By Jen Glennon
Published September 19, 2026
Main Facts: A Nintendo Purist in an Xbox World
For Maitreyi Ramakrishnan, the journey from a dedicated Nintendo devotee to a breakout Hollywood star has been guided by the glow of handheld screens and the nostalgic hum of mid-2000s console hardware. Best known for her star-making turn in Netflix’s hit series Never Have I Ever and her leading role in the feature film Best of the Best, Ramakrishnan’s roots are planted firmly in the world of Kyoto’s most iconic game developer.
While many children of the 2000s grew up navigating the gritty, high-definition underworlds of Grand Theft Auto or engaging in tactical warfare in Call of Duty on competing Microsoft and Sony platforms, Ramakrishnan’s household enforced a strict anti-violence policy on mature-rated titles. Xbox and PlayStation were virtually non-existent in her childhood home; instead, the Nintendo DS and the Nintendo GameCube reigned supreme.
Her personal pantheon of all-time favorites reads like a love letter to Nintendo’s golden era of creative experimentation. It is a curated collection of mid-2000s masterpieces featuring titles such as Super Smash Bros. Ultimate, Paper Mario: The Thousand-Year Door, Kirby Super Star Ultra, The Legend of Zelda: Phantom Hourglass, Super Princess Peach, Pokémon Pearl, Luigi’s Mansion, and Super Paper Mario.
Far from being a casual consumer of pop culture media, Ramakrishnan’s engagement with video games runs deep, shaping her work ethic, her competitive spirit, and even her permanent body art.
Chronology: From Off-Brand Controllers to Smash Dominance
Ramakrishnan’s gaming origins were marked by the universal childhood struggle of sibling and cousin rivalry, frequently compounded by hardware disadvantages. Like many younger or visiting players, she spent her formative gaming years relegated to the dreaded second-player tier, clutching the cheap, third-party wired controller characterized by a sticky, chewed-up joystick and unresponsive button inputs.
"I was really, really bad as a kid," Ramakrishnan recalls with a laugh. Despite early frustrations and frequent defeats at the hands of her older relatives, she persevered. Through thousands of matches, a fundamental paradigm shift occurred: she realized that success in fighting games required deliberate strategy rather than frantic button-mashing.
"I kept playing. And I slowly started understanding, like, wait, you don’t have to spam things. It’s not random. You can actually choose moves and combos. There’s a method and strategy to this," she explains. Once that mechanical and psychological threshold was crossed, her trajectory shifted. She transitioned from the perennial underdog to an intimidating competitor. "Once I learned that, I started getting way better and then started beating my cousins all the time."
That dedication left a permanent mark—quite literally. Her love for Nintendo’s deceptively lethal pink puffball culminated in her getting a Kirby tattoo, proudly cementing her allegiance to the character as her very first piece of body art.
When asked about her competitive credentials in Super Smash Bros., Ramakrishnan issues a lighthearted warning to any potential challengers: "I could kick your ass without using down-B once." She elaborates on her psychological warfare tactics in the arena: "I actually love to use down-B as a fake-out, because I stop it midway and do something else, and then boom, you’re done."
Supporting Data: Translating Virtual Coordination to Physical Performance
Transitioning from the couch to the silver screen requires physical discipline, particularly when a project demands intricate choreography. Given that her new Netflix cinematic venture, Best of the Best, centers heavily around a high-energy Bollywood dance club setting at UCLA, one might naturally assume Ramakrishnan possesses a lifelong background in professional dance.
However, her secret weapon for mastering rhythm and spatial awareness came from an entirely different entertainment medium: video games.
"I don’t know if the people who make Just Dance know, but they were a part of my education for Best of the Best," Ramakrishnan reveals. The Ubisoft rhythm franchise, which challenges players to mirror on-screen choreography with precise timing, served as an unconventional training ground for her cinematic dance sequences. It highlights a growing body of anecdotal and empirical evidence regarding the crossover benefits of interactive media: improved hand-eye coordination, rapid spatial processing, and synchronized motor skills that directly translate to live-action performance art.
Her reverence for gaming history was further demonstrated during a recent visit to a retro gaming and memorabilia shop. When invited to select a single piece of hardware or software to inspect more closely, Ramakrishnan bypassed modern collector’s items in favor of deep-cut nostalgia. She gravitated toward an original, gray cartridge of Super Smash Bros. for the Nintendo 64, turning it over in her hands with the cautious, respectful reverence usually reserved for artifacts in a museum exhibit.
The moment carried an amusing generational irony: as she marveled at the late-90s hardware, it became apparent that Ramakrishnan—born in 2001—was not even alive when the cartridge originally hit store shelves in 1999.
Official Responses and Industry Context
Ramakrishnan’s public embrace of her gamer identity is part of a broader, shifting cultural landscape where mainstream Hollywood actors openly discuss their gaming roots without fear of professional stigma. Historically, the entertainment industry viewed gaming as a niche or juvenile hobby, but contemporary stars regularly leverage their gaming fandom to connect with younger, digitally native audiences.
Industry analysts note that Gen Z and younger millennial actors frequently cite interactive media as foundational to their storytelling sensibilities. For Nintendo, cultural touchstones like Super Smash Bros. and the enduring legacy of the Nintendo DS ecosystem continue to serve as powerful bridges between disparate forms of entertainment—linking television, film, and interactive software.
While major game publishers have increasingly sought out partnerships with mainstream streaming stars to promote upcoming releases, organic fandoms like Ramakrishnan’s—forged in the fires of childhood couch co-op and third-party controllers—remain the most resonant with fans. Neither Nintendo nor Netflix has issued formal corporate statements regarding her recent comments, but public reception across social media has been overwhelmingly positive, with gaming communities enthusiastically claiming her as one of their own.
Implications: The Intersection of Gaming and Modern Hollywood
The intersection of gaming culture and Hollywood stardom, as exemplified by Maitreyi Ramakrishnan’s career, carries several notable implications for the future of entertainment marketing and celebrity branding.
First, it normalizes gaming as a primary pillar of cultural literacy. When a leading actor from a major Netflix franchise can casually discuss frame data psychology in Super Smash Bros. or credit rhythm games with aiding film choreography, it dismantles outdated stereotypes about who plays games and how those games influence creative professionals.
Second, it underscores the enduring power of generational nostalgia. Hardware and software from the late 1990s and mid-2000s—such as the Nintendo 64 and the Nintendo DS—are no longer viewed merely as obsolete technology, but as vintage cultural artifacts worthy of preservation and reverence. Even for younger artists who missed a console’s initial launch window, the cultural equity of these platforms remains immense.
Finally, Ramakrishnan’s journey from a frustrated player stuck with an off-brand controller to a confident, tattooed competitor serves as an inspiring blueprint for fans worldwide. It demonstrates that passion, patience, and analytical thinking—whether applied to mastering a tricky video game combo or breaking into the competitive landscape of international film and television—ultimately yield mastery. As she continues to balance high-profile acting roles with her enduring love for classic Nintendo franchises, Ramakrishnan proves that you can grow up and conquer Hollywood without ever truly having to put down the controller.
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