It's the role he was born to play.
Based on the 2014 book, Remember the Time: Protecting Michael Jackson in His Final Days, written by two of Michael Jackson's bodyguards, Lifetime's Searching for Neverland depicts the final years of the King of Pop's life, with world-famous impersonator Navi making his acting debut. And for fans of Jackson, the resemblance, and Navi's performance, will give them chills.
But for Navi, it's just his job, as he's been impersonating Jackson for 28 years, and even worked for Jackson before his death in 2009.
"I met Michael several times, I worked for him on several occasions," Navi told E! News when we visited the set of the Lifetime biopic, airing May 29. "I performed at his birthday parties in New York and Los Angeles, went to Neverland, so I met him on many occasions, good and bad.
"Michael has always been a gentleman, he's always been humble and encouraging," he continued. "He's always told me, 'You're a great dancer.' To be honest, whether you met Michael once or 25 times, it's still amazing."
Navi spent about four hours in hair and make-up every day in order to transform into Jackson while filming Searching for Neverland. But one thing he didn't need to get into character was advice from the legendary star, who only offered encouragement during their time together.
"He's very encouraging. He would say, 'You're an amazing dancer, do you practice every day?'" Navi told us. "And I would say, 'Michael, you're amazing.' And he would be really shy, and be like, 'Really? Do you think so? Really?' I'm thinking he is he winding me up, is he making fun? But he's genuinely very insecure, very shy, very sweet to people."
Serving as a decoy for the star on several occasions, Navi said he's witnessed firsthand how much Jackson "loved people," saying, "I've been in hotels where he will dress up and go out and stand with the publicthat's looking up at him...dressed as an old lady or old man."
To hear more from Navi about his time with Michael Jackson and how he feels playing the iconic performer in his acting debut, watch the video above.
Michael Jackson: Searching for Neverland airs Monday, May 29 at 8 p.m. on Lifetime.