NEED TO KNOW
- Australian actor Josh Heuston plays leading man Justin Kohl in new show Off Campus.
- The hockey romance is being compared to Heated Rivalry but has a heterosexual love triangle at its centre.
- The 29-year-old plays the charming lead singer of a college campus rock band, acting alongside Ella Bright and Belmont Cameli.
If you didn’t know Josh Heuston’s name after his roles in Heartbreak High and Dune: Prophecy, you likely know it now from the Prime Video series, Off Campus. The Australian actor plays one of two leading men in the hockey romance, and his name has certainly been on the lips of BookTok fans lately, with many already fancasting Heuston in the upcoming Fourth Wing adaptation.
The 29-year-old is no stranger to playing heartthrobs, and this role is no exception.
However, he was admittedly quite embarrassed when WHO asked him about this theme in his acting career.
“I feel like if the story is right I’ll play those characters, but yeah, I don’t think I’m intending to go out and pick a heartthrob to play… but I’ll take it.”
Based on Elle Kennedy’s bestselling BookTok-favourite novels, Off Campus follows the messy and addictive love triangle between college student Hannah (Ella Bright), hockey star Garrett Graham (Belmont Cameli) and Josh’s Justin Kohl — the charming lead singer of a campus rock band played by Josh.
For the actor, the appeal of the series was immediate.
“What excited me was how human the story is,” he explained. “At its core, it is a love story, and I feel like that’s something most people can relate to.”
Josh wanted his Off Campus character to be more than just the ‘crush’
While Justin may initially appear to be the stereotypical charismatic musician, Josh says he was determined to make the character feel more layered onscreen than he does on the page.
“In the book, Justin can come across as the guy who complicates things — and he definitely does — but I was really interested in making sure he never felt like just an obstacle,” he says.
“I think, on the page, he leans into a certain persona — the frontman, the crush — but on screen, I had the chance to add more layers to him. I tried to find his quieter moments, his insecurities, the parts of him that aren’t as put together as he seems.”
The crazy schedule of a rising Australian actor
The role marks yet another major project for the rising Australian star, whose recent credits include Dune: Prophecy and Dangerous Animals.
But compared to the darker, larger-scale productions he’s worked on recently, Off Campus offered something entirely different.
“Something like Off Campus has a lighter tone and is more grounded and character-driven, whereas projects like Dune: Prophecy are bigger in scale and have a lot more world-building and intensity,” he says. “In Off Campus, there was room to explore everyday moments more than I have done before.”
In fact, the transition between the two productions was so abrupt that the star describes it as “whiplash”.
“I had to fly straight from Canada, where we shot Off Campus, to Budapest, where we shot Dune: Prophecy, so one day I was on a university set and the next in the Dune fantasy world,” he recalled.
Off-screen, however, life on the Off Campus set sounded far more relaxed — something Josh credits largely to the close-knit cast dynamic.
“The vibes were so high — we all get on so well and a big part of the fun that we had was the people involved,” he shared of castmates including Ella, Belmont, Steve Howey and Stephen Kalyn.
“We have just all been together for the past three weeks on the press tour to Los Angeles, Brazil and New York City, so it was awesome to all be back together again. It’s been a really fun experience to do it with this cast.”
Josh ditched university to pursue his acting aspirations
While Josh now plays one of television’s newest college heartthrobs, he admitted his own university experience looked very different.
The actor previously studied biomolecular science and commerce before ultimately deciding acting was where he wanted to be.
“A bad one, because I didn’t finish the degree,” he said when asked what kind of student he was. “I mean, I gave it a go and did a bit of university, but I figured out it wasn’t really for me, so I left.”
Off Campus is already being compared to Heated Rivalry
As anticipation around the adaptation continues to build online, Josh said he hopes long-time readers feel the series stays true to what made the books so beloved in the first place.
“I think anyone who loves the Off Campus books already has such a strong connection to those characters and that world,” he said. “I hope people feel like we’ve really honoured that.”
“Hopefully, it feels both familiar and new at the same time, and that fans can see these characters come to life in a way that still matches how they imagined them when reading the pages.”
The series has also already drawn comparisons to beloved queer hockey romance Heated Rivalry — something Josh is more than happy to embrace.
“I’ll take that as a compliment because Heated Rivalry has such a passionate fanbase,” he said. “What’s fun about Off Campus is it leans into the romance and all its messiness in a really entertaining way.”
With Off Campus now streaming and Dune: Prophecy Season 2 still to come later this year, Josh’s schedule isn’t slowing down anytime soon — although there is one thing currently sitting at the top of his priority list.
“The first thing I am doing is I am booking a holiday!” he laughed.
(Off Campus is streaming now on Prime Video)
