You know when you tell friends to watch a TV show and they… don't? It's so annoying. So I'm telling you now - you need to watch Never Have I Ever on Netflix. You'll laugh, you'll cry and you'll be desperate for season two (which hasn't been officially released yet but we predict it'll happen!) because it's such a lovely 10-part coming-of-age comedy.
The show, created by executive producer Mindy Kaling, is all about the complicated life of a modern-day first-generation Indian American teenage girl. The series stars newcomer Maitreyi Ramakrishnan as Devi, an overachieving high school sophomore who has a short fuse that gets her into difficult situations.
While we love Devi, we're also quite smitten with her high-school crush Paxton, played by Darren Barnet. Yes, it's rather predictable - he's a popular boy in school who has rock hard abs, but as with all other high-school jocks in American movies, he has depth, too.
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Talking about his character to Teen Vogue, he said: "What I loved about it is that he does have layers to him. He doesn't have a certain empathy upfront that you would notice, but it’s not him being a jerk. Then you come to find out that he has more struggle in his life than you would think. Once you pull back his layers, you realise there is a very kind, caring person underneath it all."
The LA-based actor was starstruck when he met creator Mindy Kaling, during his audition for the role of Paxton. When he walked into the room, the first thing out of his mouth was, 'Oh wow, Mindy Kaling. I’m low key freaking out right now.'
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Here's everything you need to know about Paxton Hall-Yoshida in Never Have I Ever.
Who plays Paxton in Never Have I Ever?
Darren Barnet.
How old is Paxton in Never Have I Ever?
His character is 16-years-old but Darren Barnet is 29-years-old in real life. Phew.
What has Darren Barnet been in before? Where do I recognise him from?
Darren Barnet appeared in This Is Us in 2017. He starred as a young version of Milo Ventimiglia’s character Jack Pearson in season 1, episode 11. The resemblance is pretty uncanny, and he definitely gave us Jess vibes from Gilmore Girls.
Cast photo from @darrenbarnet's Instagram page
Is Darren Barnet on Instagram?
You can follow Darren Barnet on Instagram via his username @darrenbarnet.