Noah Centineo Talks How “The Recruit” Role Is Changing How Fans See Him
Noah Centineo is gaining new fans, and he’s loving it! The 28-year-old actor first caught attention as Jake T. Austin’s replacement in The Fosters, but it was his role in the To All the Boys I’ve Loved Before movies that turned him into a heartthrob. Now, he’s stepping into a different spotlight with his role as CIA lawyer Owen Hendricks in Netflix’s The Recruit, and it’s bringing him a whole new kind of recognition.
During his appearance on Jimmy Kimmel Live, Noah shared a fun change he’s noticed. “What’s really cool is that, when I go visit my father, he lives in Arizona, his friends wanna have beers with me now,” he shared.
It’s a total “demo change,” as he put it, with fans shifting from mostly lovestruck teenagers to a broader audience. “I’ll be at an airport and, you know, it’ll be parents and kids and they’ll know me from different things,” he continued. “Which sounds a little bit narcissistic for me to even say that out loud, but it’s different,” he added.
Season 2 of The Recruit, premiering January 30, comes more than two years after the first season, where Noah’s character, a rookie CIA lawyer, was thrown into an international blackmail scandal. This time around, Owen is pulled into a life-threatening espionage situation in South Korea, only to realize the real danger might be within the CIA itself. Joining the adventure is Teo Yoo, the BAFTA-nominated Past Lives actor, who plays a South Korean intelligence agent.
Noah had nothing but praise for his co-star. “Teo is so funny. He was hilarious,” he told PEOPLE. “This season in particular, it was very hard not to break,” he added.
The actor also reflected on how his career has evolved. After the success of the To All the Boys trilogy, he knew he wanted to branch out.
Moving into action roles felt like the natural next step. “And we found an interesting way into that, playing a superhero [in Black Adam] and then into The Recruit. My character is a fish out of water in an action show, which I thought was an interesting way to move out of romcom and still maintain it,” he shared.
