Ramona Young on Character Crashouts, Being Less Afraid, and Her The Paper Audition

Words: Jenn Lehwald | Photography: Lewis Vorn | Styling: Katy Cutbirth | Chelsea Frei Makeup: Kenneth Soh | Chelsea Frei Hair: Kelsey Gustovitch | Gbemisola Ikumelo Makeup: Tay Rivera | Gbemisola Ikumelo Hair: Porshawna Mosely | Ramona Young Makeup: Sarah Nelson | Ramona Young Hair: Ryan Burrell | Sabrina Impacciatore Hair: Andrew Ly | Sabrina Impacciatore Makeup: Sabrina Rinaldi | Special Thanks: Margaret Crane, Alex Wong and Olivia Cooper at Universal TV

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For Ramona Young, being part of a hit television show is no unfamiliar territory. After starring as Eleanor Wong in Netflix’s Never Have I Ever, she understands what it feels like to exist as a character that people know and love. Still, The Paper presented a different kind of challenge. Stepping into a new show within the universe of The Office meant knowing from the beginning that comparisons to the original series would be inevitable, something Young admits made much of Season 1 feel like holding her breath and waiting to see whether audiences would accept them.

Now, with Season 2, that uncertainty has finally lifted. Young feels more settled in Nicole and more willing to play with her character, while also becoming more comfortable with something she says has taken time in her own life: using her voice. She’s learning not to wait for someone else to tell her story, and it’s a lesson that feels particularly fitting for an actor who has spent years playing characters audiences love, and is now figuring out what she wants to say for herself.

What has it been like for you having The Paper out in the world?

It’s pretty surreal. I think it’s surreal because I never thought that I would really be here with my career. If you asked me this 10 years ago, I would be completely gobsmacked. But yeah, it’s unreal. I feel very blessed. I feel very fortunate, and I’m so happy I get to be a part of it and that it gets to be a part of the world and people get to see it.

What was it about the show that made you want to come back to it?

There are so many reasons. A big part of it is just the people who are working on it. I feel so inspired and motivated just because I know what they’ve worked on before. I know what they’re working on now.

Even in the cast, when I’m sitting in that workspace, I’ll see Alex working on his script, or Melvin working on some comedy thing, or Gbemi talking about another deadline. So everyone’s incredibly ambitious and hungry, and everyone’s really talented. When you’re around people who are so driven, it kind of rubs off on you.

I feel so inspired and motivated just because I know what [The Paper cast and crew] have worked on before. I know what they’re working on now.

Coming back for Season 2, did anything feel immediately different about stepping into the show this time around?

Coming into Season 2 was really like a breath of fresh air. I think everyone was holding their breath in Season 1 because we were so like, “Are people gonna like it? Are people gonna compare us constantly? Are we gonna cave under the pressure? What is this new thing that we’re building and creating? What is it actually gonna look like?” And then once it came out, once we got the reviews, coming into Season 2 was really like a breath of fresh air. Like, okay, I feel settled, and now I feel like I can play. I feel like we can have more fun. And that’s what Season 2 felt like.

Do you feel the pressure of being part of something connected to something as iconic as The Office less now that you’re going into Season 2?

Yeah. I felt like Season 1, a majority of it was just like, “Are we gonna get there?” Even the process of being put into the show was nerve-wracking.

We had shot the pilot, and in our contracts it literally was like, “We’re gonna put the pilot together. If you’re not right for this role, you’re done. You don’t need to do the rest of the season.”

So this whole process just felt nerve-wracking. It felt unstable. There was a lot of uncertainty on my part. I felt like the people making the show knew what they were looking for and they knew what they were doing, but just as an actress, I was pretty nervous.

And Season 2, it was just like, okay, I feel accepted now. I feel like I can explore and play, and I get my character more.

Do you feel like you’re similar to Nicole?

In some ways, I feel similar in the way that I speak. I feel similar in the way my body moves and behaviorally, but I would say the psychology of my character is a little different from how I am.

Do you think those similarities were collaborative? Did they tell you they wanted her to act and speak like this, or do you think that just came from you?

I think it’s collaborative. I feel like Greg and Michael like to work with people they find interesting.

When we got these auditions, there was no character description. It was just a fake name with made-up sides. My audition, I was in an airplane. I had no idea what was happening. I was just like, “I’m gonna be myself and do this scene where I’m on an airplane.”

I had no idea what the show was, what it was about or what the real premise was. So I feel like after I was put into the show, I was like, okay, I’m just gonna bring that into the character because it worked for the audition.

Is that common for casting?

No! I don’t think that’s normal. This happened to Melvin too, where after we found out we were hired, we had a lunch with all the writers and they were like, “So, what’d you think of the pilot?”

And I was like, “What pilot?”

There was a script this whole time? I was like, “I did a scene where I was in an airplane. What are you talking about?” I’ve never encountered anything like that.

And also, it was such an in-depth process. One of the last hoops you kind of have to jump through is you just sit in a room with Greg and Michael. I was there for like an hour and a half, and we just talked about my life and me and questions about the show. We just talked. I’m like, that never happens. Usually you come in, you do a scene, you leave, you get a call or you don’t, and you move on.

Did you have a conversation with them afterwards about that whole conversation? Were they looking for something, or were they just trying to get to know you?

I think they were trying to get to know me. I feel like they’re creative people. I feel like they get inspired by people they work with, and I think that’s just a part of their process. I feel like Greg does that a lot with a lot of his projects.

What do you think makes The Paper work so well as an ensemble?

I think everyone is really different on the show. We all bring a piece that is unique. And also, we’re all very grounded and we’re all very honest people.

When you show up, there’s nobody fake in the cast. Everyone’s kind-hearted. Everyone’s really genuine. Everyone really cares about the show, and no one’s fake. I think that makes the show really good.

What did you find most interesting about where the writers decided to take the show in its second season?

Oh my gosh. I mean, we’ve done so many scenes in Season 2 where I did not see it coming, and it was just so bizarre, but funny.

Even with my character, she kind of crashes out, but she changes her identity. It’s really bizarre.

The dynamics really change between the characters. Nicole is just emotionally gutted, and everything comes out of her. The truth comes out and she crashes out, is the best way I can put it. But I did not see that coming at all.

Without giving too much away, is there anything else in the script from any other character that surprised you in Season 2?

I think the Ned and Mare will-they-won’t-they. I actually have no idea what’s going to happen because I can really see it going both ways, the way that they put that together.

So I can’t wait to see what happens.

The mockumentary format of the show means even a small reaction or a glance can feel like part of the joke. Now that you’ve spent some time within that format, do you find yourself approaching a scene differently than when you first started?

Yeah. At first it was incredibly uncomfortable looking down the barrel of a camera. It’s so taboo in the acting world.

But now I kind of see the camera as a separate entity, like a character on its own. And because Nicole is a little reserved and more of a wallflower or observational, I feel like she confides in the camera as someone she can really be her true self around.

Do you think that’ll become habitual for you, or do you think you’ll be able to switch it off when you’re working on a different project?

I now find myself looking down the camera a lot when I’m not supposed to.

We all bring a piece that is unique. And also, we’re all very grounded and we’re all very honest people.

Has anyone since been like, “Stop”?

No, but I’ll stop myself. I’ll be like, “Oh shoot, we gotta do that again.” So yeah, it’s becoming a thing.

The show is obviously a comedy, but it’s also about people trying to make something matter in a world that doesn’t always make that easy. Do you think Season 2 deepens that side of The Paper?

Yeah, I do. I feel like the stories that we’re writing, or journaling about and reporting on, are different. There are higher stakes involved.

Are you allowed to give a teaser about any of the stories they’re working on?

I mean, some of it is life or death. It’s as serious as it can get.

When you look at where you’re at now with your career and how it’s continuing to evolve, what feels creatively important to you at this stage?

I think something that I’ve learned, even from working on The Paper, is how important having your own narrative is.

I feel like when you’re an actor — it brings me so much joy to act, by the way. I think it’s really fun. It’s a great exercise in empathy and imagination and detective work and curiosity — but I’m also learning how important it is to value my own narrative and my own perspective.

If I don’t tell these stories that are important to me, I might sit around and wait forever and it might never be told, you know?

So recently I’ve been really valuing my own voice a lot more than I had before.

What does that look like for you in practice?

I think mostly it’s sharing who I am and being vocal, and maybe not necessarily being as reserved as I normally am. Being less afraid to have a voice and to share my perspective and to find value in that in rooms, and also in my work.