Why Trevor From To All The Boys: P.S. I Still Love You Looks So Familiar
Netflix has been steadfast in its commitment to the teen rom-com, and the secret sauce seems to be the natural chemistry between attractive young stars, many of whom have cropped up in more than one of the streamer's high-profile productions. The actor who plays Trevor Pike in To All the Boys: P.S. I Still Love You is one of Netflix's repeat offenders; if he has you racking your brain trying to place his fresh face, you're not alone.
Back in February, Netflix dropped its follow-up to the buzzy 2018 film that reinvigorated the teen rom-com craze. Based on the 2014 YA romance novel of the same name by Jenny Han, To All the Boys I've Loved Before followed Lara Jean Song-Covey (Lana Condor), a somewhat repressed high school junior who had previously penned adulating missives to a series of secret crushes. Lara Jean never intended the letters to reach the addressees — they're simply an exercise in discharging all her pent-up angst and unrequited feelings — but her meddling little sister Kitty (Anna Cathcart) sends them all out behind Lara Jean's back. Her last and most significant letter is addressed to her childhood friend, Josh (Israel Broussard). He begins the film romantically involved with Lara Jean's sister Margot (Janel Parrish), but when Margot heads off to college, Lara Jean is left with an opening. Things get even more complicated when Peter Kavinsky (Noah Centineo), one of the boys Lara Jean loved before, receives his letter and strikes up a deal to pretend-date her to make his ex-girlfriend jealous.
The 2020 sequel to To All the Boys I've Loved Before was directed by Michael Fimognari, and follows the plot of Jenny Han's follow-up novel, P.S. I Still Love You. Lara Jean is now happily settled into a real relationship with Peter, when one of her old crushes, John Ambrose McClaren (Jordan Fisher), resurfaces to blow everything off course.
In addition to Condor and Centineo, the sequel brings back many of the breakout young stars from the first film, but it also introduces a few new ones. One of those additions is Ross Butler, who plays Trevor Pike, a mutual friend of Peter and Lara Jean and the boyfriend of Lara Jean's bestie Chris (Madeleine Arthur). Here's why he looks so familiar.
Ross Butler had a role in the DC Extended Universe
Early in Butler's career, he landed roles in several made-for-TV movies, but he recently made a splash on the silver screen when he donned a pair of tights and a billowing cape to play Superhero Eugene in the 2019 film Shazam! The David F. Sandberg-directed feature was the seventh entry in Warner's nascent DCEU (a cinematic universe that finally appears to be finding its footing). Butler brought his chiseled physique to portray the grown-up, superhero form of Eugene Choi, whose mere mortal form was played by Ian Chen (The Rocketeer, Fresh off the Boat).
Butler's feature film journey actually began back in 2012 — long before Shazam! – when the then-22-year-old star-to-be made his acting debut in the lead role of Allen in the movie The Gateway Life. It was an important film for Butler, after which the young actor made the rounds on three more TV movies — playing Tony in Camp Sunshine, Spencer in Teen Beach 2, and Nate in Perfect High. With all those small-screen movies under his belt, it's probably no surprise Butler made the jump to TV series. Just one year after the debut of Teen Beach 2 and Perfect High, Butler had moved on to make a trio of guest appearances on noteworthy TV series that would ultimately propel him to Netflix and beyond.
Ross Butler landed roles on three major series over two years
Shazam! wasn't Butler's only opportunity to join a cast of characters with otherworldly powers. In 2016, he played Nathan Pierce on three episodes of the final season of MTV's Teen Wolf; though he was typical high school student who doubted the existence of anything non-human, Nathan was most definitely mixed up with the supernatural.
After Teen Wolf, Butler became the original Reggie Mantle on Riverdale, the CW's gothic reinterpretation of the classic Archie comic series. In Archie lore, Reggie has been the traditional antagonist to the red-headed Archie Andrews since the character's introduction in Jackpot Comics #5, which first hit shelves in 1942. Playing a character with such a storied history had to be a trip, even though Butler ultimately left the series after only six episodes in order to focus on 13 Reasons Why. He was replaced by Charles Melton, who's enjoyed a much longer tenure in the role.
After Riverdale, Butler returned to K.C. Undercover to reprise the role of Brett Willis, which he originally played in 2015. His 2017 appearance was credited as "voice only," but by the time his episode aired, Butler was on the verge of debuting a much bigger role on a much bigger show.
Ross Butler was one of 13 Reasons Why
Back in 2017, Netflix launched another page-to-screen translation of a well-loved YA novel – 13 Reasons Why. Starring Australian actress Katherine Langford as Hannah Baker, a high school student who takes her own life and leaves behind a box of 13 cassette tapes detailing the reasons why she made her decision, the show proved a smash hit for the streamer during its first season, earning several subsequent renewal orders and making instant stars out of its young cast.
Butler appeared on the first three seasons of the teen drama, which engaged openly with challenging issues like bullying, mental health, and suicide. His character, Zach Dempsey, was Hannah's ex-boyfriend and the explicit subject of her seventh tape. Zach also dealt with his own suicidal thoughts in the course of the series, experiencing a deep depression after the sudden death of his father.
While 13 Reasons Why certainly deals in heavier subject matter than the light, romantic To All the Boys movies, the similar target audiences make the shared cast members seem almost inevitable. Butler, at least, has shown great range by appearing in both. 13 Reasons Why has already been renewed for a fourth and final season by Netflix, so we'll likely be seeing more of Butler's more serious side by the end of 2020.