Despite having a fairly well-fleshed-out filmography, Darren Barnet is most known for his tenure as Devi Vishwakumar’s love interest, Paxton Hall-Yoshida, in Netflix’s high school drama, Never Have I Ever. The 32-year-old actor has been in Hollywood for years hustling to make a name for himself. The California native made the decision to pursue an acting career straight out of Berry College —where he obtained a Bachelor of Arts — and transplanted to Los Angeles, California, where he struggled to find his big break for more than 7 years.
The actor is relatively private about his life, but rumors have been circulating for years of his involvement with Mikaela Hoover since 2021.
What has Darren Barnet been in?
The intrepid Barnet took a slew of jobs to tide him over on his journey to success, from waiter to real estate agent, he worked his sculpted buns off before finally catching not one, but three breaks in 2017 with small parts in This is Us, S.W.A.T., and Criminal Minds. From there, the jobs kept trickling in.
2018 saw Barnet score one of his first major roles as “Hot Seth” in Turnt, a teen drama that set the stage for his debut in Never Have I Ever, as well as a poorly received horror movie, Instakiller. While Turnt was well received, Instakiller was widely panned — though it wasn’t Barnet’s performance that drew critics’ ire, and his prospects dwindled the following year.
2019 was relatively dry for Barnet. He made an appearance in the series Family Reunion, but his part was short-lived, with the actor only appearing in a single episode. While many of his early roles are considered bit parts — like most Hollywood performers at the beginning of their careers — Barnet showcased his talent, bringing plenty of nuance to even the smallest roles. 2019 may have been rough for the actor’s professional life, but his first big break was just around the corner.
2020, and the start of Netflix’s Never Have I Ever, saw the first real surge in Barnet’s career. Critics loved his performance as the broody Paxton, and fans were enthralled by his swoon-inducing good looks. His popularity on the show opened a slew of doors for the American actor, and helped him get his foot in the door for more prolific big-screen projects. He starred in Untitled Horror Movie, a 2021 comedy horror that was incredibly well received by critics and viewers alike, as well as Netflix’s Love Hard.
Since his success on Never Have I Ever, Barnet has appeared in Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. as Wilfred “Freddy” Malick, as well as landing the starring role in some grade-A garbage, like the direct-to-video American Pie Presents: Girls’ Rule. In addition to his onscreen appearances, the last few years have seen Barnet lend his mellifluous tones to various animated projects like Samurai Rabbit: The Usagi Chronicles, Skull Island, and Blue Eye Samurai.
With season four of Never Have I Ever marking the end of the series, Barnet’s calendar has opened up. The actor is keeping busy, however, and has a decent number of potentially high-profile projects coming up. He has been tapped to star in a remake of 1989’s Road House, coming-of-age sports drama Gran Turismo, and the romantic comedy, Anyone But You alongside Sydney Sweeney.