“Winning feels pretty good.”
The athlete in Jaren Lewison can’t help but champion his very unathletic Never Have I Ever character overcoming the odds to become the last man standing in the hit Netflix series’s love triangle.
When the teen drama began, Ben Gross was the nemesis of our heroine, Devi Vishwakumar (Maitreyi Ramakrishnan), coming off as a spoiled, obnoxious, over-confident rich kid. But, after four seasons of evolution and a couple of solo spotlight episodes, Ben became someone worth rooting for—and a young man that we’d be happy to see Devi end up with over her main love interest Paxton (Darren Barnet) in the series finale.
“I love the enemies-to-lovers trope,” says Lewison, speaking to GQ a day after the release of the fourth and final season. “ [Co-creators] Lang Fisher and Mindy Kaling have said whether they were going to try that route depended on the actors cast for Ben and Devi. One of my favorite movies is When Harry Met Sally, and Billy Crystal’s character is very Ben-esque. There are a lot of things that Paxton and Devi compliment each other on, but maybe that relationship with Paxton helped Devi recognize where she needed to go and what she needed from a partner, before getting into that final relationship with Ben.”
And with the show and character that changed his life now behind him, the 22-year-old actor is looking forward to the opportunity to show that he’s a whole lot more than Ben.
GQ: Never Have I Ever has officially graduated! How are you feeling now that the final season is finally out?
Jaren Lewison: It’s a lot, and I’m just allowing myself to feel whatever comes. There are definitely waves of euphoria and extreme gratitude, and then there’s grief and sadness, because I’m saying goodbye to this thing that has been very much intertwined with my young adult experience. It’s like, “Okay, what do I do now? How am I supposed to move on from this show that I love so much and that occupies so much space in my heart?” So it’s a little weird.
We have to start with your outfit for the premiere, which was definitely not something we’d ever see Ben in. What was the inspiration there? Were you trying to make a statement?
I’m a very avid lifter, I used to compete in high school, and lifting has carried me throughout college, and I’ve gotten a little bit bigger, stronger. And Ben’s not athletic, but I was like, You know what, I’m athletic! I’m going to go for a little Chalamet moment. Let’s pull the sleeves off, get out of my comfort zone, and just go for it! I was nervous, but I was so happy how it turned out.
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Knowing that you’re moving on from this character that you’ve been so closely identified with, is going with a look like that part of a grander plan to be seen outside of the nerdy, non-athletic Ben?
Absolutely. A lot of times it’s hard, and especially for me when this character is my big break. So audiences haven’t really seen me do anything else—and there’s so much that I have to offer. I’d love to get into a sports movie. I played football in high school, and I can ice skate really well. There are so many films out there that I’d love to throw my hat in the ring for.
I noticed that you’ve done a couple photoshoots where you’re showing some skin and all the comments are mostly people being shocked that you have abs.
It’s funny, I recently went on The Kelly Clarkson Show, and I did it with Sterling K. Brown, who also played a bit of a nerd on This Is Us, and his character had a shirtless scene and everyone was like, “Oh my god.” And I spoke about that with him, because he was like, “Yeah, nerds workout; we can also be ripped!” But I think that it’s unexpected. Especially for Ben, because he’s just an academic machine. In season 4, Ben got a couple shirtless scenes, and all of a sudden everyone was like, “Hold the phone!”
What was it like taking this character who started as a rival to our protagonist and turning him into someone we’d be rooting for Devi to be with?
At the beginning, his job was to be an antagonist, but you know from the get-go that there are layers to him. And then when you have that season 1 solo episode, you understand more about Ben and why he functions the way that he does. That’s when you connect with him and realize that he harbors a lot of stress and pressure, and he’s very lonely, and he can be very insecure. And you don’t pity him necessarily, but you do say, “Oh man, he really is a good kid.” A
When did you learn that Ben and Devi were going to be the endgame, and what was your reaction upon realizing that, maybe against all odds, Ben would be Devi’s pick?
I found out during the filming of 408. When we got the table read draft, I thought it was heartwarming and beautiful, and I felt like it encapsulated the spirit of Never Have I Ever. And I play sports, so obviously I like to win. But I think it makes sense. If you look back at this series, Ben and Devi have always had this magnetism to them. They’ve always found each other in times of strife and great triumph. And I don’t know if that makes them soulmates, but I think that it says something. The response has been really great from Team Ben so far, and some despair from Team Paxton. So, my apologies, but I didn’t write it, so don’t come for me!
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What was it like developing and evolving the chemistry between you and Maitreyi over the years? As young actors, this was the first time either of you had ever been in that type of position to act out an ongoing romance.
We just hit it off immediately, and became such good friends because I think that we both have a very strong work ethic. She came in after having no film or TV experience and absolutely crushed it. She was such a natural leader and to shoulder that at 17 years old, all the way through 21, is very impressive. Her and I were in similar parts in our lives, and we have very similar personalities, like our sense of humor, the way that we view the world, our desire to be great. And then you grow with the show, with the characters, and you learn how to give what the other person needs in a scene.
Now that the series is over, I think I might be ready to declare Dwight Howard as the official villain of Never Have I Ever. His conversation with Ben in the season 4 premiere is the reason why it took so long for these crazy kids to get together!
In his defense, I did not ask him for advice about my [actual] love life, and so I do give him the benefit of the doubt. He could be great. In this fictional Sherman Oaks High world, he gave terrible advice, but that did propel some really great plot lines.
What do you have your eye on now that you’re free to pursue new projects?
There are a lot of writer-directors that I really love. There’s a fellow Dallas native, Cooper Raiff, who’s a rising star in the industry right now, and I haven’t gotten to meet him yet, but I would love to work with him. And then there are some titans like Greta Gerwig, Ryan Coogler, or James Gunn, that I would love to get the opportunity to learn from and work with. I got spoiled to high-heaven with Never Have I Ever being my big break. So hopefully I can continue that track of working with really talented people.
You mention Never Have I Ever being your big break, so what would you say this show has meant to you?
I remember when I first got it, I was 18, and I was at nationals for Shakespeare in Love, which was a play that my high school did, and I had just performed in front of 3,000 people, and I thought that could have been a highlight of my life. And a day or two later, I got the job, and the only thing that I kept saying on the phone to my team was, “I don’t believe you.” For Mindy and Lang to say yes to a kid from Dallas who didn’t have a big resume, and to trust me, it meant the world to me—and it always will. And they continue to champion me. I just spoke with Mindy and Lang both, and they were like, “If you ever need anything, you already know where your first call should be.”