larry in Evil. That year, What We Do in the Shadows introduced him as the Djinn, a character with glasses and a clipboard who granted the vampire Nandor wishes. His work included helping Nandor bring his dead wives back to life so he could choose a spouse. Desai returned to the role in 2023. In 2022, he told Vulture, “I have always been an actor.”

Film roles led into another year of television

Desai made his film debut as Josh in The Adults in 2023. His screen work continued in 2024 with Robert in Babygirl and Raj Masihajjar in Under the Bridge. In the latter, he played Reena Virk’s uncle, who accompanied her father to the police station to report her disappearance. Desai appeared in six episodes of the series. In 2025, he played Ben Harris in St. Denis Medical. His appearance came in the episode Listen to Your Ladybugs, continuing his work in television alongside his film roles.

Working Girl gave him Harrison Ford’s role

In 2025, Desai played Jack Trainer in La Jolla Playhouse’s world premiere of Working Girl, taking the role Harrison Ford had played in the 1988 film. Joanna “JoJo” Levesque played Tess, the secretary whose business ambitions brought her into Jack’s orbit. Cyndi Lauper supplied music and lyrics, Theresa Rebeck wrote the book, and Christopher Ashley directed. Desai’s Jack was portrayed as Indian American, with a background that made him an outsider in the business world. His number “Dream in Royalty” included Michael Jackson dance moves. The production performed at the Mandell Weiss Theatre from October 28 to December 14.

A new musical announced him for March 2026

In March 2026, Desai was announced as a cast member for Starting Up, a musical comedy written by Garett Press and directed by Jen Wineman. Three industry presentations were scheduled for March 26 and 27 at Ballet Hispánico. The announced company included Sam Primack and Erin Morton, with music supervision and arrangements by Terence “T” Odonkor. The story followed young marketers Lacey and Scott at the start of their technology careers in 2010, facing a new technology that could change their future.

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