Fans claim he fails the Gus Everett vibe test.
TikTok is upset about Gus Everett.
After it was announced that Patrick Schwarzenegger would star alongside Phoebe Dynevor in the movie adaptation of Emily Henry’s “Beach Read,” fans quickly took to TikTok expressing everything from confusion to disbelief. The phrase “#NotMyGus” became a common sentiment. Some believe the adaptation was doomed before it even began production.
Their main criticism? The vibes are off. Schwarzenegger doesn’t match the literary sad boy depicted in the book, lacking both the look and vibe.
In the novel, Gus is a brooding literary novelist with dark hair, olive skin, and an understated handsomeness, appealing due to his emotional complexity.
Schwarzenegger, on the other hand, publicly exudes a polished and conventional attractiveness. It’s not that fans doubt his acting skills, but rather that he doesn’t fit the book’s vision of Gus.
This discrepancy is especially significant because Gus is considered a quintessential romance hero on BookTok. Fans have long imagined actors like Paul Mescal, Logan Lerman, Joe Keery, and Dev Patel for the part, due to their melancholic aura.
Director Yulin Kuang defended the casting, stating she prioritized chemistry with Dynevor over physical resemblance, describing Schwarzenegger as a “slow burn” choice with “something electric” during auditions.
While styling might help—darker hair, rumpled sweaters, a little stubble—the online reaction highlights how attached readers are to the characters they envision in romance novels. When adaptations are announced, fans aren’t just comparing the actor to the book but to the character they’ve imagined for years.