Actors Justice Smith and Charlie Gillespie have joined the cast of the Canadian television drama series Más que rivales for its second season, landing key roles in the show's expanding storyline.
Smith will star as social media manager Harris Drover, while Gillespie will portray professional hockey player Troy Barrett. Both figures originate from Role Model, the fifth novel in author Rachel Reid's Game Changers book series.
The announcement has sparked controversy among readers of the books, with much of the backlash focusing on Smith's physical fit for the role. In Reid's novel, Harris is described as being larger in size than the hockey players surrounding him. Fans on social media raised complaints that the 31-year-old actor does not match the physical description they had envisioned for the character.
Smith reacted to the complaints on his social media accounts, stating that he is ready to play the character and asking audience members for an opportunity to show what he can bring to the role of Harris.
Character storylines in Rachel Reid adaptation
The upcoming second season will introduce Troy as an ice hockey player who transfers to the Ottawa team following a breakup with a former teammate. Harris, working as the club's social media coordinator, attempts to assist Troy as he struggles to break out of his isolation.
The project adapts the popular Game Changers romance novels written by Canadian author Rachel Reid, published in Spanish under the title Cambiar el juego. The series explores the intersection of professional sports and romantic relationships within an ice hockey setting.
The first season of Más que rivales debuted in 2025 and is broadcast on Spanish streaming service Movistar Plus+. The plot centers on Shane Hollander and Ilya Rozanov, two elite hockey stars who maintain a secret romantic relationship while competing against each other on the ice.
Casting parallels from the debut season
The online debate surrounding Smith mirrors the initial reaction to the casting of the first season. Lead actors Connor Storrie and Hudson Williams were not initially embraced by all book readers as the ideal live-action versions of Ilya and Shane when their roles were announced.
Despite the early skepticism, Storrie and Williams went on to win over viewers, becoming the defining faces of the series as it grew into one of the major television hits of 2025.
While high school and university sports romances have become increasingly common across television platforms, series centering on gay romantic relationships within professional sports remain rare, establishing Más que rivales as a prominent entry in the genre.
Smith, who is 31 years old, has previously starred in major Hollywood feature films including Pokémon Detective Pikachu, Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom, and Dungeons & Dragons: Honor Among Thieves. Gillespie, a Canadian actor, is best known for his leading role as Luke Patterson in the musical drama series Julie and the Phantoms.
