BURSTSporting just one eye in his role as a cyclops in the Disney TV show Percy Jackson and the Olympians, Brentwood Bay actor Daniel Diemer is not instantly recognizable.
His next role will change all that.
Diemer has been cast for the second season of Crave’s runaway hit Heated Rivalry in the role of Ryan Price, alongside Welsh actor Shaheen Jafargholi, who will play his love interest, Fabian Salah.
Born and raised in Brentwood Bay, Diemer graduated from the Victoria Academy for Dramatic Arts in 2016 with a diploma in film and TV acting.
As well as Percy Jackson and the Olympians, he has also starred in a number of TV shows and movies, most recently appearing in short horror film In My Blood.
“Fabian and Ryan each bring a distinctive energy to the world Rachel Reid has created,” said creator Jacob Tierney and executive producer Brendan Brady in a news release.
“They are bold, complicated, and deeply compelling characters, and finding actors who could really take on all of those different sides was so important to us. Daniel and Shaheen bring such confidence and emotional honesty to the roles.
“We can’t wait for audiences to see what they do with Fabian and Ryan and how they make these characters their own.”
Season one of the drama took the world by storm, screening in more than 130 countries around the world; viewers captivated by the burgeoning secret romance between two rival hockey players.
The TV series is based on Rachel Reid’s bestselling Game Changers books, adapted for the screen by Canadian filmmaker Tierney.
The success of the adaptation has sparked inspiration in the classrooms of the University of Victoria (UVic).
Two UVic courses launching this fall will take a deep dive into the show’s themes and how they intersect with some of today’s most pressing issues.
At the university’s English department, English 321, Authors on Screen: Rachel Reid’s Heated Rivalry, will examine what happens when a book makes the transition to television.
The course will be taught by Janice Niemann, who fell for the hit Canadian series when it first aired in December last year.
“As soon as I finished the show, I ordered all six novels, and then I read them all in one weekend before January classes started,” she said in an interview this month. “I’m a fast reader.”
Away from the fictional ice, Diemer’s soon-to-be co-star Hudson Williams, who plays Shane Hollander, recently made waves in Greater Victoria.
The actor was spotted in Victoria during the spring filming of Yaga, a new eight-episode drama series for Crave, slated to premiere in October.
As well as posing for photos with fans, Williams made headlines with his less than favourable description of B.C.’s capital.
“I was filming a show, and it’s very stabilizing,” he said while attending a Paris fashion show in March. “It’s like 30 minutes away from Vancouver, dead as f***, old people.”
However, days later when filming wrapped, Williams softened his stance, sharing a more affectionate send-off.
“That’s it for me on Yaga… Victoria: Old people + Dead asf + Nature = Feels like home/heart gets full,” he wrote on social media.
Season two of Heated Rivalry is scheduled to premiere in Spring 2027.