Patrick Schwarzenegger Cast as Gus Everett in 'Beach Read', But Fans Think He Isn't 'Book-Accurate'

Patrick Schwarzenegger has been officially cast as the male lead in the upcoming film adaptation of Emily Henry's best-selling novel 'Beach Read', but fans aren't convinced he's the right fit.

'Beach Read' is a rivals-to-lovers romance that follows two writers, January Andrews (Phoebe Dynevor) and Gus Everett, who will be played by Schwarzenegger.

The actor recently received critical acclaim for his role as Saxon Ratliff in the third season of 'The White Lotus'. He's also known for his roles in 'Gen V' and 'Midnight Sun'.

After Dynevor's casting announcement last February, fans have been looking forward as to who will play the male lead. Unfortunately, they don't agree with the studio's choice.

Inside the Casting Process for Gus Everett

According to Yulin Kuang, 'Beach Read's' director, the search for Gus was an extensive process that took over six months.

'We saw a lot of men for this role. We reviewed a lot of tapes, sent a lot of avails checks and took a lot of meetings over a six month period,' she wrote on Instagram.

After chemistry reads with Dynevor, they were convinced that Schwarzenegger was the right actor for the role.

'''Patrick is a slow burn,'' is what I wrote in my notes after meeting him for the first time. There was something about the way he talked about his feelings on love and romance that I couldn't forget. But I was unconvinced we'd found our Gus, because I knew we had to be exhaustive in our efforts, given how important this character is to readers,' Kuang said.

'The moment Patrick sat across from her, there was something electric in the room with us. "There's magic to chase here," I wrote in my notes afterwards. I checked in with Phoebe after the reads and she said, "It's obviously Patrick, isn't it?" and I thought to myself, "So she feels it too,"' she added.

Fans React to Patrick Schwarzenegger's 'Beach Read' Casting

Hours after the casting announcement, Emily Henry fans were quick to express their frustrations online, mainly because Schwarzenegger doesn't match the character's book description.

One fan on X claimed that 'not a single person who read the book is happy with this casting', while another questioned the plot of the movie.

One reader said the actor is not who they pictured in the role, while another fan called for the cancellation of the film.

Who Fans Want as Gus Everett

As with any other book, whenever an adaptation is announced, fans quickly start fan-casting actors as their choices for their favourite book characters.

Some top picks to play Gus Everett were Fabien Frankel, Logan Lerman, and Dev Patel.

Unfortunately for fans, none of those actors ended up getting the role. Instead, the team cast Schwarzenegger, who, according to the director, 'would play the best Gus opposite our specific January.'

About 'Beach Read'

'Beach Read' is a romance comedy about two writers dealing with writer's block. It's one of the several Emily Henry adaptations currently in the works, alongside other of her best sellers, 'Book Lovers', 'Funny Story', and 'Happy Place'.

The film is being produced by 20th Century Studios, with no release date set yet.