The Real Reason Why Peter From To All The Boys I've Loved Before Looks So Familiar
We don't have to tell you that Netflix's To All The Boys I've Loved Before has caused teenage girls — and, let's be honest, grown women — everywhere to fall in love with Peter Kavinsky. Peter may be a fictitious character (sigh), but the actor who plays him, Noah Centineo, is every bit the heartthrob he portrayed.
Although rom-coms have a reputation for being marketed to women, Kavinsky Centineo admitted to Teen Vogue how much he enjoys them, saying, "I think they're adorable and endearing." Go ahead, you can swoon. The actor continued: "I'm really into love. I'm a hopeless romantic some days and a hopeful one on other days, so I hope to do more [rom-coms] moving forward."
While we certainly hope that's true, Centineo revealed that he also wants to "branch out" into different genres. Although we may know him best as Peter, the Netflix film was far from his first acting gig. This is why he might just look familiar to you.
His very first films
Centineo's first film, The Gold Retrievers, was released directly to DVD in 2009. While you couldn't call the movie a hit, Centineo did have a lead part, which, as a brand new actor, is a pretty big deal. As Rotten Tomatoes explains, 12-year-old Josh Peters (Noah Centineo) attempts to prevent his family home from going into foreclosure and his small town from being swamped by big businesses.
Josh teams up with the new kid in town, Ana, as they try to beat two "dimwitted fugitives" to the town's buried treasure. And, being a family-friendly adventure comedy, silly antics reminiscent of Home Alone ensue. In the film, a young Centineo also had the opportunity to work alongside accomplished actor Billy Zane, which had to be incredibly exciting.
In 2011, Centineo was cast in another lead role, this time as David in Turkles, a movie about two 13-year-old campers who try to figure out why sea turtle eggs are disappearing from the beach. You could say it was campy.
He's been in a ton of TV shows and movies
Centineo's career may have got its start in film, but, in 2011, he would go on to star as Dallas in the Disney television show Austin & Ally. The series, which ran for four seasons, focused on Austin, an aspiring musician, and Ally, a young songwriter. Although Centineo was only on the show for three episodes of the first season, he was surely able to widen his exposure by being on the acclaimed network.
In 2013 alone, Centineo starred in the TV series Marvin Marvin, Shake It up, #TheAssignment, and Ironside — and he didn't stop there. By the end of 2014, Centineo added another three television series to his résumé, as well as several movies, including How to Build a Better Boy, Abraham & Sarah, the Film Musical, and Growing Up and Down. Centineo showed no signs of slowing down any time soon.
He looks a bit like Jake T. Austin
If you think Centineo looks familiar, but are also pretty sure you've never seen any of his stuff, you might just be confusing him with Jake T. Austin. The two actors are just a year apart and, at least from some angles, have similar features.
Although Centineo did have a short run on a Disney show, Austin is most notably known for his long-running portrayal of Max Russo in Disney's Wizards of Waverly Place. Between the years of 2007 and 2012, Austin was in a whopping 106 episodes.
From 2013 to 2015, Austin landed a sizable role in the Freeform (originally ABC Family) television series The Fosters. After the second season of the show, though, Austin rather abruptly decided to give up his role as Jesus Adams Foster. "I just wanted to do roles with more substantive content," The star revealed on Twitter. Read on to find out how Austin's departure (and their resemblance) changed Centineo's life.
Becoming Jesus
Instead of writing off Jesus' character, The Fosters decided to recast the part. And, who better to replace Jake T. Austin than Centineo, a great actor of a similar age and a somewhat similar look.
Cathy of Celebified reported back in 2015 that "Jesus is looking a little different." While some fans were shocked disappointed that Austin was due to be replaced, others chimed in Centineo's defense. One fan commented: "Quit hating on Noah. He's actually really good and more emotional while acting. You haven't seen Jake get so emotional and make it feel real, have you?"
Peter Paige, the co-creator of the show, told Entertainment Tonight, "Physically, he wasn't the perfect fit for the recast but everything else outweighed that." Paige said Centineo brought "the charm, the offbeat wisdom" and "that slightly off way of looking at the world that made Jesus so memorable." Centineo saw the show through to the series finale and is even set to appear in the spinoff, Good Trouble.
Choosing a much darker role
While still playing Jesus, Centineo also decided to join the cast of T@gged — a very, very different series than The Fosters. According to Pop-Culturalist, the show "tackles the dangers of social media and what you share online." When speaking with the site, Centineo explained that he decided to take on the project based on the network, Awesomeness, and after reading through the scenes and attending cast reads. The actor said he "realized that there was something special about this one."
Centineo continued, "I'm just really, really psyched and honored to be part of something that's so groundbreaking, not just for the network, but also for the world, because I don't think anyone has seen something like T@gged, ever." Although T@gged paints social media in a less-than-wonderful light, Centineo admitted that he didn't change his online habits while filming and doesn't "really govern [his] posts." Though, he also wasn't all that into social media at the time. When asked his favorite platform, he joked: "Life."
He can't take this film back
Centineo's fame was starting to grow with his roles on The Fosters and T@gged. And, unbeknownst to many at the time, the star was already busy filming one of his now incredibly popular Netflix rom-coms, Sierra Burgess is a Loser. Still, that doesn't mean all of Centineo's recent work have been major hits.
In 2017, the actor teamed up with Logan Paul — yes, the controversial YouTuber — and other actors to film the horror movie Can't Take It Back. Somewhat similar to T@gged, the film follows a group of students who leave incredibly hateful comments on the social media page of a fellow student who committed suicide.
While there are definitely far worse horror movies than Can't Take It Back, the flick was only released on the on-demand service Shudder and wasn't even popular enough to generate a Rotten Tomatoes listing — never mind get a bad rating. If you were one of the few that sat through it, though, you would've definitely recognized our boy.
He's the adorable Jamey
If you happened to watch Netflix's Sierra Burgess Is a Loser without first seeing To All The Boys I've Loved Before, Jamey is probably your Peter. And we get it — Jamey's pretty great. When speaking with Teen Vogue about portraying both teen heartthrobs in the Netflix films, Centineo explained, saying, "What I like about Peter is that he doesn't really give up and he's pretty relentless, and I think a lot of people give up too soon, on love or on ambition." The star said he also loves Peter's tenacity.
"And Jamey... I just like Jamey, man," he admitted. All of you Jamey fans out there will also be pretty pleased to hear that Centineo's character in Sierra Burgess is not all that different from the actor himself. "I identify with the role of Jamey far more than I do with any other role I've played," he divulged, "if I'm being completely honest."
You probably follow him on social media
Even if you had no idea that Centineo filmed two super popular Netflix movies, there's a chance you're already following him on social media. With over one million followers on Twitter and over ten million on Instagram as of this writing, you don't actually have to know any of his work to be a Centineo stan. Though, we're sure he'd like it if you did.
Centineo's social media following has been on an upward trajectory ever since To All The Boys I've Loved Before was released on Netflix. By the time he met with W magazine at the end of August 2018, his Instagram followers had spiked from one million to two million in less than a day. One day! Of course, now his followers are over five times that amount. "It hasn't really affected me yet. Whatever the numbers are, it's just a device, you know?" he told the publication. Though Centineo said he plans to use his growing following to "fight a various group of social injustices," he's still "strategizing the best way" to do it. Using his power for good? Swoon!
You might even know him from this trailer
If you're one to fall down the rabbit hole of watching upcoming movie trailers on YouTube, you may have caught a glimpse of Noah Centineo in the comedy Swiped. According to IMDB, the film is about a "computer nerd" who codes a Tinder-like app — but solely for hooking up. From the trailer, it appears Centineo plays Lance Black, a college student who comes up with the idea for the app and enlists the help of his much more computer-savvy roommate.
While Centineo's character may be a fan of dating and hookup apps, the actor himself is not all about that life. "We are from a swipe right generation, and that just comes to, 'Oh you're cute, let's hook up,' and that's that," he told Vulture, "Where is actual, genuine connection that comes from spending quality time with someone?" Centineo also told the publication that he wants to "bring back proper intimacy" and "getting to know people." Well, if he wasn't a heartthrob in our books before, he certainly is now.