He was already seen in the reboot of Saved by the bellbut is currently mainly winning hearts as ice hockey hunk Garrett Graham in the hit series Off Campusavailable on Prime Video. Who is 28-year-old Belmont Cameli, who saved seven lives with his kidney and did not actually want to become an actor?
In fact, Belmont Cameli, who grew up in Illinois, had carved out a different path for himself. But a tragic event in his life changed all those plans. Cameli initially studied business administration at the University of Illinois, but the sudden loss of his father made him realize that he did not want to end up in the corporate world. And so he quit his studies to focus on something completely different: becoming a filmmaker.
He started with some modeling work, for the fashion brand Abercrombie & Fitch, among others. This is how he came into contact with people from the film industry, which aroused his interest: would it be feasible to also appear in series or films? A challenge, because Cameli had zero experience as an actor and did not come from a well-known family.
Seven lives saved
Yet in 2018, after taking acting lessons and moving to Los Angeles, he managed to land a small role in the series Empire to obtain. That same year, he made a decision that he hoped would save the life of a close friend: he wanted to donate his kidney.
Although Cameli ultimately turned out not to be a suitable donor for his friend, he was determined to help others. He joined a kidney donation program and ultimately saved seven lives with his kidney.
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In the meantime, Cameli had been noticed by the makers of the reboot of the American sitcom Saved by the bell. He was cast as Jamie Spano. That role provided visibility, which accelerated his career. For example, he starred in the Netflix movie Along for the ridebut was also featured in the crime drama The alto knightswhich featured Cameli alongside Robert De Niro.
Breakthrough with the general public
And then one of the leading roles presented itself Off Campus On. The series is based on the book The Deal by Elle Kennedy and tells the story of ice hockey talent Garrett Graham, who becomes involved in a fake relationship that turns into real feelings.
Cameli said yes to this huge opportunity. A bull’s eye, because the series, which has been on Prime Video since May 13, has proven to be a huge success and a second season has even been announced.
It marked Cameli’s breakthrough with the general public. Women – young and old – swoon over ice hockey hunk Garrett Graham and suddenly his name pops up everywhere. Not to mention the number of followers on Instagram: about 3.7 million people want to follow his adventures and the count is rising quite quickly.
The success has not yet fully dawned on him, he recently said in an interview with the magazine Women’s wear daily. “I’ve actually only really noticed that I’m getting a lot of messages from friends and family saying they’re watching the series together, and I’ve noticed that my number of followers on Instagram has increased slightly over the past day,” he says matter-of-factly.
It is clear: Cameli’s star is rising. But despite his success as an actor, the dream of becoming a filmmaker is still as great. “That was actually always the idea, and it still is. Acting is really the first step in that dream. It felt like the first thing I had to learn.”
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