The Cast “Never Have I Ever” Are So Much Older Than Their Characters

The cast of Never Have I Ever plays normal high school students who are super into Olivia Rodrigo and Euphoria, constantly make TikToks, and try to navigate the complexities of teenage social circles. As you watch leading lady Devi Vishwakumar try to figure out what it means to be a good friend, daughter, student, and girlfriend, it feels like you’re walking the halls of Sherman Oaks High with her and her besties. But, although Devi, Eleanor, Fabiola, Aneesa, and Ben are now high school seniors — and Paxton is a freshman at ASU — in season 4 of Never Have I Ever, that doesn’t necessarily mean that the actors who play them are teenagers IRL.

There are a number of reasons why producers tend to hire older actors when creating teen shows like Riverdale, Gossip Girl, and Never Have I Ever. First, if actors are under the age of 18, they can only work for a certain number of hours. Second, due to the nature of the content that they have to film, older actors are needed.

But just how much older is the cast of Never Have I Ever? And what age do they play on the show? As you stream the fourth (and final 😭) season, here’s everything you need to know about the real ages of the cast of Never Have I Ever.

Maitreyi Ramakrishnan as Devi Vishwakumar

Age: 21

In season 1, Devi and her besties are starting their sophomore year at Sherman Oaks High School, which makes them around 15 or 16 years old. Now seniors, they’re presumably 17 or 18 years old, which makes Maitreyi Ramakrishnan one of the only cast members closest to her character’s age IRL.

Ramona Young as Eleanor Wong

Age: 25

The actress is 25 years old, which makes her the oldest of the three main friends on the show.

Lee Rodriguez as Fabiola Torres

Age: 23

You might be surprised to see that the actress is about five years older than her character, but we think there is no better person to play Fabiola.

Darren Barnet as Paxton Hall-Yoshida

Age: 32

Paxton Hall-Yoshida is the only character that’s now in college, which means he’s likely 18 years old. However, the actor who plays him Darren Barnet, is over 10 years older than his character.

Jaren Lewison as Ben Gross

Age: 22

At 22, Jaren Lewison is only a few years older than his character, Ben.

Megan Suri as Aneesa Qureshi

Age: 24

Megan Suri plays Aneesa, who arrives as the new girl at Sherman Oaks High in season 2. Considering she’s in the same class as Devi, Eleanor and Fabiola, she also falls into the 17 to 18 age range, which makes Megan nearly six years older than her character.

Michael Cimino as Ethan

Age: 23

Love, Victor star Michael Cimino joined the season 4 cast of Never Have I Ever as Sherman Oaks student and resident bad boy Ethan. At 23, he’s just a few years older than his high-school age character.

Victoria Moroles as Margot Ramos

Age: 26

Victoria Moroles stars as Ben’s girlfriend, Margot Ramos, in season 4 of Never Have I Ever. Like the rest of her Sherman Oaks peers, she’s probably around 17 or 18 years old, which makes her eight to nine years older than her character.

Genneya Walton as Lindsay Thompson

Age: 24

Lindsay Thompson, portrayed by Genneya Walton, is a recent college graduate and the substitute for Devi, Ben, Elanor, and Fab’s AP Lit class in season 4. The actress is 24 years old IRL, so she’s only a couple years older than her on-screen role.

Richa Moorjani as Kamala Nandiwadal

Age: 34

Richa Moorjani stars as Devi’s older cousin, Kamala Nandiwadal, who’s come from India to pursue a PhD in biology at the California Institute of Technology. Her character is likely in her mid- to late-20s, which is not too far off from her real age of 33.

Poorna Jagannathan as Nalini Vishwakumar

Age: 50

Poorna Jagannathan plays Devi’s strict but loving mother Nalini, an accomplished dermatologist with a practice near their home in Los Angeles.

Anirudh Pisharody as Nirdesh (Des)

Age: 29

Anirudh Pisharody joined the season 3 cast of Never Have I Ever as Des (short for Nirdesh), the son of Devi’s mom’s friend and briefly Devi’s boyfriend. Given that his character is likely between 15 and 17 years old, Anirudh is older by at least 10 years.

Watch Season 4 of Never Have I Ever Now

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