‘Never Haver I Ever’ actor juggles show and college with ease
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ALICIA RANCILIO
Associated Press
NEW YORK (AP) — Jaren Lewison was at his USC freshman orientation when he got the call to screen test for the Netflix series “ Never Have I Ever.” He got the job and filmed season one while living in his college dorm, which he remembers returning to at night after working on set.
“Sometimes I would show up at like 3:00 in the morning from a late Friday night shoot. I would see everybody coming home from the bars and parties.“ he said.
Lewison, now 20, spoke recently via Zoom while on summer break at his parents’ house in Dallas. A psychology major with a minor in forensics and criminality, he is also fulfilling a writing course requirement while at home but takes four classes a semester.
With his foot already plant- ed firmly in the door of Hollywood, Lewison could leave school, but he says graduating is a priority.
“I love being in class,“ he said. He in on track to gradu- ate in the spring of 2022, while technically a junior.
“I’m excited to get started on what’s next and devote 24 hours a day to my career and growth as an actor.”
On “Never Have I Ever,” which debuts its second season July 15, Lewison plays Ben Gross, an ambitious high school student who is com- mitted to graduating at the top of his class. He is fiercely competitive with Devi Vishwakumar, played by Maitreyi Ramakrishnan, who is his nemesis, frenemy, con- fidante and crush combined.
Ben’s father is a successful entertainment lawyer and so he regularly name drops his dad’s famous clients with boastful pride, although his classmates don’t understand how his parents, while loving, regularly leave him home alone and its his housekeeper who is the stable adult figure in his life.
Lewison credits his psychology studies for helping him understand his character.
“Ben wants to feel validated. He is so competitive with Devi and wants to get into Ivy League schools because he wants to prove to himself and his family that he is as good as his father. That’s a lot of pressure for a sophomore in high school to put on him- self.“
He also admires how Devi’s character is so layered and “portrayed unbelievably” by Ramakrishnan, in her first acting role. Devi sometimes has bursts of misplaced anger over the recent, unexpected death of her father, and often makes poor decisions. She sees a therapist (played by Niecy Nash.)
“Devi is an incredibly complex character and written so beautifully,” said Lewison. “Our show handles the messiness of teen life really well and approaches those topics with such care.”
He may be juggling a full course load when filming, but one of Lewison’s lecturers, Leslie Berntsen, credits his follow-through. Berntsen had Lewison as a student in her Introduction to Psychology class and says he reached out early with a heads up about his crazy schedule.
She recalled over email: “He said he had just been cast in a new Netflix show and was committed to balancing that job with a full course load.“ She said her response was congratulatory, but she also made clear that he would be “held to the same standards” as his classmates.
When Berntsen later watched “Never Have I Ever,” she made the connection that the Ben Gross character was played by Lewison, her stu- dent.
“I saw his name during the opening credits and spent a good minute or so racking my brain from where I recognized it.Ithitmeassoonashis character was introduced, so I emailed him to let him know just how impressive it was that that’s what he was doing at the same time as my class,” she said.
Lewison also makes sure to communicate with the pro- duction coordinators on “Never Have I Ever” about school conflicts.
“If I give them enough notice, if they’re able to, they may switch a scene around so that if I have a midterm and I have to sit for it, they’ll help me do that. We work together,“ he said.
Lang Fisher, the “Never Have I Ever” co-creator and showrunner, says she was aware early on that Lewison was choosing to attend college while on the show, but it’s never been an issue. He’s always prepared and organized.
“When I think of 20-year- old men, I think of open ramen containers, like, underwear, beds unmade and just like slobs basically. I have three younger brothers and I think of slobs,“ she said. “And he is just so mature and really just pushes himself. He comes to set. He knows his lines cold. He always has the smartest questions about a scene. Whenever we have table reads, he’s like the one per- son who’s got his Zoom ready to go and has no technical difficulties and has the right headphone setup.
