In the last three years, Darren Barnet has earned the tag of ‘Internet’s new boyfriend’, with a lot of female attention coming his way for his role of Paxton Hall-Yoshida in rom-com series Never Have I Ever. But the American actor confesses that he still is getting used to the spotlight, and there are times when he feels weird with it.
Ever since, his character of the most popular boy of the high school in the Mindy Kaling created show was introduced, his follower count on Instagram has shot up to three million, with fans leaving him myriad pick up lines in his DM.
“Well, whether it is male or female attention, it is something I’ve never been used to,” Barnet tells us over a zoom call and continues, “I don’t know I have not been great with attention while growing up. Many times people ask me whether it gets annoying with people recognizing me and coming up to me to ask for photographs. But I know this is what I signed up for.”
In fact, the 32-year-old feels grateful to get so much love and recognition by people from all walks of life. “Every time someone asks for a photo, it takes two seconds of my time to potentially make their day or the week and give stuff to show their friends, depending how big of a fan they are. That’s the reason I have a job. That’s the reason I’m relevant and that’s the reason I am talked about and hopefully we can continue working for that. So, there is always gratitude and gratefulness.”
That being said, one can’t shun away the not so good moments in which his personal space is encroached. “There are times when there is a complete lack of awareness of personal space. been approached in certain places that were just not appropriate. But again, no matter what, I’m always kind. However, attention for me has always been kind of a weird thing. But when it comes from fans, I’m not gonna say no to anyone because there is a level of gratitude there. I knew what I was getting into, and it is what it is,” explains the actor.
{{/usCountry}}That being said, one can’t shun away the not so good moments in which his personal space is encroached. “There are times when there is a complete lack of awareness of personal space. been approached in certain places that were just not appropriate. But again, no matter what, I’m always kind. However, attention for me has always been kind of a weird thing. But when it comes from fans, I’m not gonna say no to anyone because there is a level of gratitude there. I knew what I was getting into, and it is what it is,” explains the actor.
{{/usCountry}}After a series of odd jobs, including building lights for film sets, Barnet got his big ticket to fame with Never Have I Ever, which was released in 2020. Before that, he was busy building his resume with small roles in shows such as This Is Us and Criminal Minds. Now, with the web show, revolving around an Indian American teen in the US, with the fourth season, the actor is charged up to find new avenues for himself.
“My character of Paxton reminds me that -- you often get scared to fail in our career and stumble on your face and become embarrassed, but that’s really part of it. Through the show, he has had an awesome journey from being on top of the food chain and ending up not being there, and then having to find a full other identity. That’s life. And that resonates with me. And I’m doing that every day. I am still figuring myself out, and it’s okay, if you don’t get it all at once. Because that’s how it is meant to be,” concludes the actor.