Why Brad From Netflix's The Life List Looks So Familiar

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It's difficult to watch Netflix's romance "The Life List" and not find yourself falling love with Kyle Allen's performance as Brad. The stunning Sophia Carson leads the film as Alex, a young woman whose dying mother decides that before she can claim her inheritance, Alex needs to check off a list of planned experiences she wrote down as a child. That list includes her plan for falling in love, but as Alex tries to figure out which of several guys in her life meets all of the criteria she set out when she was younger, the., Life List becomes far more complex than she anticipated.

After all, Brad's already in a relationship, even though Alex is incredibly charmed by the handsome young man. The chemistry between the two actors led the film to do quite well on Netflix's charts, which surprised no one more than Allen himself. On Instagram, he shared a post showing "The Life List" had become the No. 1 film on Netflix, which he captioned simply: "Um. What ?"

It certainly helps that Allen's is a star on the rise, thanks in large part to a series of performances that position him as quite the heartthrob. If you're unsure where you've seen him before — and no, it's not just because he looks like a young Heath Ledger — read on for a look back at his already-impressive career.

Originally, Kyle Allen was only supposed to be a featured extra in the 2016 film "1 Night." The movie follows two couples who stay at the same hotel during one night, crossing paths as one falls in love and the other tries to rekindle what they once had. Allen only wound up in the movie because he shared an agent with "Orphan" star Isabelle Furhman, one of the film's leads. "They were looking for this extra and [my manager] was looking for things to do to get me some footage," Allen told Interview. He was originally only supposed to have a handful of lines in the film; however, things didn't work out with the actor who had been hired to play Furhman's love interest, a timid photographer named Andy. "I was around, so they read me for the part and they let me have it," Allen recalled. "I was going to be shooting for two days; I ended up shooting for two more weeks."

It wouldn't be an exaggeration to say that the part wound up changing Allen's life. "I think that's when I decided really that this is where I belong," Allen said. He's been acting ever since.

After proving that he could carry a film like "1 Night," Kyle Allen shifted gears and jumped into television. On the Hulu series "The Path," he played Hawk. The long-haired teenager is the son of Eddie (Aaron Paul), a prominent member of an insidious cult called the Meyerist Movement. As Eddie questions his involvement in the religious sect, Hawk tries to find his own place in the world, which includes not only a religious awakening but a sexual one.

Hawk could've been a cliché, but Allen pushed to make the character more sensitive that he might've been in other hands. "I'd always felt Hawk was completely different and a lot more thoughtful and intuitive than a lot of people," he told Interview, "a lot more hurt by things than the average teenager would be."

Allen enjoyed his time on "The Path," especially appreciating the chance to work with castmates like Paul and Michelle Monaghan. He hadn't seen "Breaking Bad" before he played Paul's son, but he soon caught up and appreciated where his co-star came from. "We spent a lot of time together. I was passed down Bryan Cranston wisdom," he bragged. (After all, Cranston is the godfather to Paul's child.) "The entire thing was a beautiful experience. Every single person just clicked. That was probably what everyone talked about the most on set — how well everyone got along. The energy was so good."

By 2018, Kyle Allen's star was firmly on the rise. In retrospect, it was only a matter of time before the handsome young actor was snatched up by the Ryan Murphy machine. It happened on "Apocalypse," the eighth season of "American Horror Story." The season centered on a group of pre-selected characters who head for an underground bunker when a nuclear apocalypse strikes, succumbing to paranoia and insanity thanks to their close proximity.

Allen played Timothy, an attractive youngster chosen to survive the end of the world because of his supposedly superior genetics. Timothy assumes he's been kept alive for his brain, but, come on, those looks certainly don't hurt.

Once again, Allen relished the chance to work with some of his more established cast members, including Kathy Bates. In the season's second episode, Timothy and Bates' character Miriam have a shocking confrontation, and Allen told Decider that Bates was a dream scene partner, even though his character shot hers. He reasoned, "I think after her eighth season it didn't require a conversation. It was a relatively tame day compared to the things that happen on this show."

Prime Video's "All My Life" is a romantic drama about a girl (Jessica Rothe) who gets the guy (Harry Shum Jr.). Unfortunately, before they can marry, Sol is diagnosed with liver cancer, sending the young couple's lives reeling. It's a very sad movie, but a sweet one — sort of a gender-flipped version of "A Walk To Remember" that asks whether it is better to have loved and lost than to have never loved at all.

Kyle Allen co-stars in the film as Kyle Campbell, one of Sol's best friends. As his buddy undergoes cancer treatment and desperately tries to stay alive for his wedding, Kyle struggles, unfortunately so reminded of his late father that he pulls back from his friendship with Sol. 

Starring in the film made Allen reflect on loss. Speaking with The Mary Sue, he ruminated on his character's difficult reaction to his friend's health. "It was just great writing and a phenomenal story," he said. "It spoke to me as someone as ... kind of an everyman who has lost his father and doesn't know how to deal with it. Like there's no book on it. How do you specifically deal with loss?" Considering his character's arc, he decided, "You, unfortunately, have to end up writing that book."

After some supporting roles, Kyle Allen reached leading-man status with his part in "The Map of Tiny Perfect Things," a Prime Video original film about a teenager named Mark who's stuck in a "Groundhog Day" type of time loop. He's gone through the loop many, many times, repeating one day over and over again, learning everyone's routines so that he can try to make people's lives just a little bit better.

One day, he encounters Margaret (Kathryn Newton), another teenager stuck in the same exact loop. They decide to map out their reality, appreciating all the tiny perfect things that make a day worth living. They guess that if they can see all the beauty in their world, they'll be able to move past this one infernal day. It's a sci-fi romance, in other words, a cute little movie about maintaining hope in hopeless situations.

Allen was particularly proud of this film, telling Wonderland that he was delighted to see himself on a billboard in Hollywood. "I used to drive past this billboard on Highland heading to my acting class," he recalled. "I remember looking at it and I would think to myself, 'Someday I'll be up there.'" When he finally saw himself, he was so startled that he nearly got into a wreck. "Now the dent in my car just reminds me of that moment," he said. "It was a full-circle moment. It let a part of me really understand that anything is possible."

2021 was a big year for Kyle Allen. In addition to seeing himself on a billboard for "The Map of Tiny Perfect Things," that was also the year that he starred in the "West Side Story" remake directed by Steven Spielberg and starring Rachel Zegler. Allen played Balkan, a member of the Jets, one of two rival gangs who sing and dance their way around 1950s New York City. Balkan isn't the main Jet, but Allen is featured a few times, including during the classic number "Gee, Officer Krupke."

When Allen got the part, he was overwhelmed. "I don't think I knew what joy meant until I got that call," he told Wonderland. "I was babysitting my friend's dog — there's a video somewhere and his dog is clearly judging my laughing/crying panic attack." After all, Allen was a trained dancer before he was an actor, and he was excited to have a chance to show off his chops in the classic musical. "I would take dance classes and flip over people on Venice Beach for money and pretty much laugh at everyone who suggested I try acting," he recalled about those early days in Los Angeles. Now, that experience was being rewarded.

Allen's highest-profile role yet meant working with one of the highest-profile directors in Hollywood history. "It was so beautiful and relieving to see how genuine [Spielberg] is with everyone," Allen revealed. "He wasted no time and was just excited to make his movie."

Now that Kyle Allen had proven his chops as a leading man and had gotten to showcase his talent in some of the biggest films of the decade, the roles began to come fast and furious. He starred in four different movies in 2022 alone, expanding his range as a romantic lead and an all-around cinematic hunk.

One of those 2022 films was "The In Between," another movie involving an otherworldly, tragic romance. This time, Allen was paired with Joey King, who played Elle in "The Kissing Booth." The two starred as romantic leads in another story about love and loss. In this film, King plays Tessa, a young photographer who wins over a dreamy guy named Skylar with her stellar artistic eye. Unfortunately, Skylar dies in a horrific car accident, and "The In Between" ping-pongs around in time as their romance manages to continue from beyond the grave.

Allen told Pop Culturalist that he liked the way his filmography was shaping up, totally happy to star in romantic films with female leads. "Right now I feel like we get to tell stories that are more female-centric. They're less classically romantic in the way that the woman plays a very specific role and the guy plays a very specific role," he said. "I feel really honored to be able to support these actresses in their careers and in telling these more modern stories."

Kyle Allen's next film was "Space Oddity," yet another sci-fi romance. This time, he was Alex, a man who wants to sign up for a one-way trip to Mars. Even though he's got his eyes on the skies, he nevertheless manages to fall in love. Will his relationship with Daisy (Alexandra Shipp) keep him down on Earth, or will he manage to make his way to the red planet instead?

The role added yet another collaboration with a famous woman to Allen's growing resumé: the film's director, Kyra Sedgwick. Allen told Pop Culturalist that he was impressed by the actor's ability to step behind the camera, reflecting, "She's a brilliant director and has an incredible amount of acting experience. She just knows. She can read people, and she can tell you exactly what you need to hear." (Perhaps that talent is why marrying Sedgwick changed Kevin Bacon for the better.)

Allen also said he learned a lot from Shipp, both about how to be in the business and how to be in the world. Shipp, who has starred in high-profile films like "Barbie," "Anyone But You," and "X-Men: Apocalypse," taught him that it's okay to be openly grateful to your castmates. "That's why I think people talk about how it takes a village," he said. "Because I was so inspired by everyone around me. I was so filled up by the people around me. If the performance is any good, that's why."

"The Greatest Beer Run Ever" was Kyle Allen's third film of 2022, and he wasn't playing a romantic lead this time. Instead, he starred as real-life Vietnam veteran Bobby Pappas. The movie takes place in the 1960s and centers on civilian Chickie Donohue (Zac Efron) who's left behind in America while many of his friends go to fight abroad. After one drunken night at the local watering hole, Chickie embarks on a wild plan to bring some beer to the boys in the jungle, desperately hoping to hand off some cold ones to his pals in the Army.

Allen enjoyed working with Efron, telling Collider that he was impressed by the "High School Musical" star's work ethic. "I was so amazed," he said. "We just didn't stop running. We were constantly working and finding new things and nuances, and stuff like that. He was so, so generous the entire time."

In a behind-the-scenes video for the film, Allen told the real Pappas that he was touched by the film's themes. "The power of friendship, the power of showing up for people, that was sort of the most important part of what connected me to the character in the story," he said. Pappas grinned and paid the actor the ultimate compliment: "I was proud that you played me."

To close out 2022, Kyle Allen was back in romance mode for "Rosaline." This time, however, he played a bit of a joke rather than an actual object of romantic interest. The film is a twisted version of "Romeo and Juliet," focusing instead on the character of Rosaline (Kaitlyn Dever), Romeo's ex-girlfriend. Days before the events of the iconic play, Romeo was with someone else, and Rosaline imagines how she must've felt watching the guy she thought was hers embark on a tragic love story with some other girl.

Though this Romeo's a jerk — and kind of dumb — Allen insisted to Hey U Guys that it's Shakespearean nonetheless. "My character is honestly a lot like the traditional Shakespearean version because if you read it, and you kind of put it up against reality, these kids are clueless!" he said. "And I feel like my character is an embodiment of the actual Romeo, who is actually a clueless individual."

Allen had, at this point, made quite the career for himself playing the romantic lead opposite a series of young women. Still, he told CinemaBlend that he wouldn't have minded had this "Romeo and Juliet" gone in a different direction. "I would love for there to be a spinoff romance between Romeo and Dario," he said. "I just feel like everyone can fall in love with Dario and Romeo falls in love with everyone, so I think they'd have a great bromance."

In 2023, Kyle Allen once more proved that he's an excellent ensemble member in "A Haunting in Venice." The supernatural mystery is the third film in Kenneth Branagh's Hercule Poirot series, picking up with the storied detective sometime after the events of "Murder on the Orient Express" and "Death on the Nile." The film finds the gumshoe trying to figure out what's going on at a creepy séance in the Italian city, working to determine how, exactly, a medium (Michelle Yeoh) is tricking everyone. Do ghosts exist, or is something even more sinister at play?

Allen played Maxime Gerard, one of the murder mystery's main suspects. He's a young man in the grips of a serious breakup, and the other characters wonder whether he might be responsible for the mysterious invitations they all received and somehow involved in the crime that kicks off the whole situation.

The up-and-coming star manages to hold his own among a seriously impressive cast, which includes "Mean Girls" actor and comedian Tina Fey, "Fifty Shades of Grey" star Jamie Dornan, and Kelly Reilly, who plays Beth on "Yellowstone." In a behind-the-scenes video for the film, Allen said he was blown away when he saw the whole cast assembled for the first time. "One of the highlights of this was the first time the whole cast sat down together in costume," he said. "I was seeing them all walk through the door, and I was amazed."