Justice Smith's Heated Rivalry Casting Has Some Book Fans Upset
Season 2 is going to diverge from the books even more than fans thought.
The second season of Heated Rivalry is finally materializing, but some hardcore fans of Rachel Reid’s books are thrown off by a recent casting announcement. On Aug. 7, Crave and HBO Max confirmed that Justice Smith will play Harris Drover and Charlie Gillespie will play Troy Barrett in Season 2 of the hit hockey romance. The announcement pretty clearly confirms Season 2 will partially adapt Reid’s 2021 book Role Model, which centers on Harris and Troy’s love story. But it will apparently look different on the screen, due to Smith’s casting in particular.
In Role Model, Harris is introduced as the social media manager for the Ottawa Centaurs, having been a lifelong hockey fan who unfortunately wasn’t allowed to play due to a heart condition. While Harris’ physical appearance isn’t too overt in Reid’s books, he is described as “stocky” with a “soft belly.” He is assumed to have an average build that likely only stands out because he’s next to chiseled hockey pros all the time — while he calls himself “pudgy,” Troy sees Harris as “rugged” and broad-chested.
For years, Role Model fans have debated Harris’ size, but most agree that he has an at least slightly larger than average build. So, fan-casts have frequently imagined stockier actors portraying Harris, which makes the Smith choice feel out of left field.
Smith is visibly thinner than the Harris most book readers were imagining, which technically shouldn’t be an issue in terms of story. After all, the fact that Harris’ size is so ambiguous to readers indicates that it doesn’t play a role in his romance with Troy at all. However, given the historical lack of positive fat representation on TV and film, it’s unfortunate that Heated Rivalry squandered the opportunity to highlight a body type that isn’t shared by all of its other shredded leads.
It’s no shade to Smith, who definitely has the talent and charisma to bring Harris — it just would have been nice to see someone without a six pack get their steamy Heated Rivalry moment.
