Ever since Never Have I Ever premiered on Netflix on April 27, 2020, fans have been pretty obsessed with the new series! Well guys, this may come as a shock, but Darren Barnet just revealed that he was actually almost cast in the Harry Styles-inspired series, After, and we’re seriously freaking out over this!
Yep, that’s right. Darren, who played Paxton in the show, was actually pretty close to starring as Trevor Matthews in the sequel, After We Collided. He explained to Teen Vogue that he kept receiving DMs from fans on Twitter, telling him he would be perfect for the role, so he decided to reach out to the author, Anna Todd, via Instagram. He commented on one of her pictures, and when she responded, saying that she had seen his name and that they should have a talk, it was a dream come true for him!
“For months and months and months and months, the fans are making fan art, they’re painting me as their Trevor for the movie. I read the whole book and was super into it and me and Anna were talking back and forth and then she called me in personally to audition,” the actor explained. “Anna reached out and was like, ‘Hey, your character is not going to make the first movie but pending a second movie, he’s definitely going to be in that one. Let’s stay in touch.’ Throughout the time the fans just stayed so supportive and so behind me.”
In the end, though, he ended up booking NHIE and the role went to Dylan Sprouse.
“I adore the After fans and the whole franchise because they’re a movement and it’s beautiful to watch. I thought all of them were going to leave me, but they stuck behind me,” he added. “Anna Todd has been super supportive. She is always commenting on my stuff, like, ‘I’m so happy for you,’ this and this and that. She’s an absolute sweetheart. Love that franchise. Love Anna Todd. Love the After fans.”
As fans know, the first film (which hit theaters in April 2019 and made over $50 million!) starred Hero Fiennes-Tiffin and Josephine Langford. It was based off a widely popular One Direction fan fiction written by Anna. The story started off on Wattpad, but after getting millions of views, it was published into a five-part book series. News hit the web in May 2019 that a sequel was in the works, and we cannot wait! There’s no release date for it just yet, but filming has already been completed.
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