Meet 'Off Campus' Star Antonio Cipriano: Interview

by Andrew FirrioloBuzzFeedBuzzFeed StaffI’m a pop-culture writer covering everything from TV and movies, to music, Broadway, books, and games.

If you're watching Off Campus and already found yourself emotionally invested in Garrett and Logan's friendship, you're not alone.

Gabe Araujo / Via Lede Company

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.

When you first got the script for Off Campus, were you familiar with the books? What stood out to you about Logan?

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.

Prime / Via Prime

One thing that really stood out to me was the chemistry between the cast. The friendships felt very real. What did you all do to build those relationships?

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.

Prime / Via Prime

The hockey scenes were so much fun to watch. Were you all already good on skates?

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.

Disney / Via youtube.com

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.

Liane Hentscher / Via Prime

In Season 1 we see a lot of Logan and Garrett's friendship, including some tension between them. How would you describe that emotional roller coaster?

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