‘Heated Rivalry’ Dream Cast: Our Picks for Troy Barrett & More ‘Game Changers’ Leading Men
One of the many appeals of Heated Rivalry is that most of the stars aren’t — or rather, weren’t — big names. Connor Storrie and Hudson Williams had some projects under their belts before they snagged the roles of Ilya and Shane, but not enough for viewers to recognize them. It’s refreshing to see when the entertainment industry so often relies on established stars.
We hope that Heated Rivalry keeps adding fresh faces to its lineup going forward, but there are some actors we think would be perfect for the other leading men in author Rachel Reid’s Game Changers series, which the show is based on (in case you didn’t already know). Of course, we already have Game Changer‘s Scott Hunter and Kip Grady (François Arnaud and Robbie G.K.). We even already have Kyle Swift (Matthew Finlan), who’s the main character in Common Goal.
Who we don’t have yet is Kyle’s love interest, Eric Bennett. The same goes for Troy Barrett and Harris Drover, the couple of Role Model, and Ryan Price and Fabian Salah of Tough Guy. As Game Changers readers know, all of the aforementioned characters make cameos throughout the series, so we’re bound to see some of them in Heated Rivalry Season 2. So, Swooon is putting our picks out into the universe in advance. Let us know what you think of our dream cast in the comments section and share your own ideas, too.
Heated Rivalry, Season 2, TBA, HBO Max
Maxence Danet-Fauvel as Troy Barrett
Tell us Maxence Danet-Fauvel doesn’t fit Troy’s vibe to a T. It’s a bit of a long shot because Danet-Fauvel mostly acts in French projects, including Skam France (though he does appear to know English). Regardless, his performance in Skam proves that he can totally pull off Troy’s introspective personality and inner struggle. Not to mention, the actor definitely fits Harris’ physical description of Troy: “intense blue eyes, glossy dark hair, and pouting lips [that] made him look more like a pop star than a hockey player.” We’d love to see Danet-Fauvel play the former bully who’s working on opening up to people and becoming a better person.
Fred Hechinger as Harris Drover
If you don’t see the vision of Fred Hechinger as Harris, watch Hell of a Summer and get back to us. The actor may be most known as the awkward and sullen little brother in The White Lotus Season 1, but his performance in the aforementioned horror-comedy movie is giving Harris’ sunshine-incarnate energy. Plus, Hechinger’s got the general look of the Ottawa Centaurs’ social media manager, and with the right styling, he could totally lean into Harris’ rugged appearance.
Luke Macfarlane as Eric Bennett
If he grows out his hair longer to match Eric, Luke Macfarlane checks all of the character’s physical boxes, with the dark hair and stubble flecked with gray. He’s the right age, too, since Common Goal is an age-gap romance. Most importantly, the Canadian actor knows how to play a charming love interest, with a number of rom-coms in his credits. Macfarlane even plays a hockey star in one of the many Hallmark movies that he has under his belt. Plus, Eric goes through a midlife shift, just like Macfarlane’s character in Apple TV+’s Platonic. Considering he’s got all of that down, we have no doubt that Macfarlane could embody the composed, elegant goalie on the verge of retirement.
Derek Theler as Ryan Price
We can’t take credit for this pick, but we seriously couldn’t find anyone better than Derek Theler for the role of Ryan. It’s not easy to find an actor who fits his physical description — as an enforcer, Ryan needs to be intimidating and tower over everyone else — but Theler completely fits the bill at 6’5″. What’s more, he’s portrayed a hockey player before. Admittedly, Baby Daddy‘s Danny Wheeler isn’t all that similar to Ryan, who’s an anxiety-ridden gentle giant, but we’re willing to bet that Theler could do the character justice.
Jade Hassouné as Fabian Salah
This is another one that we have to give social media credit for, but Jade Hassouné shares so many of Fabian’s attributes that we can’t picture anyone else as him. Is that photo (see above) of him in Shadowhunters not giving total Fabian energy? Hassouné is even Lebanese-Canadian, just like Fabian. He even doubles as a singer, so there wouldn’t have to be any lip-syncing involved when Fabian performs.
