Age is just a number! Darren Barnett from Never Have I Ever has no problem playing a teenager on television, especially because he knows he’s in the company of Hollywood royalty.
“Look at the 90210 and Grease — Keniki was going to cash out his 401k. This guy was [old]! It’s fun!”
The actor, who played high school student Paxton Hall-Yoshida in the coming-of-age hit, said that playing a young character can be stressful, so he thinks it’s important not to take it too seriously.
“I try not to be too self-critical of myself when I watch this. Like, “Oh, my God, I look a lot older than this person,” he explained to Us. “It’s [a] mental health point that I really had to digest. I [had to] come to terms with watching myself and accepting the fact that I’m not 18. I’m not really that guy.”
Barnett said that the “pressure” he feels playing an 18-year-old comes from the physical demands of having to go shirtless often, but he is grateful for an excuse to stay in shape.
“I constantly try to make sure that my body looks good, but more attention was paid to just feeling healthy,” continued the Berry College graduate. “So it’s kind of good. It makes me stay fit and stay active. Sometimes it causes a little pressure, but I am very grateful to be in this position.”
“[The journey] was explosive,” he said. “And it allowed me to gather a very wonderful fan base among these young people and children who watch the show.”
However, having adoring fans is not always easy. The native of California said that from time to time he is sent unwanted personal messages, including photos with an X rating. “I get a few wild ones,” he admitted to Us. “I’m not going to say that, but there are times when I get stuff where I want to respond and just say, ‘Hey, respect yourself. Don’t do that. This is not the way. It doesn’t look good.”
He added: “I [also] have people who just tell me their life story about their family life. There were times when I would respond and then it would open up a whole can of worms and I would think, “Oh, great. What [did] Am I done?” People are very, very open about their personal lives.”
While he may get used to being shirtless on screen, the American Pie Presents actor doesn’t have to wear any underwear for his partnership with Victoria’s Secret— but he wasn’t sure that would be the case when he initially won the partnership.
“At first glance, I didn’t understand the asexual collection very well,” he told Us. “I thought: “Am I going to wear underwear? Like underwear?” Then they showed me the line and I thought: “Wow, these are definitely [things I’ll be wearing].” “.
