- You said it's all breath work.
So you researched how to do a lie detector test?
- Yep. - Of course you did.
Cheater.
- We're rolling, guys.
- [Producer] Maitreyi, Darren, Jaren,
we've brought you here today to take a lie detector test.
One of you will be hooked up to the lie detector
while the others will ask the questions,
then you'll switch.
Let's get started.
- I did hear that if you like clench your butt
when you answer a question. - That's disgusting.
- So he looked it up too.
- I looked it up once. - Yeah.
- Yeah, do it.
Yeah. No, go ahead.
Thank you for being here.
Sorry, sorry. I'm your girl.
- We're gonna do good cop, bad cop?
- Oh my god.
- All right, let's cut to the chase.
- Well, now my heart's racing.
- You recently tweeted that you're Team Paxton,
is that correct?
- No. 'Cause I never tweeted that.
- Okay, so then you're Team Ben.
- No.
- That is true.
- You created Devi's catchphrase, "What's popping?"
- [Maitreyi] I did.
- Would you say that you're pretty well versed in slang?
- No, not Toronto slang, that's for sure.
- Do you know what riz is?
- Yeah. I have so much riz. Are you joking?
- Do you think you have more riz than us?
- Actually, yeah, actually I do.
I think Devi doesn't, I think Maitreyi does.
- That's gonna cost ya.
- Do you think you have more riz than the two of us?
- [Maitreyi And Jaren] Combined?
- No, I'm not, I'm not gonna put myself up there,
that's a lot.
- I don't really know what riz is, but I'll.
- And that's why I have more riz than you.
- It's a game.
- Take it. Okay.
- Yeah.
- You once said in an interview
that you questioned the choices you made in high school.
Were you talking about fashion choices?
- There are mics and people who are. Tone it down.
- Were you talking about fashion choices?
- Yes, I do.
I do question them.
- Is it safe to say that your fashion choices
are much better now that other people
are in charge of what you wear?
- Yes. 100%.
- [Darren] So you have no style?
- No, I do have style.
I do have style independently.
- Okay. Moving on.
- I think I'm the good cop, so I'll tone it down.
- Good, good cop.
- You've mentioned before that you're proud
of stealing the spotlight from your older brother as a kid.
Do you still do that now?
- Not as much.
- Do you think that you're the Beyonce of your siblings?
- Well, between my brother and I?
Yeah, I am.
- You're a Capricorn.
- [Maitreyi] I am.
- Capricorns are known for being overachievers, stubborn.
- [Maitreyi] Sure.
- And thorough.
[all laughing]
Did I say that wrong? Thorough.
Why am I thorough?
- [Maitreyi] Thorough.
- Thorough.
- [Maitreyi] Thorough.
- Thorough.
- Henry Thoreau.
- [Darren] Would you say that describes you?
- Yeah. Yeah. Very.
- Is there a sign that you are absolutely drawn to?
- I don't know much about astrology,
but apparently I have a lot of like Cancer friends
and other Capricorns, so
- Be honest.
Is it mine?
- What's your sign?
What's your sign?
- I'm a Taurus.
- I don't know anything about astrology.
- Oh, I had a friend in high school that was a Taurus,
I didn't like her.
This is more for Darren.
- Is it true that you didn't know who the narrator
of our show, John McEnroe, was before meeting him?
- Yeah, I didn't know who he was.
- He's gonna be pissed.
- Do you think that he's a better tennis player
than this person?
- No.
No. - [Darren] Do you think that?
Okay.
- What about this person?
- I don't know who that is. - That's Nadal.
- I have to be honest.
You know I'm not a tennis, I don't know who this is.
- He's also really good.
- [Maitreyi] Is he? - Yeah.
- He's one of the best players of all the time.
Him and Serena?
- Yeah, but I'm kind of Team Serena, so.
- He's like, has like 20 major grand slams.
- Impressive. But I did not know.
I do not know sports.
I do not sport, but good for you, bud.
- Is it true that you often lie
and tell people that you are related to this one?
- I don't even need to see.
Yeah. I damn well do.
Yeah, she's like my aunt from like, you know, back.
- [Jaren] She's like your aunt?
- She's like basically like my aunt.
Her dad and my dad, aka, then his parents
were all in the same area of Nigeria,
so yeah, we actually do technically know each other,
probably through family,
so yeah, we are related, really, if you think about it.
- Do you usually lie a lot?
- Yeah, for like jokes, but not out of like for real.
No, I don't do that.
- Are you lying now?
- At all?
Like right now or in this whole interview?
- I don't know.
- Am I lying right now? No, I'm not.
Why would I lie? No.
- Inconclusive.
- [Darren And Jaren] [gasping]
- Okay. Final question.
Did you lie at any point during this lie detector test
and we didn't catch you?
- Yeah.
Darren, I'm gonna ask you a few questions
just to get a baseline.
- You'll never break me.
- Is your full name Darren Charles Barnet?
- Yes.
- Are you from Los Angeles, California?
- Yeah. Kinda.
Yeah, okay. Yes.
- I think it has to be like a yes.
- This is calibration. - [Darren] Okay, ask it again.
- [Jaren] Okay.
- Is it true that you're actually Team Ben?
- No.
- Are you ready to take this lie detector test?
- Yes.
- Darren, you worked at SoulCycle before acting took off,
is that right?
- Correct.
- Were you good at your job?
- Yeah, I used to clean up so much stuff
I didn't have to clean up.
- Would your coworkers say that you're good at your job?
- Yeah.
She's very professional with the knobs and.
- [Jaren] It's gonna make you nervous.
- She's staring into my soul while she's,
while you're asking me, I'm like,
I'm not giving up what I know.
- All right, next.
Is it true that you made your acting debut.
- Look at her. - On an episode
of "This Is Us?"
Acting debut.
- No. That is actually not correct.
- Who did you play then in your acting debut?
- His name was Kirby and it was for an MTV show.
It was called "The Untitled Nicole Byer Project."
But they recast the whole show before episode one
and I was like a boyfriend to a character,
so I never made the cut.
- [Maitreyi] Wow.
- I was having sex in the woods in Griffith Park.
That was the scene.
- Congratulations.
- I'm not gonna ask for details, but.
- I just wanted to be truthful.
- Who did you play on "This Is Us?"
- I played young Jack Pearson.
- Have you ever met this person?
- Yeah. Yeah, that's good old Milo.
And I think I called him Meelo the first time I met him,
which was awkward.
But now we're buddies.
Hi Milo.
- Did you ever watch "Gilmore Girls?"
- No, I don't think I've ever, wait,
what's "Gilmore Girls" again?
- [Maitreyi] Okay.
- Nope, that's not "Gossip Girl."
No, I have not watched "Gilmore Girls."
- Do you think you look like him?
- Him? Not really. Sometimes.
- Do you think he looks better than you?
- Oh my gosh.
- [Maitreyi] That's not on the paper.
- Either way I lose.
Do I think he looks better than me?
- [Maitreyi] Yeah.
- Are you more attractive than he is?
- Am I more attractive than he is?
- [Jaren] Oh my God.
- That is subjective.
I hope to look like him when I'm his age.
- He means that?
- That's true.
- Do you think he could play an older version of you?
- He already has.
- So are you calling him old?
- No, but he's older than me.
He is.
That's why I look up to him
for such wisdom and guidance as a mentor.
- You could have said, he could play your like brother.
- You could play my brother as well if I grew a beard out.
Oh, I know what I just did there.
Next.
- Darren.
Were you aware that your character on "Never Have I Ever"
was meant to be a heartthrob when you auditioned?
- Yes.
- So you think you're a heartthrob?
[all laughing]
- That's what Netflix tells me, but I'm more than that.
- [Jaren] Do you think you're a heartthrob?
- Sure, Ben.
- He's so humble.
I think you're a heartthrob.
Did you know that there are 354 million likes
on TikTok for Team Paxton,
but only 256 million likes for Team Ben?
- How's that feel?
- This is isn't his time. This isn't his time.
- [Darren] All right.
- How does that make you feel?
- I'm proud of both of us
for being in the hundreds of millions of likes.
- That is true.
- Okay. - True.
- Are you Team Ben?
- No.
- Darren, Paxton's super popular.
You said in real life
that you weren't very popular in high school.
Do you think that your classmates
regret not being your friend now?
- No. I was friends with a lot of people.
I just wasn't like the popular kid.
- So you were popular?
- I was liked among my peers, but popular's different.
I was popular among my own friends.
- That's true.
- Do classmates try to reach out to you?
- Yeah.
- [Jaren] Do you respond?
- No. Not all the time. I'm very bad at responding.
I don't respond to you half the time.
- That's true. - We know that's true.
- It's really true, I can tell you without the detector.
- I hate texting. It's just not natural.
- Have you ever reached out to an old high school crush
now that you're super successful?
- No, I did it before I was successful.
[both snickering]
I had the biggest crush on her
and then she kinda reached out to me
and was like why did you like never like,
I waved at you in high school and blah, blah, blah, blah.
And like, I was, she was like, why didn't you respond?
And I was like, one,
I didn't have contact lenses at the time,
so I couldn't really see much going through the hallway,
so I didn't see your waving.
- That has to be a lie. - No, no, no.
I actually understand that.
- [Darren] You know what I mean?
- I'm lying, we know I'm lying.
- That has to be a lie.
- [Maitreyi] Hard to see.
- Yeah. My heart's beating thinking about her,
the one that got away.
- Oh God.
- [Jaren] God. Okay.
- [Maitreyi] All true?
- Yes, that's true.
- Darren, your character is shirtless
a lot of the time on our show.
- Yeah.
- Be honest.
How many pushups do you do before those takes?
- I try to crank out at least 50.
- You take your shirt off really fast.
Who taught you how to do that?
- I did.
Yeah.
Because they wanted me to,
well, they wanted me to take it off with one hand
in the show, couldn't do it 'cause I kept choking myself,
so I came up with the whip.
- You were walked on a leash
by this woman at one of her Vegas shows.
He doesn't even need to look.
- "Oops, I Did It Again."
There's photo evidence of this, so you know I'm not lying.
- Did you enjoy it?
- Yeah. It was cool.
- He did.
- Yeah. Who wouldn't enjoy that?
- Has being dog walked always been a fantasy of yours?
- No.
But I feel like this setting invites.
- I wanted that one to be false.
- Yeah, false is not. It's true, isn't it?
Come on.
- Is it true?
- [Darren] You're still waiting?
- Yes, that's true.
[both laughing]
- What a gimmick!
- Sit back down.
Is Britney Spears your favorite pop singer?
- No.
- What about Taylor Swift?
- [Darren] No.
- Yes.
- Okay. Did you know she's single now?
- Taylor Swift?
- [Maitreyi] Yes, sir.
- I didn't know that.
- Are you single?
- Yeah.
- Should we call Taylor?
- If you have her number.
- Does anyone have it?
I'll get a song written about me, sure.
- Darren, final question.
Did you lie at any point during this lie detector test
and we didn't catch you?
- No.
- That's true.
- My man. Truthful.
- Yeah.
- [Maitreyi] Are you okay?
- Sure.
- [Maitreyi] Is your full name Jaren Miles Lewison?
- Yes.
- [Darren] Are you from Dallas, Texas?
- Yes.
- [Maitreyi] Are you ready to take this lie detector test?
- No. But I am ready now.
- You started acting when you were five years old.
Were you a better actor when you were five than you are now?
- No.
- So like wine, do you get better with time?
- Yeah, I think everybody does.
As you sort of mature, you get more life experience
and that helps you with your roles.
- [Maitreyi] Do you think I'm a good actor?
- Yes.
- Do you think I'm a better actor than this person?
- I think you're both great.
- That's not an answer.
Yes or no.
- It depends on the situation.
- Inconclusive.
- Wanna move for strike?
You grew up in Dallas.
Is it true what they say, everything is bigger in?
- Evidence that it wasn't on his body all the time.
You're so nervous you popped it off.
- I'm just so big.
- Is it true that you were the captain
of the football team in high school?
- Yes.
- [Maitreyi] So you were a jock?
- Yes.
- Would you say stereotypes people
have about jocks are accurate?
- Sometimes.
- Did you ever whip other teammates
with towels during the shower time?
- [laughing] Probably.
- Ooo, we'll get back to that.
- We'll chat later.
- [Darren] You were also a power lifter in high school.
- Yeah.
- [Darren] Do you consider yourself a muscle head?
- Yes.
- [Darren] Do you think you can lift heavier than this guy?
- No. Absolutely not.
- [Darren] What about?
- All right guys, I'm not doing anything.
- Oh my God!
- Is this a tactic? What is this?
- I don't know, but you are not looking good.
- It's not looking great for you.
Jaren. Do you have a best friend?
- Yes.
- [Maitreyi] Do you have a best friend on this show?
- Yes.
- [Maitreyi] Do you have a best friend in this room?
- Yes.
- So who is your best friend on the show, please,
we need audio.
- It's you.
- [Maitreyi] Who?
- You.
- Follow up question.
That hurt.
- [Maitreyi] It's not a question.
- Somebody has to teach this guy what a question means.
- Jaren?
- [Jaren] Yes.
- Have you ever slid into anyone's DMs?
- Yes.
- [Maitreyi] Why are you answering so quickly?
- Because it's gonna be.
- [Maitreyi] If yes.
- About the first time that.
- [Maitreyi] Have you ever slid into mine?
- Yeah.
The first time we met I introduced myself.
I was like, "Hey, I'm Jaren, I'm playing Ben.
I like just recently also graduated high school
and I'm not from LA either.
So like just wanted to say hi
'cause we both had no friends."
- [Darren] Corny.
- Is it true that I was your first kiss,
both on screen and in real life?
- On screen, yes.
In real life, no.
- Okay. Was I any good?
- Yes.
- How would you rank the kiss on a scale from one to 10?
- Like a solid eight.
- So room for improvement?
- Isn't there always?
- You went to USC, right?
- Yes.
- Is it true that you graduated in three years?
- [Jaren] Yes.
- So you'd say you're smart?
- I think I have like decent intelligence.
I don't think I'm a genius.
- You smarter than us?
- No.
- [Darren] Is that true?
- Well, now I'm getting nervous.
- You have an IG show called "Jaren's Bake Shop,"
where you bake.
- Yes.
- [Maitreyi] Do you think you're a good baker?
- Yeah.
- [Maitreyi] Do you think people like what you make?
- Most of the time.
- Why have you never made anything for me?
Yes. It does not apply to me, nevermind, thank you.
- [Jaren] Doesn't apply 'cause I haven't made stuff for him.
- Why haven't you ever made anything from me?
- I dunno, you're a pretty healthy guy.
- Am I not healthy?
- [Jaren] You.
- Just digging yourself a hole.
Did you lie at any point during this lie detector test
and we did not catch you?
- No.
- That's true.
- None of us had lies?
- You can stop clenching now.
[sighing]