Stephen Kalyn Joins The Housemaid’s Secret Adaptation

Stephen Kalyn Joins The Housemaid’s Secret

If you have been following the casting news for Prime Video’s upcoming Off Campus series, you will already know Stephen Kalyn as Dean Di Laurentis, one of the central hockey players from Elle Kennedy’s romance novels. Now, the Canadian actor is stepping from one massive book adaptation straight into another. Lionsgate has added Kalyn to the cast of The Housemaid’s Secret, the upcoming feature sequel to the hit psychological thriller The Housemaid.

Kalyn has landed the role of Brock, a lawyer who begins dating protagonist Millie Calloway as she attempts to leave her chaotic past behind and rebuild a normal life. Given the twisty, paranoid nature of Freida McFadden’s bestselling thriller series, I think this is a fantastic career move for Kalyn. Stepping into a high-profile film opposite established leads right as his TV breakout hits streaming is the kind of momentum young actors dream of.

Building on a Box Office Hit

The first film in the series, adapted from McFadden’s 2022 novel The Housemaid, proved to be a major holiday-season box office success. Driven by audience appetite for domestic thrillers and a strong central performance by Sydney Sweeney, the movie gave Lionsgate an immediate new franchise opportunity.

Sweeney is returning to lead the sequel as Millie, with Oscar nominee Kirsten Dunst also joining the top of the bill. Paul Anthony Kelly is attached to the cast as well, with Kalyn now rounding out the newly announced additions. Like many readers who devoured McFadden’s books on release, I am particularly curious to see how the dynamic between Sweeney and Dunst translates to the screen, especially with Brock added to the mix to complicate Millie’s fresh start.

Much of the creative team behind the first entry remains intact for the sequel. Director Paul Feig is back in the director’s chair, while screenwriter Rebecca Sonnenshine returns to adapt the script from McFadden’s 2023 novel. Keeping the same core filmmaking team should help maintain the sleek, tense tone that made the first adaptation work so well on screen. We regularly see book-to-movie sequels lose their footing when a studio changes the creative leadership between entries, so sticking with Feig and Sonnenshine feels like a reassuring choice.

From Off Campus Romance to Domestic Suspense

For Kalyn, taking on the role of Brock marks a noticeable shift in tone from his work on Off Campus. Kennedy’s book series relies heavily on university banter, sports drama, and lighthearted romantic tension. Moving into McFadden’s world means dealing with secret motives, hidden pasts, and the sharp edge of domestic suspense. If you ask me, showing that kind of range early on is precisely how an actor turns a sudden breakout moment into a long-term career.

Book adaptations continue to dominate both cinema schedules and streaming slates this year. From dark comedy murder mysteries like the upcoming Everyone in My Family Has Killed Someone adaptation over on Prime Video to festive romance films like Netflix’s In a Holidaze adaptation, studios are leaning heavily into established literary fanbases to build reliable hits.

Lionsgate has not yet confirmed an official production start date or a theatrical release window for The Housemaid’s Secret. However, with the primary cast now coming together and the director firmly in place, cameras are expected to roll relatively soon. For fans of McFadden’s books and readers tracking Kalyn’s rise through the adaptation landscape, this is definitely one project to keep on your radar.