“Off Campus” star Ella Bright defends 9-year age gap with costar Belmont Cameli

Key Points

• Ella Bright is shutting down fan concern over her age gap with costar Belmont Cameli.

• Discourse surrounding the age difference between Bright, 19, and Cameli, 28, has led some commenters to voice concern about intimate scenes filmed for the show.

• The Off Campus star says she understood from the very beginning that “partial nudity” would be required for the role.

Ella Bright is wading into the age gap discourse surrounding Off Campus.

While fans are all-in on the romance between Hannah (Bright) and her hockey beau Garrett (Belmont Cameli), some have voiced concerns about the show upon learning that the actress, 19, is nearly a decade younger than her onscreen love interest (Cameli is 28). Now, Bright is offering some reassurance.

“Listen, I came into this job and during the chemistry reads with more than enough information and knowledge and understanding of what this role required,” Ella told Amanda Hirsch on the May 26 episode of the Not Skinny But Not Fat podcast. “I just fell in love with Hannah and these scripts immediately. Like, there was never a question that I wouldn’t want to do this.”

Bright acknowledged that she can see why some people would be concerned about the age difference, but shared that it never weighed on her while working with Cameli or any of her other costars.

“I get people’s concern, but also not once did I feel left out from being younger than everybody,” she explained. “We’re all such a family, and everyone was just more than perfect, and I couldn’t be more comfortable on this set with these people.”

She added, “So, it is funny when they say that. I’m like, ‘I’m good. I’m completely good.'”

Along the same lines, Bright shared that before she officially signed aboard the show, showrunner Louisa Levy made sure that she — and her fellow costars — were prepared for the steamier elements of the romance adaptation.

“Her idea was that for Hannah the briefing was like partial nudity and for Allie [Mike Abdalla] it had to be full, just because Allie, she’s got this amazing confidence about her, and she is so free with her body,” Bright explained. “And sex is just such an important part of her life. It is honestly just showing the difference between these characters.”

She then emphasized, “Everyone had full understanding of what we were going into.”

Earlier this month, Levy echoed this sentiment while sharing her own thoughts on the age-gap discourse. Producers were very intentional in making sure that everyone going through the audition process was informed about what level of intimacy the show would entail, the showrunner reiterated during a chat with Variety.

“I had a conversation with Ella before we closed her deal to make sure she knew what was coming. She’d read the book, so she already understood, but I walked her through everything and made sure she was comfortable and confident,” Levy told the outlet. “If I had felt she wasn’t ready, I would have pumped the brakes immediately. But she was so game.”

Levy noted that the actors also had the help of intimacy coordinator Kathy Kadler who “had conversations with not just Belmont and Ella but with all the actors who had any intimacy work — really understanding what made everyone comfortable, what they felt good about, what they didn’t.”

She added, “We never did anything that made anyone uncomfortable before we ever rolled a frame of camera.”

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Based on Elle Kennedy’s bestselling book series, Off-Campus follows the personal lives of an elite college ice hockey team. The first season tracks aspiring singer-songwriter Hannah who begins a fake relationship with Briar University hockey captain Garrett Graham to get the attention of her crush Justin (Josh Heuston). But things take a turn when the fake couple discover very real chemistry brewing between them.

Levy previously confirmed to Entertainment Weekly that although the show is “teeing up another love story” for season 2, Hannah and Garrett will still have a role to play in the story going forward.

Read the original article on Entertainment Weekly