‘Off Campus’ Star Mika Abdalla Turns Heads in Stunning New Photoshoot

Mika Abdalla is getting a lot of attention right now, and not just because of Off Campus. The actress recently appeared in a new photoshoot and interview for The Hollywood Reporter, where she opened up about her breakout role as Allie Hayes and how much the character changes during the first season of the Prime Video romance series.

The photoshoot showed a more glamorous side of Abdalla while the interview focused on the emotional journey her character goes through in the show. Off Campus has quickly built a strong fanbase online, especially among readers of Elle Kennedy’s popular book series that inspired the adaptation.

Speaking to The Hollywood Reporter, Abdalla said she realized early on that Allie would play a much bigger role in season one than fans may have expected based on the first book, The Deal.

“I learned pretty early on that Allie’s story is a lot more prevalent in season one than it is in The Deal, which is nice,” she explained.

In the series, Allie starts off as Hannah Wells’ fun and outgoing best friend. She is always joking around, supporting her roommate, and trying to keep things together while dealing with her own messy relationship. But as the season continues, viewers slowly see another side of her.

According to Abdalla, Allie is someone who is still trying to figure herself out. She explained that the character spends much of the season pretending she has everything under control when she actually feels lost.

“She’s in this forced way of being. She has a lot of big ideas about what she wants for her life in an idealistic way,” Abdalla said. “Like most 18, 19, 20-year-olds, who have just left house for the first time discover, sometimes your expectations don’t match up to what is meant for you in life.”

The actress also talked about how emotional and vulnerable Allie really is beneath the confident personality she shows to everyone else. Even while helping Hannah through her own relationship drama, Allie is secretly struggling with her own feelings and identity.

“We see her find herself and feel comfortable in being honest in a way that’s new and scary and overwhelming to her,” Abdalla explained. “But then we also see her put up this front for her best friend, who’s going through something much more.”

One of the things Abdalla said she loves most about Off Campus is how realistic the characters feel compared to many other romance shows aimed at younger audiences. She explained that everyone in the series hides parts of themselves and acts differently depending on who they are around.

“They all use fronts that are very who they want to be. Then we get to see them in the ways that they interact with other people that are maybe closer to them or the way that they are when they’re alone,” she said.

The actress also spoke about the reaction from fans of the books. Since the novels already had a massive online following before the Prime Video adaptation was announced, there was pressure to make sure fans connected with the characters onscreen.

Still, Abdalla said the response has been overwhelmingly positive.

“It’s been exciting to give the people what they want because I think the characters are honored in such a beautiful way,” she shared.

She also teased that longtime readers can expect many iconic moments from the books to appear in the show.

“We do include a lot of the iconic scenes or moments or whatever from the books in the show, so I’m really excited for the book fans to see those.”

Off Campus season one focuses mainly on Hannah Wells and Garrett Graham’s romance, played by Ella Bright and Belmont Cameli. But fans already know that Allie’s story is becoming more important moving forward, especially with growing attention around her connection to Dean Di Laurentis.

With her Hollywood Reporter feature, stylish new photoshoot, and growing popularity from the series, Abdalla’s moment in the spotlight clearly is not slowing down anytime soon.

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