Gayety and LGBT editor Caitlynn McDaniel sits down with Maitreyi Ramakrishnan (aka Devi Vishwakumar), Jaren Lewison (aka Ben Gross), and Darren Barnet (aka Paxton Hall-Yoshida) from 'Never Have I Ever' to discuss their characters' growth and senior quotes they would give to their characters. Maitreyi says Devi would write a Megan Thee Stallion lyric and Caitlynn thinks Paxton's quote would "just be blank." All 4 seasons of 'Never Have I Ever' are now available to stream on Netflix.
Category
✨
PeopleTranscript
00:00 So great to see you guys, season four, how are you feeling?
00:02 - Good, good, feeling good.
00:04 - Okay, good.
00:05 The other ones have been kind of unsure,
00:06 a lot of feelings, a little numb.
00:08 So I know that this is a lot to take in
00:10 going into the finale, so I'm glad we're feeling good.
00:14 I mean, I just want to start off,
00:15 I know the show means a lot to everyone
00:17 with its representation and cultures and LGBTQ,
00:20 but then it also just has such amazing friendships
00:23 for people to see.
00:24 So what has this show meant to you all?
00:27 - I mean, the show is like on so many levels,
00:30 has meant so many things.
00:32 As an actor, it's meant the amazing opportunity
00:36 to portray such a great character
00:38 in a great show as a whole project.
00:41 As a human being, as just like a person on the planet,
00:44 it's nice to just see that kind of representation
00:47 and just see it mainstream.
00:49 And every single year that goes by,
00:51 it's questioned slightly less,
00:53 which I think is a nice goal
00:54 for any underrepresented group.
00:57 And then just on another level,
00:59 it's just awesome to be able to do what I love.
01:02 Like on a happiness level,
01:03 I'm pretty dang happy with what I get to do with my life.
01:07 That's a big, definite privilege.
01:10 - Yes, I love that.
01:11 - I think as an actor, it's like,
01:13 it's just a lifelong lesson in terms of like being present
01:16 and not taking things for granted.
01:19 It was over, I mean, this was what, four years of our lives?
01:22 And it just flew so quick,
01:24 and you go into other sets
01:26 and sometimes they're not as smooth
01:28 and what we had is invaluable.
01:30 You can't trade it.
01:31 And as a show, yeah, I mean,
01:33 it hits so many amazing points
01:34 in terms of just having an incredibly diverse cast
01:38 and telling honest stories as well as you can
01:41 through a medium like television.
01:42 But I think it's a testimony,
01:46 like when you talk about the characters,
01:47 you're capable more than you think,
01:49 and you should just keep striving for that.
01:52 - Yeah, I mean, it's been a dream come true.
01:53 It's been a dream come true for all of us.
01:55 And I think that, especially for us,
01:57 like the show found us at such a formative time
02:00 in our lives, both personally and career-wise,
02:02 and to be on a show, like they've said,
02:04 that means so much to so many people around the world
02:06 with different intersectionalities,
02:07 whatever they relate to, it's authentic to them.
02:10 And that's something that's really special
02:11 and really important.
02:12 And it's a dream come true to be a part of something
02:14 like that and have people come up to you
02:17 and tell you how much they love the show and their passion.
02:20 And it's so fierce and we're all very proud of that.
02:23 - Absolutely.
02:24 And also, I mean, the characters,
02:26 seeing them grow has been really fun
02:27 and going into season four, I mean,
02:29 we get to really see what they're gonna do next in life.
02:32 So I wanted to ask if you could give advice
02:34 to your season one character,
02:37 what would you tell them, knowing now what you know?
02:40 - Read a book, man.
02:41 (all laughing)
02:43 - Get ready.
02:43 - Read a book. - Read a book.
02:45 - Please, Austin. - I love that.
02:46 - Please.
02:47 - I think like Ben, less name drop.
02:50 - That's a good one.
02:51 - Let's kind of tone it down a little bit.
02:53 - Tone it down.
02:54 For Devi, honestly, I wouldn't say anything,
02:56 not that she was perfect,
02:58 but rather I feel like she best learns by messing up.
03:01 So I feel like if I stopped her mess up,
03:05 then she wouldn't have grown as authentically
03:07 as she needed to, 'cause she needed to learn
03:09 some hard lessons by messing up real hard.
03:13 - True, so just be like,
03:14 everything that happens, happens for a reason.
03:16 You'll be okay.
03:17 - It'll be something along the lines of just like,
03:19 learn a hair care routine.
03:21 Live life.
03:22 Take some time for yourself.
03:24 It'll be okay.
03:25 I love that. - Simple as that.
03:26 - And then, do you have a senior quote
03:29 that you would give to your character
03:31 for like the yearbook?
03:33 - So, I feel like the most realistic thing that Devi,
03:38 like think realistically,
03:38 what would your character do, right?
03:39 - I know, I'm thinking of like every business quote
03:41 I've ever--
03:42 - I think, I was thinking of like so many
03:45 Megan Thee Stallion lyrics,
03:47 because that would be very Devi,
03:50 but all of them have a lot of profanity,
03:51 the ones that I'm thinking of.
03:52 - So, it's just like explicit, explicit.
03:54 - Nah, she'd go all the way,
03:56 and then she'd get in trouble, but--
03:59 - And then her picture would just be blank.
04:00 They'd just pull her out.
04:01 - Yeah, but she would want some Megan Thee Stallion.
04:03 She totally would.
04:04 - I feel like Paxton would just be blank,
04:06 like he'd just forget.
04:06 - He'd be blank.
04:07 - Or I think something like motivational,
04:09 like his speech at the end.
04:11 - Or just like, reading is cooler than I thought,
04:14 and then,
04:15 (laughing)
04:16 - You're holding a book in the book.
04:17 - Yeah, I'm holding a book.
04:18 - Reading is cool.
04:20 - I think Ben would be something about business,
04:22 or like success, or like--
04:24 - Hustle harder.
04:24 - Yeah, something like that.
04:26 - The grind never stops.
04:27 - Yeah, the grind never stops.
04:29 - That would be somebody like that.
04:30 - We've learned no lessons.
04:31 - Something like that, yeah.
04:32 - I feel like that would be your own quote in real life.
04:34 - No, no, I don't think that's--
04:36 - Yours would be remember the feeling.
04:37 - Yeah, that was my quote.
04:38 - That's the most Ben.
04:39 - That was my high school quote.
04:39 - At least you know it.
04:40 I was asked what mine was,
04:41 and I was like, I have no idea.
04:42 - Did you have an actual high school quote?
04:43 - That's like my only, I don't know.
04:44 Everybody knows that about me.
04:45 - Mine was Michael Scott, yeah.
04:45 - That was my high school quote.
04:46 - Mine was Michael Scott, great.
04:47 - Yeah.
04:48 - Yeah.
04:49 - Well, thank you so much.
04:50 I'm excited for everyone to see
04:51 where the love triangle will go in this season,
04:53 but thank you, congratulations.