Avantika Vandanapu on Mean Girls, Mindy Kaling & Taking Up Space

This week, Tommy is joined by actress Avantika Vandanapu, who is currently starring in Mindy Kaling’s Not Suitable for Work, a series about five work-obsessed twenty-something professionals living in New York City as they balance the chaos of their professional and personal lives. Today, Avantika opens up about how her life changed after the 2024 Mean Girls musical adaptation of the beloved classic, how Reneé Rapp helped her navigate the musical numbers, why leading Disney’s Spin will forever be meaningful to her, what she’s loved about being part of Hulu’s Not Suitable for Work, how she landed a role that wasn’t originally written for her, whether she wants her character to end up with Kel, why it’s important to take up space even when you feel like you might not belong, how she’s handled heartbreak in her career, the type of film she dreams of starring in, the advice she wants to ask Mindy Kaling, why Off Campus got its casting right, why she sometimes worries about sharing too much, and so much more. And be sure to catch the mini rapid-fire "Hot Takes and Hangouts" interview with Avantika out next Thursday, July 23! Subscribe, rate, and leave a written review if you enjoy this conversation! Tune in every week for new episodes of I’ve Never Said This Before.  Executive Producers: iHeart Media and Elvis Duran Podcast Network Producers: Andrew Pugliese, Stephanie Lane Follow us on socials!  Instagram: @neversaidthisbefore YouTube: @NeverSaidThisBeforeSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.