10 Best Darren Barnet Movies & TV Shows, Ranked

One of the most popular romantic comedy actors of the 2020s, Darren Barnet has been quite busy recently. The 33-year-old actor made his name playing the dashing Paxton Hall-Yoshida on the Netflix series "Never Have I Ever." Since then, he has seemingly maintained a close relationship with the behemoth streaming service, having been asked back for several projects since the previous series ended.

As of writing, his body of work has begun to break free of his not-so-modest rom-com beginnings — though he still popped up in one of the most popular films of the genre released in the last decade. Moreover, he's also lent his voice to several animated series (targeted at kids and adults alike), cameoed in a high-profile remake of a classic '80s action drama, and even played a key supporting role in one of the few decent video game movies to ever make it to theaters. We've ranked our favorite films and TV shows starring Barnet, taking into account both their overall quality and how well they showcase his surprising range as a performer. So, here are 10 projects every fan of Barnet should sit down and watch.

Kicking things off, we have the Netflix romantic Christmas comedy "Love Hard," which dropped on the streamer during the 2021 Holiday season. It plays as a sort of Mistletoe-ified "Cyrano de Bergerac," bringing the old tropes of hidden identities and dramatic love triangles into the age of online dating. Darren Barnet plays Tag Abbott, a conventionally attractive rock climber whose pictures are used by his childhood bestie Josh (Jimmy O. Yang) to catfish a dating columnist named Natalie (Nina Dobrev). Though Natalie falls head over heels for Josh in faceless conversations over the phone, the realization that he's been lying and does not, in fact, look like Darren Barnet, drives her away.

As open and shut as this premise sounds, things become much more complicated when Natalie decides to pursue Tag — only to have her own identity and sense of honesty thrown into question. Though the film might be a bit too predictable for some audiences, fans of cheeky rom coms and comforting Christmas flicks will find that it hits the spot. This is due in large part to the charming trio of stars, who brought their off screen chemistry into this saccharine story. "Jimmy and Nina were both so welcoming when I arrived," Barnet shared to Collider during the film's press tour. "I came in late. We got to be around each other a little bit before we started shooting, which I think really bridged the gap, in terms of breaking the ice, and provided that warmth and welcoming spirit that Christmas movies have. ... Just being such a tight knit family so quickly gave us that jolly spirit we needed for providing that feeling."

If you're a "Jurassic Park" fan looking for more dinosaur mayhem to enjoy before "Jurassic World: Rebirth" comes along (hopefully to rescue the lost franchise from itself), Netflix's animation department has plenty to offer. In 2020, the streamer debuted the animated series "Jurassic World Camp Cretaceous," a canonical spin-off series that takes place in part during the original 2015 requel feature "Jurassic World." It follows teens who visit the park only to be put in immediate peril (shocking, we know), courtesy of its fanged attractions.

After five quick seasons, "Camp Cretaceous" took its bow in 2022, and was thus succeeded by the sequel series "Jurassic World: Chaos Theory," set six years after the finale. Darren Barnet joined the franchise here, taking over the comedic role of pro rock climber Kenji Kon from "Big Hero Six" and "Titans" star Ryan Potter (who voiced him in the previous series). With so much to catch viewers up on from the time jump, Barnet and company had their work cut out for them when it came to continuing the story. "Kenji's dealing with a lot," he said of the new status quo to KIDS FIRST!. "He's dealing with the heartbreak with Brooklynn [Kiersten Kelly, formerly Jenna Ortega], the relationship with his [estranged] father [Daniel Kon, voiced by Andrew Kishino]. He's kind of isolated himself into this trailer in the middle of the mountains, and he's teaching rock climbing."

Barnet further shared that he hoped the series' themes of teamwork, resilience, and faith in one's friends would shine through, especially via his dynamic with Paul-Mikél Williams' Darius Bowman. Despite the departure from the film's cast, the characters of "Chaos Theory" are well-acted and well-written, and are just as captivating as their big-screen counterparts.

Though video game movies have a (mostly deserved) bad reputation among moviegoers and console enthusiasts alike, the unique approach taken by the film "Gran Turismo" may help bridge the gap between these two mediums going forward. Rather than attempting to adapt the remarkably fidelitous racing simulator, it's a sports biopic about the real British professional racecar driver Jann Mardenborough. In the early 2010s, he was one of the best "Gran Turismo" players in the world, and thus earned admission into Nissan's GT Academy. The competitive program sought to turn skilled simulation drivers into real racers.

The film bends history by making Mardenborough (played by "Saltburn's" Archie Madekwe) part of the inaugural, make-or-break GT Academy program. As such, the reputation of an entire community of racers rests on his shoulders, with skeptic coaches and investors casting doubt on whether or not a gamer could possibly compete at the highest level of this sport. Darren Barnet has a prominent supporting role in the story as Matty Davis, Mardenborough's fictional rival at the academy who threatens the hero's chances at racing in the real world. It may be yet another video game movie stuck going in circles, but those who love Barnet's work would be remiss to pass up such a sleek and unique project showcasing him in this way.

If, like us, you loved Darren Barnet's performance in the Netflix series "Never Have I Ever," you should strongly consider seeking out a little-known Facebook Watch series called "Turnt." First airing in 2018, the show shares a lot in common with the program that would ultimately turn him into a star, as well as other sleek, stylized teen dramas that have become popular as of late.

It follows the students of a high school, each of whom are dealing with their own issues — many of which relate in some fashion to how social media and social status wreak havoc on the children's lives. Barnet plays a character simply named "Hot Seth," whom he once described in an Instagram post as "Kind of a jerk. Totally a narcissist." Like many shows from Brat TV, some of the writing and production design leaves something to be desired. That said, the actors themselves were able to take this opportunity to deliver some unique and wild performances — Barnet included.

Jake Gyllenhaal stars in the 2024 Amazon Prime Video feature "Road House," a modern update of the 1989 film of the same name. He plays a washed-up UFC fighter named Dalton who, after hitting a dead end in his career, resigns himself to being a bouncer for a roadhouse (yes, it's one word, despite the title) in the Florida Keys. In his capacity as butt-kicker-in-chief, Dalton winds up in conflict with the muscle-bound enforcers of a local criminal enterprise, led by the brutal Knox (who happens to be played by actual washed-up UFC fighter Connor McGregor).

While Dalton, Knox, and a whole ensemble of men with various beards and tattoos handle their differences with fists, the biggest baddies are safely lounging about on a nearby boat. Among them is Sam, a young, cocky lieutenant in the organization played by Darren Barnet. On the red carpet of the film's premiere, Barnet described the supporting role as a cameo which thankfully allowed him to break away from the romantic comedy genre. "[Sam is] one of the first villains I've played in something of this magnitude and it was a bit more of a cameo performance, but it was fun," he told a reporter from Big Gold Belt Media. "I got to do something different and not play a rom-com guy, didn't have to take my shirt off."

On the subject of preparing for the role, he initially joked that all he did was get a tan and lift some weights. In reality, Barnet is apparently a lifelong boxing fan — not that you'd know it from his brief scene in the film, which showcases a punch from him that's so awkward it bruised Barnet's ego. "If it makes people laugh, fine, that's great."

Of all the entries in Legendary Pictures' Monsterverse franchise, "Skull Island" stands out for breaking away from its established style. Instead of the muted landscapes only briefly interrupted by pops of color from Godzilla's atomic breath or other monstrous effects, the Netflix series is a colorful animated adventure that takes its cues from high-stakes children's TV shows like "Avatar: The Last Airbender."

Set in the '90s (two decades, give or take, after the events of 2017 film "Kong: Skull Island"), it centers on three young heroes who find themselves unexpectedly thrown into this world of titans. Charlie (Nicolas Cantu) and Mike (Darren Barnet) are two mostly normal kids whose dads have invested their lives into an obsessive hunt for Skull Island. While Charlie would rather leave his seafaring dad to go to school, Mike seems to derive a certain sense of pride from being capable enough to serve on such a crew.

Their journey eventually leads to disaster, however, as well as an encounter with a mysterious young girl (Mae Whitman) who has advanced survival skills and intimate knowledge of the island's monsters. Together, they must survive being shipwrecked while being hunted by a paramilitary group who have their own shadowy agendas. Older audiences may have some trouble buying into the tone, but if the art style of the series is, well, your style, it's a breezy and oddly nostalgic watch that yields enough fun to be worthwhile.

Since its debut in the 1980s, Stan Sakai's comic book series "Usagi Yojimbo" has been beloved by fans around the world, with the eponymous hero Miyamoto Usagi leading and/or appearing in decades of stories from a wide array of publishers (including Dark Horse Comics, Fantagraphics Books, and IDW). They usually depict Usagi as a wandering ronin during the 17th century, in an alternate reality inhabited by anthropomorphic animals. With its cutting art style, unique feudal Japan setting, and imaginative storylines, it's easy to see why Netflix wanted to bring this world to the medium of animation.

However, rather than directly adapt any of the comics, the streamer chose instead to develop a more contemporary TV series based on their lore (some reviewers at the time compared the approach favorably to that which was taken by Bruce Timm when developing "Batman Beyond" for WB). Retitled "Samurai Rabbit: The Usagi Chronicles," it stars Darren Barnet as Yuichi Usagi, Miyamoto's descendent who aspires to be as heroic, honorable, and renowned as his ancestor. In the first season, he and his elite force of animal martial artists work together each episode to track down and neutralize ghostly threats from the other side called Yokai (a Japanese word meaning demon, monster, or ghost).

The tone of "Samurai Rabbit" is admittedly different from the comic books, with the 3D CGI animation calling to mind those animated series aimed squarely and exclusively at the youngest audiences. But the creative ideas that made "Usagi Yojimbo" fun in the first place are largely present here, and the result is a genuinely all-ages adventure that's heavy on both action and humor.

In a time when romantic comedies are few and far between in movie theaters, the fact that "Anyone But You" managed to be both fun and culturally impactful is surely a testament to its undeniably charismatic cast. New Hollywood breakouts Sydney Sweeney and Glen Powell lead the romp as Beatrice and Ben, two ex-lovers who pretend to be in a passionate relationship in order to solve their personal relationship woes at a destination wedding. Darren Barnet plays Jonathan, Bea's ex-fiancé whom she hopes to shield herself from.

As of the film's red carpet premiere, the cast had remained surprisingly close, which Barnet credited to being isolated together for such a long period of time. Barnet seems interested in reuniting with his castmates for a sequel at some point in the future, which could potentially explore aspects of his character that were seemingly cut from the final film. "When you make films, a lot just ends up on the cutting room floor cause directors [or] creators want to, you know, film such a story," he explained to The Hollywood Reporter. "You can't have too long of a movie. So yeah, I think there is a part of Jonathan that was left behind, but who knows? Maybe a sequel." As for what audiences did see and enjoy, Barnet is nothing but thankful. "That's my second ever film, really. So for it to be such a success, people loving it, leaving it singing and dancing in the theater, I couldn't trade it."

Of the many animated series Darren Barnet has lent his voice to for Netflix, the undisputed champion is "Blue Eye Samurai." The stylishly blood-soaked action drama follows the titular warrior Mizu (Maya Erskine), so named for her half-white half-Japanese ethnicity. As series co-creator Amber Noizumi shared with /Film during the lead up to Season 1, Mizu's experience with racial prejudice throughout the show is inspired by her own experiences as a mixed-ethnicity woman.

Mizu's quest is a vengeful one, hellbent on hunting down four dangerous white men — one of whom is her own father — who harmed her mother and destroyed her childhood. Her journey forces her to confront much of her past, including harsh bullying she suffered at the hands of Darren Barnet's swordsman Taigen. When she defeats him in a formal duel — compromising his honor and unwittingly endangering his engagement to Princess Akemi (Brenda Song) — Taigen begins relentlessly pursuing her to make things right.

The dynamic between Akemi and Taigen was carefully crafted by Noizumi and co-creator Michael Green, as their flawed romance reveals the lack of control that ultimately drives Akemi's actions in the series. "She needs to find a way to control and not chase a boy," she told us. She later added that this "unfortunately, was what the role for women was at the time, and still is in many places, that women's control lies with men — being the daughter, being a wife. And Akemi realizes that she needs a different path than that." In 2023, "Blue Eye Samurai" was renewed for a second season.

The project that put Darren Barnet on the map (and in our homes and movie theaters, for that matter), "Never Have I Ever" remains a touching and hilarious series that stands out to us for how well it showcases the actor's talent. Created by "The Office" alum Mindy Kaling and Lang Fisher, it follows a young Indian-American teenager named Devi Vishwakumar (Maitreyi Ramakrishnan) as she tries to navigate the social peaks and valleys of highschool, particularly as a woman of color. Much of the plot revolves around her infatuation with Barnet's Paxton Hall-Yoshida, a highly sought after swimmer who at first seems content to flex his way through life. 

Barnet deeply connected to Paxton's struggle to be seen as more than a popular guy. "During high school, and even now in my life, it's easy for people to make an assumption or judgement about me very quickly," he said in an interview with Brief Take. "No one would have known in high school, I did play sports and I was, quote unquote, the popular kid, but I also had straight As and was doing community service. My Mom, in real life, is Japanese and she always pushed me to the edge and people wouldn't notice that." Their connection deepened further when Kaling overheard Barnet practicing Japanese and, with his blessing, made his real heritage a part of the character's (Paxton was originally just named Paxton Hall).

"Even coming into acting, I never really thought about leaning into my Japanese heritage because there's this feeling I have that I'm not Asian enough to do it," Barnet shared to Teen Vogue. "And I felt like if I was cast as a distinctly Asian character, there'd be controversy around that." On the contrary, Barnet was lauded for elevating the experiences of Japanese-Americans, and became an overnight star due to his iconically suave performance.