The world would be hard pressed to find someone as cool as Nikita Dragun. She truly is a renaissance woman. She does just about everything- and she does it well. For years she has showcased her enviable talent when it comes to makeup skills, as she teaches her adoring subscribers how to effortlessly blend out shadow in her many beauty videos on Youtube. On top of her consistent uploads, recently she has gifted the world a wig line with Bellami Hair so our edges can be just as snatched and laid as hers. Thank you sis. Let’s also remember she just became the face of Morphe’s sickening, multi-shaded red lipstick line that just dropped. No one does a a crimson lip quite like Nikita, but we can try! All her past ventures have led her to her newest success- acting in pal Joey Graceffa’s wildly popular Youtube Red Series Escape the Night. I was lucky enough to get to interview the star and ask her all my burning questions about her involvement in Season 3.
Dragun and Graceffa, producer and actor of Escape the Night, have been long time friends, so naturally I was curious to know if Nikita had ever spoken with Graceffa about appearing on the murder mystery, reality competition web series. When asked about her opportunity to star in the show, she enthusiastically explained how she never thought about acting in it because she was always such a massive fan. She explains to me how that all changed as she said, “Joey came to me and said they needed some “extra” flavor added to the show and of course that’s me.” In true Nikita fashion, she knows she has that oomph that totally jazzes up anything she immerses herself in. Escape the Night has done incredibly well these past two seasons receiving high praise and remarks from critics everywhere. Season 3 is set in a town that is stuck in the 1970’s and needs to be saved. Not able to give any details away, Nikita describes this season as “definitely a roller coaster just like every other season. The unexpected is to be expected & everyone should hold onto their wigs and be ready to be shook.”
Nikita plays the “Troublemaker”; obviously she must stir the pot and cause some drama in the series. I desperately wanted some major spoilers about what she gets herself into, but all she could tell me was “I’m definitely a troublemaker in that trouble follows me, so I was put in a lot of situations where I had to battle for my life and push myself beyond just makeup and wigs.” Funny enough it seems her real self, Bellami Hair icon and Morphe babe, is proving that her character, glammed to the gods, is more than just a pretty face. Nikita and her character are really showing off just how spectacular her acting chops are- she really is a jack of all trades.
Just as the first two seasons, Graceffa has lined up a star studded cast to act in this season of Escape the Night. Some notable actors and actresses include Colleen Ballinger (aka Miranda Sings), JC Caylen, and Safiya Nygaard. Half the fun of the show lies in watching some of your favorite Youtubers from wildly different genres come together to create a hilarious show. That’s not to say that some Youtubers on this season aren’t from the same background. MannyMUA, renowned makeup artist and beauty influencer, stars as “The Record Producer” alongside Nikita “The Troublemaker”. Both Manny and Nikita are huge figures in the beauty community on Youtube. The two are incredibly close friends; and I just had to know what it was like for her to work alongside one of her dearest mates. She recounts that “It was crazy working with Manny on this! It’s great we both experienced something hard to explain to others together; like we’ll always have this moment together. It was also a competitive advantage, as we were both in it to win it. BUT it it was competition and we eventually had to battle it out….. and you’ll see how that turns out.” I know I speak for fans when I say we are dying to know if these two friends make it to the end of the series.
It is so cool to see the Youtube community of creators coming together to star in a show produced by a Youtube creator himself. Nikita feels the same exact way. I asked her what it felt like to star in a cast full of fellow creators and she gave the sweetest answer in response saying,
“It was shocking. At the time I didn’t even have 1M on YT and all these people in the cast, I was huge fans of them. I realized quickly I was the underdog and I had to snap into reality.” Then once again, in true Nikita fashion, she ends with a hilarious one liner saying, “So maybe at first I was freaking out and fangirling for these huge stars, at end of day if I had to kill these bitches to possibly win, they had to go.” Comments like these are why she is so loved; her lingo is the same whether she crafts a tweet or responds to an interview question.
Nikita’s transparency about being a trans female is so incredible. Her social presence is no doubt helping so many people like her see that the trans community can accomplish so much. Hollywood is already a cutthroat industry, and it isn’t easy for trans actors and actresses to book gigs. I wanted to ask Nikita if she had any words of advice for trans men and women trying to jump start their career in the field she is working in. She answered, “Although being trans is huge part of identity it’s not everything and it’s about being more than just the label.” I felt like her response was an excellent reminder to society to remember that trans people are just people with the same talents as any other person. Great acting should be seen as great acting regardless of sex. Nikita is a testament to this, just watch Season 3 baby.
Lucky for us draguns, Nikita isn’t going anywhere on the acting scene- she is here to stay baby! In wrapping up our interview, I had to ask Dragun if she was going to continue this facet of her career in the future. Thank God she replied “absolutely”. I had no clue that growing up she had studied and participated in musical theater and performance. After watching her for years on Youtube, it is now easy to see where she developed her brilliant, dramatic personality. Our interview ends with some exciting news a she reveals, “This year I’ll be pulling out a lot of things people won’t expect. Acting is just the start!” Keep all eyes on Ms. Nikita Dragun people-all eyes.
Catch Nikita on Season 3 of Escape the Night now on YoutubeRed!