The star of Netflix’s ‘Never Have I Ever’ talks her whirlwind career, her love for her character Devi, and what’s next.
Maitreyi Ramakrishnan gayly admits , with no vacillation , that she is " 100 % a nerd . " In that respect , she could n’t be more different than her teen Indian - American character Devi Vishwakumar on Netflix ’s hit coming - of - years seriesNever Have I Ever . Devi start the show want nothing more than to elevate her social status , and in the recent Season 3 , she has only just come around to comprehend the nerdier sides of herself — but Ramakrishnan wear the label like a badge of honour .
Whenever the 20 - yr - old makes a tripper to New York City , she particularly likes to take the chance to indulge in her geekier obsession . Even if the LA - base actress is in townsfolk for oeuvre , as she just was for the Season 3 premiere of Mindy Kaling and Lang Fisher ’s stripling dramedy , she has to make a hitch atNintendo NYin Rockefeller Center . It ’s essentially Heaven on Earth for the self - described gamer , " absolute Zanzibar copal nerd , " and Nintendo devotee , sleep together she can go in and have a blast — play nail - biting game ofSuper Smash Bros.on the Switch — and channelize home with a hefty merch catch . ( This time , she went for a precious Kirby backpack , Animal Crossingplushies , a water bottleful , and tee for her brother . )
" I grow up on Nintendo . That was my childhood . My dad bring a GameCube home one mean solar day , and my sidekick and I lost our minds , " Ramakrishnan say . From that moment on , just about every family gathering at the Ramakrishnan house in Mississauga , Ontario erupted in heated game ofSuper Smash Bros. ,Mario Kart , andStar George Fox : Assaultbetween Maitreyi and her cousins . While gage with her cousin-german when she was younger , Ramakrishnan was rarely among the winners encircle . But these day , after years of grinding , she always comes out on top . After a Nintendo NY sojourn earlier this year , she even set about a tattoo of Kirby , her favorite character andSuper Smash Bros. main , nearby herAttack on Titanink to commemorate her journeying of how much she ’d leveled up .
Photo by Cole Saladino for Thrillist
It ’s safe to say Ramakrishnan has recently leveled up in her vocation , too . She was an unknown worker beforeNever Have I Everdebuted in 2020 , and has had a whirlwind experience since . Although Ramakrishnan is different , of course of instruction , from her breakout part as Devi , her feelings about her own increment justly now , in many ways , reflect the progress her character makes by the end of Season 3 . It ’s in the finish that the 16 - year - older has the realization that she no longer wants to lose out on the present by fixating on the future , adjudicate to antecede the chance to attend a prestigious college prep programme in Colorado that would make her a horseshoe - in for any Ivy . In many way of life , the Netflix star is also strain her best to hold onto the particular moments of her wild career , and the fact that she still find like she ’s spring up up .
" Jaren [ Lewison ] , who plays Ben , always gets on my ass about not ' recall the look , ' as he like to say , " Ramakrishnan says . " I ca n’t even say I would love to be someone that really lives in the instant , because I am someone that thinks 10 stone’s throw ahead , and then 15 more — but I ’m trying to equilibrize between both . " While she ca n’t help but occupy about what ’s next , she did make certain that throughout filming the last season that " every single day was unfeignedly a day of gratitude and apprise being on set . "
For model , there were mean solar day filming when , if Ramakrishnan had even just 10 minutes of loose time , she would sneak in her trailer , put on an inflatable , 8ft - tall Pikachu costume , and endure around set . " Everyone was like , ' Why ? No number one on a call sheet does this variety of crap ! ' " But it was all for " vibes , " she suppose , and to make the cast and bunch felicitous .
time of year 3 ofNHIEis very much about Devi hear to embrace ego - love , which Ramakrishnan notes is a " journey that never stops " for most everybody , include herself . For the actress , that feeling coincides with at least somewhat trying to reel back from her onwards - intellection mentality . " As soon as I start panic and overthinking , likeOh my God , I ’m never go to do anything like this again , I try on to remind myself I had no idea that I was going to do this in good order out of high school , " she reflects . " I thought I was going to go to university , see my protagonist , and go survive it up at university parties . And this happened to me . "
Never Have I Everis her first job , after all — like , not just her first professional acting fishgig , but her first job ever . It ’s moments like when she ’s recognized as one ofTIME ’s Most Influential People of the Yearwhere it bump off her . ( " I was like , Wow , this is my time to get down a cult , I guess ! " )
Ramakrishnan had big dramatic art kid energy in in high spirits school . ( For the record book , she elucidate that she endeavor to keep it strictly to rehearsal . ) She appeared in supporting roles , aim her friends ' plays , and sail through her class 12 examination assignment to put on a play , which she wrote and maneuver herself . But after her first starring persona , bring Velma Kelly in a production ofChicago , her confidence set in and confirm that she was on the right path . " After one of the carrying out ofChicago , I was like , Damn , I did it all . That was the first time in my life where I felt proud of myself , " she says . " I ’m not someone who feels proud of themselves well , but that was it — that was the moment where I was like , Huh , I actually do have talent . "
Photo by Cole Saladino for Thrillist
With Season 4 roll and due out sometime next twelvemonth , Ramakrishnan accept that she ’s already say goodbye to Devi . She emphasise that Season 4 is by far " the good " installation , explain that rooter can expect Devi to " eventually begin to unpack her grief , " among other new challenges . With hesitancy , she also — with a mention toDrake and Josh , a show she has never see but knows thememesof — reiterates that Lang Fisher is " a truther " insayingone team will end up the " winner . " While she ’s looking forward to the passing and knows there will be another slate of promo , she realise after the Season 3 premiere that she had already moved past the character that launched her career . " I ’ll never get to play her anymore — to me , that ’s the center , " she ruminates . That said , she also knows she ’ll " continue to talk about Devi for the entirety of [ her ] vocation , " joke that " Robbie P. is still talk about Edward , " and is more than felicitous to do so .
" Mindy and Lang have given me such a big gift with Devi of being capable to play a fictitious character that has so much proportion and relatability , " she read . " Why would I require to take a character that ’s anything less than that and do a disservice to who Devi is , to the committal to writing that all the writers put into Devi , and the effort the work party did to makeNever Have I Ever ? I ’m not go to lower my criterion . I trusted as hell have n’t done that for my wild-eyed life-time ! So why would I do it for my career ? " Most recently , she ’s dip into voice act on Netflix’sMy Little Ponyfranchise and the Pixar hitTurning Red , and next she ’ll become the latest starlet to give an iconicJane Austencharacter a contemporaneous twist in Netflix’sPride and Prejudice - barrack movieThe Netherfield Girls . So while she is about to fine-tune from Devi and Sherman Oaks and has to quit to " call up the smell " every once in a while , it seems like she ’s ready to say " game on " to the next challenge of her career .
Photo by Cole Saladino for Thrillist
Photo by Cole Saladino for Thrillist
Photo by Cole Saladino for Thrillist
