Never Will Maitreyi Ramakrishnan Forget This Feeling

The star of Netflix's 'Never Have I Ever' talks her whirlwind career... • [Never Will Maitreyi Ramakrishnan Forget This Feeling](#toc_item_0) • [Read the full story](#toc_item_1) • [Nintendo NY](#toc_item_2) • [🎮](#toc_item_3) • [Memory Lane](#toc_item_4) • [The good ol' days](#toc_item_5) • [Up Next](#toc_item_6) • [Level up](#toc_item_7) [( [] [Never Will Maitreyi Ramakrishnan Forget This Feeling]( We spent a day at Nintendo NY with the star of Never Have I Ever Maitreyi Ramakrishnan to talk about her whirlwind career and what’s next. Maitreyi Ramakrishnan happily admits, with no hesitation, that she is "100% a nerd." In that respect, she couldn’t be more different than her teenaged Indian-American character Devi Vishwakumar on Netflix’s hit coming-of-age series Never Have I Ever. Devi began the show wanting nothing more than to elevate her social status, and in the recent Season 3, she has only just come around to embrace the nerdier sides of herself—but Ramakrishnan wears the label like a badge of honor. [] [Read the full story]( [( [] [Nintendo NY]( [( Photo by Cole Saladino for Thrillist Whenever the 20-year-old makes a trip to New York City, she especially likes to take the opportunity to indulge in her geekier obsessions. Even if the LA-based actress is in town for work, as she just was for the Season 3 premiere of Mindy Kaling and Lang Fisher's teen dramedy, she has to make a stop at Nintendo NY in Rockefeller Center. It's basically Heaven on Earth for the self-described gamer, "absolute anime nerd," and Nintendo fan, knowing she can go in and have a blast—playing nail-biting games of Super Smash Bros. on the Switch—and head home with a hefty merch haul. [] [🎮]( [( [] [Memory Lane]( [( Photo by Cole Saladino for Thrillist "I grew up on Nintendo. That was my childhood. My dad brought a GameCube home one day, and my brother and I lost our minds," Ramakrishnan says. From that moment on, just about every family gathering at the Ramakrishnan household in Mississauga, Ontario erupted in heated games of Super Smash Bros., Mario Kart, and Star Fox: Assault between Maitreyi and her cousins. While gaming with her cousins when she was younger, Ramakrishnan was rarely among the winners circle. But these days, after years of grinding, she always comes out on top. [] [The good ol' days]( [( [] [Up Next]( [( Photo by Cole Saladino for Thrillist It's safe to say Ramakrishnan has recently leveled up in her career, too. She was an unknown actor before Never Have I Ever debuted in 2020, and has had a whirlwind experience since. Although Ramakrishnan is different, of course, from her breakout role as Devi, her feelings about her own growth right now, in many ways, reflect the progress her character makes by the end of Season 3. It's in the finale that the 16-year-old has the realization that she no longer wants to miss out on the present by fixating on the future, deciding to forgo the chance to attend a prestigious college prep program in Colorado that would make her a shoe-in for any Ivy. In many ways, the Netflix star is also trying her best to hold onto the special moments of her wild career, and the fact that she still feels like she's growing up. [] [Level up]( [( Thrillist Editorial - Favorable reviews cannot be bought. Read our [Terms & Conditions](, [Privacy Policy]( Delivered by Thrillist.com, 568 Broadway, Suite 507, New York, NY 10012 [212.966.2263]( Sent to {EMAIL}. Add themove@newsletter.thrillist.com to your safe-sender list so our emails get to your inbox. [View On The Web]( [Content Settings]( [Unsubscribe](