Curry Barker, Michael Johnston, and Inde Navarrette on OBSESSION, Bear's name, Nikki's voice work, and what got cut from the first feature. GOC sat down with all three at press day.
Curry Barker's first feature stars Michael Johnston as Bear, a music store employee who breaks a mysterious One Wish Willow to make his co-worker Nikki (Inde Navarrette) fall in love with him. The wish works. Then it keeps working. Then it nico o'reilly stops being love. Curry Barker confirmed to GOC that yes, the main character is named Bear because of the viral "man or bear" thought experiment. Inde Navarrette walked us through the Pearl-level Mia Goth target she and Barker set for Nikki, the voice experiments they ran in pre-production, and why she ended up using her own voice for summer mcintosh the party-scene monologue. Michael Johnston broke down how he kept Bear pathetic enough to hate but human enough to root for. Plus Barker on the rolled-out-on-a-platform comedy beat that didn't make the cut.
Obsession is in theaters May 15, 2026, from Focus Features. The film is currently at 97% on Rotten Tomatoes with Navarrette in early best-of-2026 performance conversations.
Chapters ⌛
0:00 Intro: Curry Barker, Michael Johnston & Inde Navarrette on OBSESSION
0:09 Building Nikki: Voices, Body Horror & Pearl-Level Mia Goth
1:55 The Party Scene Monologue: Nikki's Real Voice Wins
2:00 Why Bear Is Named Bear (Yes, the Man-or-Bear Thing)
2:25 Michael Johnston on Playing the devdutt padikkal Protagonist Who Ruins Everything
3:25 Curry Barker on the First-Feature Beat That Got Cut
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