{"id":34498,"date":"2026-08-09T12:19:46","date_gmt":"2026-08-09T07:19:46","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/?p=34498"},"modified":"2026-08-09T12:19:46","modified_gmt":"2026-08-09T07:19:46","slug":"justice-smith-breaks-silence-on-heated-rivalry-casting-says-he-is-honored-beyond-excited-just-jared-celebrity-news-and-gossip","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/?p=34498","title":{"rendered":"Justice Smith Breaks Silence on &#8216;Heated Rivalry&#8217; Casting, Says He Is &#8216;Honored&#8217; &#038; &#8216;Beyond Excited&#8217; | Just Jared &#8211; Celebrity News and Gossip"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><script>\r\n  atOptions = {\r\n    'key' : '644b717812d811d6a1c1fc5b6ccd6fa6',\r\n    'format' : 'iframe',\r\n    'height' : 90,\r\n    'width' : 728,\r\n    'params' : {}\r\n  };\r\n<\/script>\r\n<script src=\"https:\/\/www.highperformanceformat.com\/644b717812d811d6a1c1fc5b6ccd6fa6\/invoke.js\"><\/script>\r\n<br \/>\n<\/p>\n<div id=\"post-2262075\">\n<p>\t\t\t\t<!-- Franchise logo or primary category --><\/p>\n<p>\t\t\t\t<!-- post title --><\/p>\n<p><!-- \/post title --><\/p>\n<p><!-- subheader --><\/p>\n<p>\t\t\t\t<!-- post thumbnail --><\/p>\n<figure class=\"tpd-post-thumbnail-container caption_belowImage credit_onImage\"><img width=\"788\" height=\"444\" src=\"https:\/\/www.justjared.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/justice-speaks-788x444.jpg\" class=\"attachment-medium size-medium tpd-force-16x9-aspect-ratio wp-post-image\" alt=\"Justice Smith poses at the 2025 WWD Honors\" decoding=\"sync\" loading=\"eager\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.justjared.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/justice-speaks-428x241.jpg 428w, https:\/\/www.justjared.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/justice-speaks-788x444.jpg 788w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 430px) 100px, 788px\" fetchpriority=\"high\" data-cf-ratio=\"788x444\"\/><figcaption><span class=\"credit-text\">Credit: Getty<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<!-- \/post thumbnail --><\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.justjared.com\/tags\/justice-smith\/\" class=\"celebrity-tag-link\"><strong class=\"celebrity-tag-strong\">Justice Smith<\/strong><\/a> is speaking out after it was announced he will star in <em><a href=\"https:\/\/www.justjared.com\/tags\/heated-rivalry\/\" class=\"celebrity-tag-link\"><strong class=\"celebrity-tag-strong\">Heated Rivalry<\/strong><\/a><\/em> season two!<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The 30-year-old <em>Now You See Me: Now You Don\u2019t <\/em>star <a href=\"https:\/\/www.justjared.com\/2026\/08\/07\/heated-rivalry-announces-new-season-2-actors-for-harris-troy-roles\/\" data-type=\"link\" data-id=\"https:\/\/www.justjared.com\/2026\/08\/07\/heated-rivalry-announces-new-season-2-actors-for-harris-troy-roles\/\">has been cast<\/a> as Ottawa Centaurs social media manager Harris Drover, alongside <a href=\"https:\/\/www.justjared.com\/tags\/charlie-gillespie\/\" class=\"celebrity-tag-link\"><strong class=\"celebrity-tag-strong\">Charlie Gillespie<\/strong><\/a> as Troy Barrett, who are the central couple of <strong>Rachel Reid<\/strong>\u2018s book \u201cRole Model.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">On Saturday night (August 8), <strong>Justice<\/strong> took to his <a href=\"https:\/\/www.instagram.com\/standup4justice\/\" data-type=\"link\" data-id=\"https:\/\/www.instagram.com\/standup4justice\/\">Instagram<\/a> story to react to the love and support he\u2019s received since the news was announced the day before. <\/p>\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-medium_large caption_belowImage credit_onImage mobile-image-full-width\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.justjared.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/justice-smith-on-heated-rivalry-casting.jpg\" class=\"pss-trigger\" role=\"button\" data-pss-trigger=\"0\" aria-controls=\"pss-modal\" aria-label=\"Open gallery of 2 images.\" title=\"Open gallery of 2 images.\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"788\" height=\"1182\" src=\"https:\/\/www.justjared.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/justice-smith-on-heated-rivalry-casting-788x1182.jpg\" alt=\"Justice Smith poses at the Now You See Me: Now You Don't premiere\" class=\"wp-image-2262077\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.justjared.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/justice-smith-on-heated-rivalry-casting-788x1182.jpg 788w, https:\/\/www.justjared.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/justice-smith-on-heated-rivalry-casting-428x642.jpg 428w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 430px) 100px, 100vw\"\/><span class=\"pss-trigger__badge\" aria-hidden=\"true\">2<\/span><\/a><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\"\/><\/figure>\n<blockquote class=\"wp-block-quote is-layout-flow wp-block-quote-is-layout-flow\">\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201ci have to say i am moved by the support and love i\u2019m getting from fans in my dms, fans who have welcomed me with open arms and who already feel a responsibility to protect me.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">i am honored to play a character you all care about deeply and i promise i will take good care of him if you give me the chance.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">i am beyond excited for this experience\u201d<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">He also included an apple tree at the bottom of his post, which you can see in the screenshot below. If you\u2019re unaware, Harris\u2019 family lives on an apple orchard and he grew up selling apples with his family. He later brings Troy to the orchard.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Following <strong>Justice<\/strong>\u2018s casting announcement, many fans were upset that he did not fit the book\u2019s description of Harris, who is said to be stocky and rugged with red hair. <\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Author <strong>Rachel Reid<\/strong> seemingly responded to the backlash in her own Instagram story post. <a href=\"https:\/\/www.justjared.com\/2026\/08\/08\/heated-rivalry-author-rachel-reid-seemingly-responds-to-backlash-over-harris-troy-casting\/\" data-type=\"link\" data-id=\"https:\/\/www.justjared.com\/2026\/08\/08\/heated-rivalry-author-rachel-reid-seemingly-responds-to-backlash-over-harris-troy-casting\/\">See what she said!<\/a><\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">As they announced that\u00a0<strong>Justice\u00a0<\/strong>and\u00a0<strong>Charlie<\/strong> would be playing Harris and Troy,\u00a0series creator <strong>Jacob Tierney<\/strong>\u00a0and exec producer\u00a0<strong>Brendan Brady<\/strong>\u00a0shared a statement about their casting process.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cFrom the start of the casting process, we knew we were looking for actors who could create something truly special together and bring that same depth and heart to the screen.\u00a0<strong>Justice<\/strong>\u00a0and\u00a0<strong>Charlie<\/strong>\u00a0do exactly that,\u201d the two TV execs said. \u201cThey immediately connected with the vulnerability and resilience at the core of these characters, bringing an instinctive understanding of who Harris and Troy are.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Filming on <em>Heated Rivalry<\/em> season two is said to begin next week, and it\u2019s set to premiere in Spring 2027.<\/p>\n<p class=\"categories single-categories\">Posted To:<a href=\"https:\/\/www.justjared.com\/tags\/heated-rivalry\/\" rel=\"tag\">Heated Rivalry<\/a> <a href=\"https:\/\/www.justjared.com\/tags\/justice-smith\/\" rel=\"tag\">Justice Smith<\/a> <a href=\"https:\/\/www.justjared.com\/tags\/television\/\" rel=\"tag\">Television<\/a><\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<p><script async src=\"\/\/www.instagram.com\/embed.js\"><\/script><br \/>\n<br \/><script async=\"async\" data-cfasync=\"false\" src=\"https:\/\/pl30214220.effectivecpmnetwork.com\/9ab3d4df8a7e1a6171e16ddbf732cc19\/invoke.js\"><\/script>\r\n<div id=\"container-9ab3d4df8a7e1a6171e16ddbf732cc19\"><\/div>\r\n<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Credit: Getty Justice Smith is speaking out after it was announced he will star in Heated Rivalry season two! The 30-year-old Now You See Me: Now You Don\u2019t star has been cast as Ottawa Centaurs social media manager Harris Drover, alongside Charlie Gillespie as Troy Barrett, who are the central couple of Rachel Reid\u2018s book&#8230;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":34499,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/www.justjared.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/justice-speaks-1200x675.jpg","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[20],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-34498","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-celebrity-gossip"],"brizy_media":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/34498","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=34498"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/34498\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/34499"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=34498"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=34498"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=34498"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}