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"Off Campus" Star Antonio Cipriano On Brotherhood, Hockey, And Bringing John Logan To Life
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From hockey boot camp to Logan and Garrett’s friendship dynamic, Antonio Cipriano breaks down the moments that shaped “Off Campus” Season 1. I’m a pop-culture writer covering everything from TV and movies, to music, Broadway, books, and games. When Antonio Cipriano read the first two books, he was immediately drawn to Logan's vulnerability and complexity — and his character has quickly become one of the season's standouts. As Antonio explains, that emotion was something the cast worked hard to build from the very beginning, including a two-week hockey boot camp that helped turn the ensemble into a team on and off the ice. With all eight episodes of Off Campus now streaming, I spoke with Antonio about bringing Logan to life, bonding with the cast, and his favorite moments from the season. Note: This interview has been edited for length and clarity. This is spoiler-free, but some plot points are discussed at a high level. Antonio: I actually didn’t know the books or how widely loved they were. But after getting the audition, I thought, "Okay, it’s time to read them and see what it’s all about." I read the first two because Logan’s story is in The Mistake, and I wanted to understand Hannah and Garrett’s dynamic since that’s the focus of Season 1. The books are so POV-driven, and I really wanted to understand Logan, his family dynamic, and the pressures of being a student-athlete. All of that was intriguing to me. These are complicated characters. On the surface, they're these big, brawny hockey dudes, but they’re also very emotionally intelligent and vulnerable. One thing I especially related to was Logan being a middle child. I’m a middle child myself, so I understood where he was coming from — being the peacemaker, how that affects friendships, how you fit into a team. All of that excited me and made me want to dive into the role. Antonio: Thank you so much. We were granted two weeks before we started filming to do a hockey boot camp. It was such a great way to build that friendship and team dynamic. We all grew up playing different sports, so we understood what it meant to be on a team. Spending that time together helped us get to know each other. It made jumping into the first day of filming feel really natural. It's a big ensemble cast, and we're all in close proximity to each other. After filming, if we're not too tired, we'd go out to the bars and things like that. It kind of felt like our first year of college, and a lot of us hadn't been able to have that college experience. To get that with these guys was a blast and a half. Also, there are some beautiful golf courses out there, and half of the cast are avid golfers. We were getting out there multiple times a week, just having an awesome time. Antonio: We all played our individual sports, and we all thought we were super coordinated dudes. Then, to throw us on skates was a totally different experience. Very humbling, if you will. Stephen [Kalyn], who plays Dean, grew up playing hockey, so he was a big help with the culture of hockey — things like how you wear your helmet, tape your stick, and hold yourself as a player. (Laughs) The other three of us were Bambi on ice. BuzzFeed: I absolutely love that reference, by the way. Antonio: Those two weeks were very, very helpful, and we got all the fundamentals. All they were really expecting us to do was to be able to skate into frame, stop, say a line, tell the story, and then be able to leave the frame looking like a hockey player. I feel like we've gotten to a pretty solid point. If we're lucky enough to have a few more seasons, I hope that I continue to get a little bit better. I've fallen in love with the sport. But it was definitely a learning curve, very humbling, but so rewarding. Antonio: Yeah, it definitely is a roller coaster. In the books, we see that their connection is so tight. They're brothers, right? In the show, we're dropped into a moment of misunderstanding and miscommunication between these two guys. I think all brotherly and best friend relationships can be complicated in that way, and if there isn't proper communication, that tension can build. It was really interesting to play that with Bel [Belmont Cameli]. We were adamant about showing the love and brotherhood that they share. Regardless of any kind of resentment or rift that is happening between them, you know they have a bond that can't be broken. Antonio: Right, just hug it out! We got to read that scene in the chemistry reads, so we knew that moment was coming. It was intriguing to play as an actor, to get to show those levels and the dynamic that they have. When you get to that moment, all Logan wants is for Garrett to talk to him. It's a desperate call saying, "I love you, bro. Please, please hear me out. I want to be here for you. I'm on your side." I'm excited for you to watch the finale, so you can see how that plays out. Antonio: One of my favorite scenes to film was the first scene where you really get to see Garrett and Logan’s dynamic. You see what brought them together. It's their love for hockey. They're not doing this for their dads. They play hockey because they love it. I think that scene is a great way to understand who these characters are and what drives them through all the turmoil. It was a special first moment to share with Bel, and I think it was our first day on set as well. Antonio: Absolutely. I will say that the two couldn't be more different. In the theater, you are feeding off a live audience. In TV and film, there's this intimacy, where your only audience is your scene partner. You have to allow yourself to lock in, and be so cognizant and listen so deeply to the other actor. Having a theater background has helped immensely going into TV and film, where everything is so in the moment. Especially when doing multiple takes of a scene, you can give it a different energy or feeling, giving the director multiple options. Antonio: It's like a hilarious little Easter egg. Logan can sing, but pretty much everybody else in the show sings, except for him. I was the only musical theater guy in the cast, so I was excited to see Mika [Abdalla] take on "Take Me or Leave Me," and Ella [Bright] is also so brilliant. Before this experience, Ella did not think of herself as a musician or a singer. I was like, "You are! You really got it." I'm such a fan. The same goes for Josh [Heuston] playing Justin — they all became rock stars. It was awesome to see them blossom in that way. Music is what got me into this in the first place. My first musical influences were artists like Johnny Cash, Elvis, and Frankie Valli and the Four Seasons, who were all part of my upbringing. I've always had an appreciation for songwriting, but I hadn't tapped into it until recently. I got to write songs with one of the best in the business, Adam Watts. I grew up listening to his music without even knowing it. He wrote for High School Musical and Camp Rock. He gave me so many insightful ways on how to tell a story and to write what you know and what you feel. Even in this offseason, being away from the show, I find myself going to Open Jar Studios because they have great acoustic pianos. I just write what's in my soul. It's a very cathartic and therapeutic experience for me, and I'm excited to share more at some point. Antonio: That's a great question. You see him at a point in his life where he’s making a lot of adult decisions for the first time. He’s an extremely determined and dependable guy. He works hard, and he loves hard. I'm excited to see him loosen up a bit and see some light in his life. He's an amazing guy. I really love him, and I'm rooting for him. Keep up with Antonio on Instagram, @antoniocipriano_, and check out his original music on Spotify and all streaming platforms.