INTERVIEW BY CLARA SEELY-KATZ

Darren Barnet is one of those actors who, when given the opportunity to shine in the spotlight, became an instant and recognizable heartthrob. More than that, though, this actor's life experience and intentional career choices are a big part of his acting skill, and his wisdom gained through practical life experience translates well into every role he takes. In our conversation, the earnest nature of Barnet was something that shone through his answers. He is an actor because he has always loved the creativity, the community, and his full awareness of how being an actor with intentionality can help by bettering someone else's life through the telling of stories is refreshing.

In the Netflix hit series, Never Have I Ever, Barnet is able to convey the nuances of being a misunderstood "popular guy" in high school while bringing the diverse and comical story of Mindy Kaling's to life. Because of the shows content, style, and the fact that it first came out at the start of what has been a very long and arduous two years since 2020, the show has become a comfort show to many, making Barnet an actor adored and looked up to by teens and young adults struggling with the same themes the show covers.

His most recent Netflix project, Love Hard, has allowed Barnet to really show his goofy side. He stars in the rom-com hit alongside the exceptionally talented Nina Dobrev and Jimmy O. Yang, in which he plays, in his words, the "manly" Tag. Although his most recent work has been more in comedy and romance, his newest project that is currently in post-production, Apophenia, is a psychological thriller that he is producing and starring in.

Regardless of what Barnet's subsequent roles are, without a doubt, he will continue to bring the same down-to-earth and honest nature to his work that he has shown in the past and during my conversation with him. Read on to learn more about his love for the creative process, the best advice he ever got, and his renewed love/wanting for connection during the pandemic era. 

How have the past few years with all of the various ups and downs (especially regarding the pandemic) treated you? Have you made any lasting changes recently to your life because of a perspective change?

I have an interesting take on the past few years because I think I actually became busier than I've ever been during the pandemic. I did around six projects during the height of COVID. And that was everything from doing a Netflix movie to doing a few animations with Netflix, making a video game, and then producing and starring in my own film. And yeah, my priorities have changed. I think a lot has changed, mainly outside of my career. When the phone and FaceTime were all we had to communicate with each other at one point, it felt like a lot of relationships that were dwindling, or, I guess, less meaningful, kind of faded off, and the ones that needed to become stronger became stronger. I really found out who I wanted to speak to and who wanted to speak to me. I think staying creative during that time really helped my mindset. So in terms of the career, I'd say I've started focusing on staying creative, whether it's for work or not. Being creative as much as I can is something I've learned that is very good for me.

During those times when you were focused on being creative, were there any moments where you felt completely uninspired and unable to create? And if so, what do you do when those moments arise?

Yeah. I think I learned that there's a possibility for creativity in places you may not think. I realized setting realistic goals and being okay if you don't always meet your goals is important. I know in the pandemic, most people were like, I'm gonna get in great shape. I'm gonna eat healthy food. I'm gonna read 20 books. And, obviously, it's not the case; there are certain days where you're just on the couch watching movies all day. And instead of getting down on myself for it, I started to realize that the way I even watched movies is a form of study. And it gave me a lot of ammunition in terms of drawing inspiration from places that I thought were just leisurely activities. But I spent a lot of time studying whether or not that's an excuse for, you know, having just sat and watched a bunch of films. And then I also picked up new hobbies, started drawing again, sketching, and writing. But I think at the end of the day, it's just about not getting down on yourself during a rough time for not meeting every insane goal that you set for yourself; you got to remember that you're human.

On the topic of other creative outlets, what would you be doing if you weren’t acting today?

You know, I've written lyrics for music. And for a long time before this, I have been thinking about making music, or maybe just writing for other artists. Even sketching for a comic book or something like that would also be fun. I think any of those would be exciting avenues to explore.

So anything in the realm of creativity?

Yeah, I'm a right-brain individual. And I am so thankful for left-brained people because if everyone were like me, there would be no accountants in the world.

What are your favorite and least favorite parts of living in LA?

Everyone can agree that we are very, very blessed with the weather here. I don't really love (and I may get in trouble for saying this) the influencer culture out here. It drives me absolutely insane sometimes. Just how the influencer culture makes it, so places I used to go are now overrun with people just doing TikTok, this, or that. It's all a little bit cringe to me.

You’re not a big fan of TikTok?

The platform itself I respect. And some people are making some funny content on there. But I think people getting extremely famous for doing a dance that they did not create, which goes against everything it means to be an original artist or liking original art. Yeah, it gets me a bit frustrated.