Stephen Kalyn Is Becoming BookTok’s Newest Adaptation Boyfriend
Stephen Kalyn has gone straight from playing Dean Di Laurentis in Off Campus to another fictional boyfriend with a reader base ready to judge every detail. His casting as Brock Cunningham in The Housemaid’s Secret was announced on August 31, only six days ago. The move takes him from a college hockey romance into the sequel to Sydney Sweeney’s hit thriller while keeping him inside the book-to-screen world.
Kalyn already drew plenty of attention as Dean, even though the first season focused on Hannah and Garrett. Season two is currently in production and adapts The Score, with Dean and Allie at its centre. Before viewers have seen him lead his own season, he has already picked up another character readers know well.
The announcement video was made for readers. Kalyn sits outside a set trailer reading a copy of The Housemaid’s Secret, then walks inside. The caption reads, “Welcome home, Brock.” Off Campus fans recognise the actor, while Housemaid readers recognise the character.
In Freida McFadden’s novel, Brock Cunningham is Millie Calloway’s boyfriend and a lawyer. He wants her to move into his apartment overlooking Central Park and sees marriage in their future. Millie has never had his level of security, yet she keeps part of herself at a distance because Brock does not know the full truth about her past. His steady nature is far removed from Dean’s confident playboy energy.
Enzo complicates Brock’s place in Millie’s life. Michele Morrone returns as the man who shares a deeper history with her and understands the part of her life Brock has never seen. The book places Millie between Brock’s stable future and her unfinished relationship with Enzo. Kalyn is entering a love triangle where the two men mean completely different things to Millie.
Sydney Sweeney returns as Millie, while Kirsten Dunst joins as Wendy Garrick and Brittany Snow plays Marybeth. Paul Anthony Kelly is Douglas Garrick. The story begins when Millie accepts a job at the Garricks’ Manhattan penthouse and is warned to stay away from the guest room where Wendy remains behind a locked door.
Kalyn’s new role also gives him a much larger film audience. The first Housemaid movie earned more than $400 million worldwide, and Sydney Sweeney returns at the centre of its sequel. His Off Campus fans will arrive knowing him as Dean, while Housemaid readers will meet him as Millie’s safer option.
The Housemaid’s Secret is scheduled to open on December 17, 2027. By then, Kalyn will be known to two reader communities for two very different boyfriends. With Dean and Brock back to back, “BookTok’s newest adaptation boyfriend” may be the most accurate description of his career right now.