Revenge, Hamilton, and Hockey Skates: The Off Campus Stars Quiz Each Other

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Overview

In this episode of Vogue's Off the Cuff, Ella Bright and Belmont Cameli, who play Hannah Wells and Garrett Graham in Amazon Prime's hockey romance Off Campus, trade fast questions across four rounds: icebreakers, personal questions, questions about the show and their careers, and a closing look at past outfits and quick either/or picks. Most answers are short. Together they show how the two co-stars tease each other and what they think about their characters.

8 min read

The video opens with a clip from later in the conversation. Asked about a toxic trait, one of them answers "Vengeance," and explains that an opportunity for revenge "really excites me." The other replies that they would probably be good at getting revenge, and the answer comes back: "I am."

0:31

Round One: Icebreakers

The first round stays light. Asked for an interesting fact learned recently, Cameli offers that São Paulo, Brazil, is the most populated city in the Americas, with about 22 million people in the greater São Paulo area. Bright confirms that Cameli had already shared this fact with everyone. São Paulo comes up again later. One of the pair says their phone background is a photo of themselves with "Mika" in São Paulo, both in blazers and standing ankle-deep in a pool. They describe it as straight from a press day: they kicked off their shoes and walked in.

The go-to car song turns out to be the entire Hamilton soundtrack, played in chronological order, which leads to a short performance of the opening lines. The first album purchase was Lana Del Rey's Born to Die, which was also that person's first vinyl. When the other asks whether "Video Games" is on that album, the two sing a bar, and one admits the lyric comes out whenever they're in a room with guys playing video games.

Asked which skill they wish they were better at, Cameli says ice hockey. Cameli is improving but wants "Garrett Graham level skill." Cameli also wishes they weren't afraid of heights, which is awkward timing because the pair are going to the Empire State Building that day.

1:57

Round Two: Getting Personal

The personal round starts with sleep. One of them says they wish they had learned sooner that they actually need sleep. As a kid they told people they had insomnia, and during lockdown they slept only every other night, which felt "so awesome" at the time. They now say they can't function without sleep. The two joke that Cameli's ideal amount is 12 hours: when friends suggest hanging out the next day, Cameli is "just sleeping all day," or, as Cameli puts it, off to "have 10 dreams."

Asked which reality show they would join, one picks Summer House. They say that while watching, they can't believe what reportedly happened after filming wrapped, which they describe as "pretty serious betrayal and infidelity." They hope it comes out at the reunion.

For worst habit, one confesses to fiddling with everything. If they're handed a paper prop, it ends up crinkled or ripped without them meaning to do it. The other confirms this from the set: "you do mindlessly destroy whatever you're holding. I've seen it in action." Vengeance comes up as the toxic trait here as well. One admits to having ghosted someone, saying they got stressed and blocked the person, but that it happened only once and they usually reply.

Gifts come up as something meant to be romantic that is secretly stressful. The person who answers calls themselves a bad gift-giver who gets stressed when it's time to give something. The co-star points out that they write "very beautiful letters," and they agree that a letter is their workaround. On love at first sight, one says they believe it could be real, though it hasn't happened to them. The other teases that it could happen at any moment, maybe at the Empire State Building with all its crowds. The ideal first date for one of them is running errands together.

4:31

Round Three: Off Campus and Career

Asked about the most "college" thing that happened behind the scenes, one points to the all-nighters the cast pulled at their house.

Since Off Campus uses a fake-dating setup, they're asked whether they would fake date to meet the love of their life. Both are doubtful. One argues that fake dating only works in movies because there, the person you're fake dating turns out to be the love of your life. In real life it seems risky. Their advice is to go after the person directly, because the love of your life will come toward you too. If that doesn't happen, they joke, leave them behind, block them, and ghost them.

Asked about a character choice they disagree with, the answer is a scene in Malone's after the fundraiser. Hannah again encourages Garrett to talk to Logan or his other friends about his history with his father, and Garrett replies, "That's what I have you for." The speaker says they don't completely disagree with the line, but it's a moment where you want to say, "Oh, come on."

On who broke character most, both agree it was Cameli. Cameli accepts the blame, though there's a suggestion that the other made them break. A hockey-term quiz follows. "The dangle" means stickhandling very well, juking an opponent by faking one way and going the other with fast stick movement.

Bright says fans may misunderstand Hannah. She has seen online discussion since the trailer came out, including from readers of the books, about how confident Hannah is. Bright describes Hannah as maybe not the most popular person at school but happy with who she is, quick-witted, and able to trade banter with Garrett. She expects that to surprise people who assume Hannah is a meek, nerdy character, which she says Hannah "really actually isn't."

Asked for a first role, with school productions allowed, one remembers summer camp theater and playing Willard in Footloose. Their co-star guesses any recording is on a VCR somewhere.

The music-term quiz asks for "glissando." The answer, a rapid continuous slide up or down between two pitches, gets a quick demonstration and a joking claim of piano mastery. The person answering explains that for the show they learned piano with their teacher Michael by watching him play and copying each move, then forgot it all once the scene was filmed. They knew the word glissando because they studied music at school for a few years.

7:24

Round Four: Looks and Lightning Picks

The last round shows photos. One is a pink Joachim suit worn to the Los Angeles premiere of Based on a True Story. Another is from the LA premiere of Off Campus, about two weeks before the taping, where one wore boots modeled on hockey skates as an homage. They say the boots were hard to walk in, like real skates. A third photo shows a Bayside High T-shirt from Saved by the Bell ("Go Tigers") and someone holding a football. The final image confuses its owner at first, with guesses like Degrassi, before it turns out to be from The Crown. They call it a bad screenshot because they don't look like they're listening closely, and they say they were probably tired.

The rapid picks follow:

  • Backpack over messenger bag
  • A bunch of cool computer stickers as the go-to college accessory
  • Instant chemistry over slow burn
  • Sending texts over passing notes

On texting, one never passed notes but made many paper "chatterboxes." That person started texting in Year Three, at about eight years old.

Football beats hockey, with an enthusiastic "I love football." Adaptation wins over original, said, as the other notes, "with pure conviction." For "Shane or Ilya," one picks Shane and the other Ilya. Pop wins over rock. "Now or forever" splits too: one says "now" and the other "forever."

Asked whether the book is always better than the show, one says no, stressing the word "always." They watch a lot of TV but admit they should read more books and might answer differently later. For "yes or no," one picks yes. The other chooses no because they love saying no to things. Their co-star agrees they're good at it, and the episode ends on the line that "no is a full sentence."