‘Never Have I Ever’ Star Maitreyi Ramakrishnan on Friendship, Fame and the Power of Social Media

When Tamil Canadian actor Maitreyi Ramakrishnan first answered the open casting call for the lead role in the hit Netflix sitcom Never Have I Ever, she was still a student at her suburban Toronto high school. Her audition tape — which she made with her mother’s camera at a local library — wowed casting agents. She ultimately beat out over 15,000 other applicants to get the role of Devi Viswanathan, a grief-stricken California teen who is trying to fit in and jump into the world of dating after the sudden loss of her father.

Since then, the now 19-year-old Ramakrishnan has become a bonafide star — and an outspoken voice on mental health, feminism, and what it is like being a young performer of color in Hollywood today. The FBomb recently had the chance to chat with Ramakrishnan about Never Have I Ever’s second season (which is currently streaming on Netflix) and more.

Do you feel like you’ve been growing up alongside your character Devi, especially considering you were still in high school yourself when you got the role?

I don’t know if I’m growing up with Devi right now because like I was 17 when the show started, and she was 15, and now I’m 19, and she’s still 15. So we are growing up at different rates. Hopefully, if we get a season three — fingers crossed — she’ll make it to 16. I don’t know what her deal is (laughs.)

So no, I don’t feel like I grew up with her, but in season one, my relationship with her was definitely like she was a messy best friend where you know they’re a mess, but you still like to hang out with them and you enjoy their company. Now, with season two, Devi is like the younger sister I never had. I understand why she’s doing the things that she’s doing, but I want her to be better. I’m rooting for her truly, but I do understand what she’s going through. I genuinely feel for her. It’s like, “You’re a really upset, grief-stricken kid, and you’ve got a lot of baggage right now, but it’s going to be okay.”

What was it like returning to the character Devi after the success of the first season?

Season one was just so much fun, and I absolutely love filming it, and it was so awesome to get back to doing what I love — but there was like a little bit of pressure because you want to keep the audience happy, you want to keep your cast happy, and the creators of the show happy. So you want to do a good job and not mess up, but you also want to have a fun time. It’s definitely a whirlwind of emotions for sure.

Everyone talks about the love triangle between Devi, Paxton, and Ben on the show, but the intense and supportive friendships between Devi and her best friends Fabiola and Eleanor are just as compelling.

I feel the same way! The best triangle on the show is Eleanor, Fabiola, and Devi.

Did you draw on your own high school friendships for those scenes?

I’m going to be honest, I don’t have to draw on anything when I do those scenes with Ramona [Young] and Lee [Rodriguez] because we’re just like existing in those scenes as friends. I am actually friends with them, and I do love them to death.

I realize a lot of actors have to pretend like you’ve known your other fellow castmates for years because you gotta have to play their best friends. But I generally look at these guys, and it’s like we’ve known each other for years. It’s always so much fun filming with them. I think that’s what brings that trio of girls to life because they’re that genuine love that we have for each other as Maitreyi, Ramona, and Lee.

What has it been like interacting with fans of the show on social media? You’ve become known as an outspoken tweeter.

A lot of the fans are really awesome. They make the craziest fan art and videos and everything in between. I usually tend to interact with my fans more on Twitter in terms of directly replying. My tweets can span from either talking about colorism and the idea of normalizing the fact that people of color need to be appropriately lighted to me going, ‘hey guys, I’m really sad, and I’m listening to the song on repeat’ and anything in between. The fans seem to like be down for the ride, which I appreciate.