Following the immense success of The Summer I Turned Pretty and We Were Liars, Prime Video’s latest romance series, Off Campus, is based on yet another young adult (YA) novel series beloved by BookTok.

Adapted from author Elle Kennedy’s popular book series of the same name, the show, which premiered on May 13, follows hockey-hating Briar University music student Hannah (Ella Bright), who enters into a fake relationship with ice hockey star Garrett (Belmont Cameli) in an effort to grab the attention of her long-time crush.

With Heated Rivalry one of the most talked-about shows of recent times, Off Campus also reflects growing interest in the somewhat niche category of “hockey romance”. So who is Belmont Cameli, the newest heartthrob to join the growing list of hockey male leads, alongside Heated Rivalry’s Connor Storrie and Hudson Williams?

He dropped out of university to become an actor

Born in Illinois in February 1998, Cameli was pursuing a very different career path when he dropped everything in favour of the entertainment industry. Raised in the suburbs of Chicago, Cameli grew up playing various sports. He entered the University of Illinois as a business major but dropped out a year later after deciding he wanted to become an actor and filmmaker.

Cameli spent a year taking on modelling gigs to keep himself afloat, before moving to Los Angeles in 2019 to pursue his dream of making it big in Hollywood.

He’s a rising star