{"id":808481,"date":"2026-05-19T22:46:21","date_gmt":"2026-05-19T22:46:21","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/808481\/"},"modified":"2026-05-19T22:46:21","modified_gmt":"2026-05-19T22:46:21","slug":"belmont-cameli-on-off-campus-heated-rivalry-comparisons-whats-next","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/808481\/","title":{"rendered":"Belmont Cameli on Off Campus, Heated Rivalry Comparisons, What\u2019s Next"},"content":{"rendered":"

\n\tBelmont Cameli<\/a> is in the midst of a truly chaotic promotion week. \u201cIt\u2019s been crazy. I can\u2019t believe it\u2019s coming to an end,\u201d the 28-year-old jokes on a Zoom with The Hollywood Reporter. <\/p>\n

\n\tIt\u2019s midday in New York, and the Illinois-born actor has just raced back to his hotel room for this conversation. It\u2019s been a day since the release of his new Prime Video<\/a> series, Off Campus<\/a>, and he\u2019s almost grateful for the sheer amount of press and activity that have prevented him from falling into the time old tradition of online doomscrolling. <\/p>\n

\n\t\u201cThe only response [to the show] that I\u2019ve been privy to are the text messages I\u2019ve been receiving, which are mostly from my friends and family \u2014 and also from some people I haven\u2019t talked to in a really long time,\u201d Cameli says. The actor\u2019s friends and family have been sending him photos of their watch parties to let him know they\u2019re watching.<\/p>\n

\n\tIn the series, Cameli plays Garrett Graham, an NHL-bound college hockey captain and son of a legendary professional player. The father-son pair have an exceedingly complicated relationship that much of Garrett\u2019s internal conflict stems from. Based on the book series by O.G. hockey romance author Elle Kennedy, Off Campus is the latest sports romance offering to hit streaming.<\/p>\n

\n\tThe series follows a college hockey team and the women in their lives at Briar University, tackling the typical college woes, along with some heavier topics. The show has taken a page out of the Bridgerton playbook and will tap different couples to lead each season. The first season focuses on Cameli\u2019s Garrett and his love interest, music student Hannah Wells (Ella Bright<\/a>), following the plot of Kennedy\u2019s first book in the series, The Deal. <\/p>\n

\n\tOff Campus came on the heels of Cameli\u2019s roles in the video game adaptation film Until Dawn and Robert Di Niro\u2019s The Alto Knights \u2014 the first projects the actor did following stint of inactivity. \u201cI had two years where I had worked only a few days on stuff right around the strike, so I was in the middle of a lull in my career when I booked Until Dawn,\u201d he says, adding it was a big moment for him. <\/p>\n

\n\t\u201cWhen I started out, I was busy right away. I started out pretty hot,\u201d says Cameli. \u201cThen I feel like I paid my dues for a bit, and I really struggled for a couple years.\u201d<\/p>\n

\t\t\t\t\t\t\"\"<\/p>\n

\t\t\t\t\tThe 28-year-old actor says his friends and family have been hosting viewing parties, sending him selfies while he\u2019s off promoting the show.<\/p>\n

\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tPhotography by Zachary Shea; Styling by Sydney Lopez; Grooming by Aika Flores; Wearing Calvin Klein<\/p>\n

\n\tCameli, who grew up in a Chicago suburb, actually never had any intention to be an actor. \u201cI was in college and was studying finance. College was just not a good environment for me, and my father passed right when I got to school,\u201d he says. \u201cAll of a sudden, life felt really short, and it felt really important that I figured out what I wanted to do.\u201d<\/p>\n

\n\tThe loss put everything into a new perspective for him. \u201cAt the time, I was just doing the thing that I was supposed to be doing. You go to a big state school. You get a degree. You go to Chicago. You work in corporate America, the whole nine yards,\u201d Cameli says. \u201cAs soon as I considered what that would look like and that there was a possibility of doing anything else, I got the hell out of there because I knew I was going to be miserable.\u201d<\/p>\n

\n\tThe change in mindset led him taking modeling gigs in Chicago and eventually being signed by an acting agency in the city. The actor, despite how \u201cdaunting\u201d and \u201cscary\u201d the process of shifting gears was, never hesitated. Adds Cameli, \u201cI\u2019m a really hardheaded and stubborn person, so I just decided to do it.\u201d<\/p>\n

\n\tCameli found out about Off Campus in the wake of The Alto Knights. He recalls that there wasn\u2019t a ton of auditions at the time, so he and his actor friends were all aware of the project. \u201cI\u2019d read the pilot, and I wanted to talk to the creators. I took a meeting with Gina [Fattore] and Louisa [Levy],\u201d he says. The trio talked for an hour or two about the character and the complicated relationships at play.<\/p>\n

\n\t\u201cI was really fired up about the prospect of getting to play Garrett Graham after that conversation,\u201d the actor says. He admits that new adult, the popular romance genre focused on college and 20-something characters, wasn\u2019t the first genre he was chomping at the bit to do, but after reading the scripts and speaking with Fattore and Levy he knew this was the project for him. <\/p>\n

\t\t\t\t\t\t\"\"<\/p>\n

\t\t\t\t\tCameli on his decision to become an actor: \u201cI\u2019m a really hardheaded and stubborn person, so I just decided to do it.\u201d<\/p>\n

\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tPhotography by Zachary Shea; Styling by Sydney Lopez; Grooming by Aika Flores; Wearing Calvin Klein<\/p>\n

\n\tCameli booked the role and dove right into preparations, learning how to skate being at the top of that list. \u201cAs soon as I booked the role, I wasted no time getting on the ice because I knew I had a mountain to climb to be able to convincingly play Garrett in game time situations,\u201d he says. \u201cI trained for a while by myself in L.A. and then for a couple more weeks when we got to Vancouver with all the guys.\u201d<\/p>\n

\n\tThe guys in question are Cameli\u2019s onscreen teammates played by Stephen Kalyn, Antonio Cipriano and Jalen Thomas Brooks<\/a>. The four men attended a hockey bootcamp together to prepare for the role \u2014 Kalyn the only amongst them that played hockey his entire young adult life.<\/p>\n

\n\tThe show, perhaps a testament to its big studio budget, shows more on ice action than one might expect. \u201cIn our opinion, the more hockey we can pump into this thing, the better,\u201d he says, noting how pleased he is with the way they turned out. The more involved takes were done by Cameli\u2019s double \u2014 actual NHL player Vinny Iorio, a current member of the New York Rangers \u2014 but a decent amount of the show\u2019s on ice shots are the actor. <\/p>\n

\t\t\t\t\t\t\"\"<\/p>\n

\t\t\t\t\tCameli as Garrett Graham in \u2018Off Campus.\u2019<\/p>\n

\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tLiane Hentscher\/ Prime<\/p>\n

\n\t\u201cAmazon really invested in getting us up to speed as much as possible before we started shooting, and they\u2019ve continued to do so,\u201d Cameli says. He and the other core four men returned for another two-week bootcamp in March to keep their hockey skills sharp. The cast is slated to return to Vancouver this week to shoot the show\u2019s next season, and the men will be headed right back into hockey training camp. <\/p>\n

\n\tGiven hockey\u2019s prominent space in the show, it\u2019s no surprise that comparisons have been drawn between Off Campus and last year\u2019s surprise hit Heated Rivalry. The hockey element is where the similarities end, truthfully, but Cameli counts the success of the Hudson Williams and Connor Storrie-led show as a win for more than just those in a hockey-centric series. \u201cThe way I see it is that the success of Heated Rivalry is a huge success in television,\u201d he says.<\/p>\n

\n\t\u201cWhen that happens with Heated Rivalry \u2014 especially [when] its budget was not like ours, it was an all Canadian production \u2014 to see it percolate globally is a huge win for me as an actor and as a member of this industry,\u201d the actor says. \u201cI love when shit like that happens. That gets me up in the morning. I\u2019m thrilled for them.\u201d<\/p>\n

\n\tBetween Off Campus and Heated Rivalry, hockey\u2019s certainly having a bit of a moment. \u201cI think because of Heated Rivalry, more people tuned into the Olympics. I think because of the Olympics, more people will watch our show,\u201d says Cameli. \u201cIt\u2019s a sport with a lot to love, so I\u2019m glad that people are building out narratives around it.\u201d<\/p>\n

\t\t\t\t\t\t\"\"<\/p>\n

\t\t\t\t\tCameli says he sees the success of Heated Rivalry as a win for Off Campus and all TV.<\/p>\n

\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tPhotography by Zachary Shea; Styling by Sydney Lopez; Grooming by Aika Flores; Wearing Calvin Klein<\/p>\n

\n\tBeyond hockey, much of the show hinges on his character\u2019s relationship with Bright\u2019s Hannah. The pair kick off the show for the other couples to come \u2014 Kennedy\u2019s books center around the other men on the hockey team and the women in their lives. <\/p>\n

\n\t\u201cI\u2019m really glad I got to go first. I\u2019m really proud of the precedent that Ella and I set on set. I feel really confident that everybody else is prepared for their turn,\u201d Cameli says. <\/p>\n

\n\t\u201cIt\u2019s going to be really cool as a fan of these other performers I get to work with to take more of a backseat to their stories and watch them shine,\u201d he continues. <\/p>\n

\n\tHannah and Garrett\u2019s story is far from over, Cameli hits that point home. \u201cI\u2019m really looking forward to the new dynamics. It\u2019s going to be different in a good way, and then from a professional point of view, I will have more time to audition and look for other work too,\u201d he says. <\/p>\n

\n\tCameli\u2019s goal is to shoot a feature after they wrap season two, and last summer, he wouldn\u2019t have had the time to nail that down. \u201cI have more resources and time now to look for movies to do outside of this show, so there\u2019s a lot of silver linings, and I really just can\u2019t wait to see my friends take the reins,\u201d he says. <\/p>\n

\t\t\t\t\t\t\"\"<\/p>\n

\t\t\t\t\tCameli admits he\u2019s glad that he and Bright were the first couple to lead the show, adding \u201cI feel really confident that everybody else is prepared for their turn.\u201d<\/p>\n

\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tPhotography by Zachary Shea; Styling by Sydney Lopez; Grooming by Aika Flores; Wearing Calvin Klein<\/p>\n

\n\tThe actor can\u2019t help but repeating what a blessing the show has been for him, and that he\u2019s been savoring every moment. It\u2019s also not lost on him that in finally getting his leading man moment, he\u2019s able to show people the type of layered performance he loves. \u201cI\u2019ve waited a really long time for my chance to be the lead on a TV show. Hopefully audiences see that I worked really hard and can resonate with Garrett\u2019s story,\u201d he says. \u201cBut I think what\u2019s more important to me is that the people I worked with see me as somebody they can trust with that type of responsibility.\u201d<\/p>\n

\n\tAdds Cameli, \u201cThere\u2019s nowhere else I\u2019d rather be. It\u2019s the coolest thing, and I\u2019m hoping this show will garner attention and that may help me in audition rooms and meetings with directors. But what\u2019s more important to me is that my reputation says that I\u2019m somebody good to work with.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Belmont Cameli is in the midst of a truly chaotic promotion week. \u201cIt\u2019s been crazy. I can\u2019t believe…\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":808482,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":"","_share_on_mastodon":"0"},"categories":[33],"tags":[324554,185,324555,171,308054,8266,67,132,68],"class_list":["post-808481","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-celebrities","tag-belmont-cameli","tag-celebrities","tag-ella-bright","tag-entertainment","tag-off-campus","tag-prime-video","tag-united-states","tag-unitedstates","tag-us"],"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@us\/116603675556988531","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/808481","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=808481"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/808481\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/808482"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=808481"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=808481"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=808481"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}