June 18, 2026
Mika Abdalla has barely had a moment to process what’s happening. As we speak, she’s in Vancouver, in the middle of prepping for the second season of Off Campus. The adaptation of Elle Kennedy’s hockey romance novels may have only aired on 13 May, but having become one of Prime Video’s most popular shows overnight, the series has been renewed in record time. Already, costumes are being fitted, scripts are being broken down and somewhere in the background, Abdalla’s puppy, Mabel, is causing chaos. “She’s literally a five-month-old monster,” Abdalla laughs mid-sentence, momentarily distracted by barking. “She’s just a beast.”
It’s a busy moment to catch the Texas-born actor: poised between the overwhelming response to season one and the pressure of stepping into the lead role for season two, where her character, Allie Hayes, and Dean Di Laurentis (Stephen Kalyn) move to the centre of the story. But the 26-year-old seems surprisingly grounded amid the frenzy — perhaps because she’s been on screen since she was six, when acting first began as a hobby. “My relationship with acting was so different when I was on Project MC²,” she says, reflecting on her early years in the industry. “It was just something I had been doing my entire life. It was my hobby. I didn’t play sports or anything like that, so it was kind of my after-school activity.”
Mika wears dress by INES DI SANTO.
Wanting some version of “normal” life after feeling as though she’d “never just been a kid”, Abdalla went to UCLA to study philosophy and film and put acting on hold. But it didn’t last long. “I got bored immediately,” she admits. “I missed being on set because it had been such a huge part of my life.” Returning to acting as an adult changed her outlook on it entirely. Without parents managing emails or logistics, the work became fully hers for the first time. Finally, it felt like a conscious choice. “Post-college, it became more of a passion thing,” she explains. “I can’t imagine not doing this in my life.”
As well as a sense of freedom, Abdalla’s second foray into acting unlocked something unexpected. “I started understanding what acting and performance can do for people emotionally, both as a viewer and as a performer,” she says. The actor describes her craft as “therapeutic”. And, I wonder if the catharsis she finds in her work could go some way in explaining why Off Campus resonated with her so quickly — even before she became immersed in its growing fandom.
“ All you can do is follow your heart and your gut, be kind to yourself and enjoy life.”
Unlike millions of readers, Abdalla hadn’t grown up obsessed with the books. “Really?” she says when I mention I read the entire series at 16. “I was familiar with them, but I hadn’t read the series yet.” That changed the moment the audition landed in her inbox. She devoured the first Off-Campus novel, The Deal, almost instantly. Then she moved on to The Score, the series’ third book, which tells her character, Hayes’, story, all while chemistry reads and the final rounds of the decision-making process were still underway.
For Abdalla, stepping into a book adaptation presented a new kind of challenge. “I’d never done a book adaptation before,” she says. “Having all that source material to pull from felt like such a fun exercise.” Then came the fandom with TikToks, X posts, fan edits, all dissecting even the tiniest interaction. “You’re really seeing what it is about these characters that people love,” she says, reflecting on her social-media research. “And then you think, ‘Okay, I need to find a way to infuse that into the work, as a service to the OGs’.”
Mika wears dress by ZADIG & VOLTAIRE.
Still, Abdalla was anxious as to whether she would be welcomed into the role of Hayes by the fandom. “Before the casting announcement came out, there was definitely an element of nerves,” she says. “I’m not blonde. But honestly, the response since then has been so great.” Rather than pressure, she describes a sense of responsibility to honour characters that readers already care about, while still finding some wiggle room in the role — and not just in regard to her hair colour. “You want to serve that love people already have for the story,” she explains. “But I also knew the book fans were so sweet and loving that I felt safe to explore a little.”
Interestingly, Hayes was always the role Abdalla knew she’d end up playing, despite initially auditioning for the female lead of the first book, Hannah Wells. “I remember saying, ‘Guys, I love her, but this isn’t me’,” she says. “My team and the casting directors knew that.” It’s easy to see why. While both Abdalla and Hayes appear effortlessly cool, there’s more that the actor and her character align on. “Allie has a lot of layers to her, but I love how deeply emotional, vulnerable and insecure she is under this big, bright, confident ball of life and energy she’s created,” the actor says. “Both things are true for her.” It’s because of this dichotomy that Abdalla feels deeply connected to her character. “I feel exactly like her,” she says. “Sometimes my outward persona is very different from how I feel internally. Allie has much more energy than I do — she’s more of a party girl, going-out hype man, but she’s also just me after four Red Bulls.”
Mika wears top and skirt by MARIMEKKO.
The attention that followed Abdalla’s portrayal has, she tells me, been overwhelming. Since season one premiered, social media has exploded with praise, with fans aspiring to “achieve her level of coolness”. “I genuinely don’t know what to do with myself about it,” she says, smiling. “I’ve actually been off social media because the response has been so overwhelming.” But the intensity only grows from here. Season two shifts the focus fully onto Hayes and Di Laurentis’s romance, placing Abdalla at the centre of the series. Yet, she insists little about her process will change. “All of us knew [some of the cast] would eventually lead their own season,” she says. “So none of us ever treated our characters or our work as supporting.”
Much of that confidence comes from her bond with Kalyn, who plays opposite her. Their on-screen chemistry feels effortless now, but Abdalla says it didn’t start that way. “Before filming, Stephen was scared of me,” she says, laughing. “He literally wouldn’t talk to me or look me in the eye.” Eventually, she had to break the ice: “I was like, ‘Hey, man, I want to be your friend’, and he thought I hated him because I apparently look scary. I have a severe case of resting bitch face.”
“Allie has much more energy than I do — she’s more of a party girl, going-out hype man, but she’s also just me after four Red Bulls.”
But once they cleared the air, the pair quickly became close friends and, with that, came a sense of trust. “We’re very similar creatively,” Abdalla says. “We understand each other’s fears, insecurities and self-doubts. We are in tune with what each other needs and we’re very supportive of each other. He’s fantastic.” That emotional attentiveness proved especially important in the show’s more intimate scenes. Abdalla speaks candidly about intimacy coordinators on set, describing the experience as unexpectedly freeing. “They really make it as choreographed and unsexy as possible,” she says. “It breaks all the tension and it makes it formulaic, which is honestly great.”
A self-proclaimed romance-genre fanatic (Abdalla gives a special mention to Love, Rosie in our conversation), the tension between Hayes and Di Laurentis was key to her interest in the role. Yet, outside the romance arc, she’s excited for audiences to see more of Hayes’ family — something she holds particularly dear in her own life. “I have such a strong relationship with my entire family, and especially my dad,” the actor says. “I brought him to Brazil with me on this press tour, which was so special, so I am excited for the fans to get a little bit of that.”
Mika wears top and shorts by PALM ANGELS.
Abdalla also highlights Hayes’ friendship with Wells, which formed easily off screen with co-star Ella Bright. “We all hung out all the time, so we didn’t really have to make a conscious effort,” she says, adding that they even lived in the same apartment building last year. “She’s the most gorgeous, kind, funny, smart person ever. She’s truly one of my best friends. It’s impossible not to be friends with Ella — she’s the best.”
As our conversation draws to a close, talk pivots away from Abdalla’s co-stars and family members and turns inwards. Like many people in their twenties, a main theme in the actor’s life is now navigating uncertainty, while learning how little can truly be controlled. “You can have all the expectations in the world about how things are going to go,” she says thoughtfully. “But at the end of the day, there’s only so much you can control. All you can do is follow your heart and your gut, be kind to yourself and enjoy life. [Our] twenties are fleeting.”
Of course, she still has dreams, though. “I want to be a Bond girl so bad,” Abdalla says. “I’ve seen every film at least three times.” But for now, her focus remains on Hayes — giving the character the same care and emotional honesty that audiences have already connected with so strongly. “I felt like a part of me was healing, learning and growing just based on seeing these characters have these experiences I could identify with,” Abdalla concludes. “I hope people are enjoying themselves but also feel recognition and comfort.”
PhotographerJordan RossiStylistJules WoodWriter Flore BoitelMake-up ArtistAkina Shimizu at A-Frame AgencyHair StylistElsa Canedo at Opus BeautyRetouching Lydia Tzirkova