If you’ve ever wondered what it’s like to wait for your new Netflix series to premiere, Noah Centineo has a vivid metaphor for the experience.
“It’s similar to when you have to pee. You start getting closer to a bathroom, and you have to pee more frequently because you’re getting closer. That’s how it is, “On a Zoom call, the actor says before giving someone off camera a puzzled look. “‘Why?’ my team asks. ‘What was the metaphor?'”
“The Recruit,” an action-packed thriller in which he stars as a rookie lawyer at the Central Intelligence Agency who is thrust into dangerous waters when a former asset threatens to expose agency secrets, has Centineo, 26, holding his metaphorical bladder.
Centineo, who rose to prominence in several Netflix teen romcoms, including “To All the Boys I’ve Loved Before” and its sequels, sees “The Recruit” as more than just another role. It’s also an opportunity for him to transform from a YA male ingenue to a bona fide leading man in Hollywood and around the world.
“This is a departure from the romcom and love-interest genres, but it’s not a radical step in the opposite direction,” Centineo says of the show, which has levity mixed in with the thrills.
“That appeals to me. I like how this is a show about the CIA but not through the eyes of a spy.”
Centineo, who was born and raised in Boca Raton, Florida, began acting as a child, landing his first screen credit at the age of 13 in the 2009 film “The Gold Retrievers.” He also appeared in Disney Channel sitcoms including “Shake It Up,” which starred Zendaya, and Freeform’s “The Fosters,” from 2013 to 2018.
But it was his portrayal of lovable jock Peter Kavinsky in Netflix’s “To All the Boys,” based on Jenny Han’s novel, that catapulted him to stardom – and into the hearts of teenage girls all over the world.
Centineo’s status as Netflix’s go-to romcom guy was cemented by the film’s two sequels. He went on to appear in three more films.
According to series creator Alexi Hawley, who produced tonally similar ABC dramas “Castle” and “The Rookie,” both starring Nathan Fillion, “The Recruit” will show a more mature side of Centineo.
