It's been more than a month since "Secret Life of the American Teenager" star Shailene Woodley was cast as Hazel Lancaster in the big-screen adaptation of John Green's "The Fault in Our Stars"—and with not one peep as to who would play her swoon-worthy love interest, Augustus Waters... That is, until now.
Variety reports that five young actors comprise the shortlist for the highly coveted role of Hazel's fellow cancer support group member. Those men are: Brenton Thwaites, Nat Wolff, Nick Robinson, Noah Silver and Ansel Elgort. All five are relative newcomers to the film industry, and according to the report, none is considered a front-runner at this point.
The role of Augustus is a meaty one, to be sure, one requiring a level of depth and sensitivity not often inherent in a teenage boy. With that in mind, let's take a look at the contenders:
Brenton Thwaites
Where you've seen him: The Australian actor starred in the made-for-TV movie "Blue Lagoon: The Awakening." Otherwise, unless you subscribe to The Down Under Channel (that's a thing, right?), you probably haven't seen too much of him.
The hype: Brenton's already auditioned for a Shailene-starring movie, having been one of the strapping young men vying for the role of Four in "Divergent." He was also in the mix for the lead in the next "Transformers" movie.
What he has coming up: He'll put his boyish looks to good use as the young prince alongside Elle Fanning's Aurora in 2014's "Maleficent."
Nat Wolff
Where you've seen him: The 18-year-old most recently appeared alongside Tina Fey and Paul Rudd in the comedy "Admission." Of course, most fans know him as one-half of the The Naked Brothers Band with sibling Alex.
The hype: With his status as a double threat, Nat will likely be in the limelight for years to come.
What he has coming up: Upcoming projects include "Behaving Badly" with Selena Gomez and James Franco's "Palo Alto."
Nick Robinson
Where you've seen him: Nick plays sensitive high-schooler Ryder Scanlon on the ABC Family series "Melissa & Joey."
The hype: Fresh to film, the 18-year-old made his Sundance Film Festival debut in January to promote "The Kings of Summer."
What he has coming up: Nick plays Joy Toy in the coming-of-age film, which follows three friends who run away from home.
Noah Silver
Where you've seen him: Noah plays Benito Sforza on the "Showtime" series "The Borgias."
The hype: Not much, from what we can tell. (Guy doesn't even have a Wikipedia page!)
What he has coming up: The actor will next appear in the Morgan Freeman-starring "Last Knights" and also play the titular character in "Jamie Marks Is Dead."
Ansel Elgort
Where you've seen him: Unless time-traveling to the future is your super power, you probably haven't seen him in anything: He'll make his feature-film debut in October's "Carrie," alongside Chloe Moretz.
The hype: The 19-year-old recently landed a role in Shailene's "Divergent," which may give him an advantage in this casting process seeing as he's already working with the leading lady.
What he has coming up: "Carrie" and "Divergent" are the only projects on his docket right now.
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