Ramakrishnan fulfills childhood dream with ‘My Little Pony’ role
Maitreyi Ramakrishnan’s childhood devotion to My Little Pony turned out to be homework for her latest TV project.
Ramakrishnan stars in the voice cast of Netflix’s new animated children’s series “My Little Pony: Make Your Mark,” a sharp contrast to her breakout role in the acclaimed coming-of-age comedy “Never Have I Ever.”
The Canadian actor, 20, recalls growing up with the fourth iteration of the toy line that included what she wryly calls “the OG’S of Twilight Sparkle and Rainbow Dash, my personal favorite.” Playing the nextgen character of Pegasus pony Zipp, short for Princess Zephyrina Storm, was a chance to fulfill “those childhood kind of dreams,” Ramakrishnan said.
Zipp stands out among her equine pals — and not only because of her bold, two-tone hair style. Ramakrishnan describes her as smart, curious and determined to be herself. The actor calls it “very cool” that she also got to sing on the companion album for the series, now streaming on Netflix. This interview with Ramakrishnan has been edited for clarity and length.
Q: You’ve described Zipp in positive terms. Is there something else compelling about the series, something you believe children may get from watching it? A:
It’s really great because it’s showing kids that there’s a place for everyone. All of the main characters are very different and unique personalities, and have different interests and likes. I hope kids just take away that they can be themselves and people will love them for that.
Q: You’ve talked before about growing up without seeing a TV or film character who looks like you ethnically and who you could relate to. A:
I think I only got to unpack this once I started “Never Have I Ever,” and was asked in many interviews, ‘Who was your representation (on screen)?’ I didn’t really have that. And I realized maybe this is why I always had such an affinity to animation as a child. You’re able to relate to a cartoon totally, more than you’re able to relate to teenagers who are your beauty expectation of how you’re supposed to grow up.
Q: Your role as teenager Devi on the Mindy Kalingco-created “Never Have I Ever” is a rarity, a lead Southeast Asian character. How have viewers responded? A:
Positive reaction to seeing my character, or mixed emotions in the sense of people feeling so uncomfortable with how much they see themselves in the characters. Devi is a hot mess. But it’s not just from the young brown girls that see Devi and think, “Yeah, I can relate.” There’s the brown guys. Or any girl who’s experiencing life struggles, or just any guy who’s experienced that feeling of wanting to
be a part of something. That’s representation to me, when you’re writing those characters that have a diverse face but are written so well and so realistically that it’s not tokenism.
Q: Studies show that TV and movies are recognizing the value of hiring people of color as actors and creators. Do you see a role for yourself in fostering more diversity? A:
With the “Never Have I Ever” and the “Squid Games” of the world, it’s like, “Oh, we made a step in the right direction.”
And then very quickly, those steps can be forgotten because we tend to not give them enough credit, and it’s really hard to keep that momentum going.
But you have to do the work. It gets frustrating at times, because you can wonder if you’re on top of the world and you’re like, “Yeah, I made it. I’m being respected. But hang on, I’m still being treated like I’m just this little tokenized brown girl.” And that sucks. But because I love acting so much, I’m not going to give it up. And I know that if I continue to pave this way, as Mindy Kaling did for girls like me, I’ll make it a little bit easier for the next, and then it will keep going.