Everyone welcome the internet’s newest boyfriend, Damian Hardung. The actor plays arrogant millionaire James Beaufort in the German Prime Video series Maxton Hall, which first premiered in May 2024. Since its release, fans have been comparing him to fellow TV boyfriends, so we at J-14 decided to make a list of some of our fav heartthrobs with similar vibes.
In the words of our OG internet boyfriend, Harry Styles — “Will we ever learn, we’ve been here before?”
Keep reading for J-14′s list of TV boyfriends that are James Beaufort but in different forms.
First, we must start with the most obvious one — Conrad Fisher from The Summer I Turned Pretty. Christopher Briney plays the brooding, older brother who is constantly in a state of inner turmoil due to his complicated feelings for childhood bestie Belly (Lola Tung), as well as her relationship with his younger brother, Jeremiah (Gavin Casalegno).
And even though we can’t get enough of Conrad, Christopher hilariously revealed that he originally hated his character after reading the book series!
“When I first read the book and when the script started coming in, I was like, ‘This dude kind of sucks,’” Chris told PopSugar in June 2022.
“He’s really rude and he’s not telling people how he feels, and that’s why he’s in all this trouble,” he explained. But as Chris explored the character, his own feelings toward Conrad changed, and he realized he was more than a brooding bad boy. “He’s just young and … just trying to keep it together for the people he loves,” he says. “Yes, he owes an apology to some people in the world, but he’s 17. He can make mistakes. He’s going to continue to make mistakes, and he’s just hurt.”
Another character that gives off ~misunderstood bad boy with a heart of gold~ is Cole Walter (played by Noah LaLonde) from Netflix series My Life with the Walter Boys.
ICYMI, the show premiered in December 2023, and is based off of a Wattpad book published in 2014 by author Ali Novak. Nikki Rodriguez plays Jackie Howard, a high school student who ends up in the care of the Walter family, a family of 10 sons, in rural Colorado after the tragic death of her parents and sister. There, she meets Alex Walter (played by Ashby Gentry) and troubled Cole Walter (Noah) — leading to a love triangle, naturally.
James, Cole and Conrad aren’t the only characters on television with numerous red flags and a soft spot for one girl. Scroll through our gallery below for a list of our fav brooding TV boyfriends.
Love J-14? Be sure to subscribe to our YouTube channel for fun, exclusive videos with your favorite stars.
