Photo Illustration by The Daily Beast / Photo by Kim Simms / Netflix
Historically speaking, Austin Abrams has always been the nice guy. He’s the dorky, sweet know-it-all you pray to be partnered with in a chemistry lab. He’s used to playing the guy your mom thinks you should date—and even if you don’t really like him, maybe a few years later, you understand what she was talking about. (Looking at you, Colin Firth in Bridget Jones’s Diary.) He’s a soft boy.
Abrams has cemented himself in this archetype with roles like Ethan in Euphoria, Dash in Dash and Lily, and even wisecracking Ben in Paper Towns. But now, he’s using that nice-guy status to rip the rug out from under us. Finally, Abrams has turned his sweetness into something more conniving: playing the villain in Do Revenge.
The fact that he’s played the nice guy so frequently—it’s impossible to look at him without seeing sweet Ethan from Euphoria—only makes his villainous entanglement more delicious. His character, Max, often uses his popularity to leverage himself into new romantic relationships, posing himself as a kind little boy instead of the absolute misogynist monster he actually is. Max is a wolf in sheep’s clothing.