Charlie Gillespie manifested his 'Heated Rivalry' role years before being cast

Charlie Gillespie may have unknowingly manifested his new Heated Rivalry role years before he was cast as professional hockey player Troy Barrett.

Gillespie was recently announced as one of the new additions to Heated Rivalry season 2, alongside Justice Smith, who will play Harris Drover. Gillespie's casting is particularly fitting because he once revealed that playing an NHL player was one of his dream roles.

During a 2020 interview with E! News, Gillespie was asked about his dream roles and listed several possibilities, including playing a cowboy, an astronaut and an NHL player. "An NHL player would be the most badass thing," he said at the time.

Six years later, that dream is becoming reality. Gillespie will play Troy, a hockey player who is traded to the Ottawa Centaurs, where he crosses paths with Harris, the team's openly gay social media manager, played by Smith. Their relationship is based on Rachel Reid's Role Model, part of the same Game Changers universe as Heated Rivalry.

The casting also gives Gillespie a full-circle connection to the sport. The Canadian actor, best known for playing Luke in Julie and the Phantoms, previously played a hockey player in the 2025 film Shattered Ice.

Season 2 will continue the story of Ilya Rozanov and Shane Hollander, played by Connor Storrie and Hudson Williams, while expanding the series with Troy and Harris' storyline. Production is underway, with the new season expected to premiere in spring 2027.

Gillespie's old interview has now resurfaced as fans celebrate the casting, making his journey from naming an NHL player as his dream role to actually playing one on one of television's biggest hockey dramas feel almost like fate.