WARNING: The following article contains spoilers for To All the Boys I've Loved Before: Always and Forever, now streaming on Netflix.
Netflix productions frequently employ the same actors, even when those productions are in totally different genres. It can be a little jarring to see these actors bounce from horror shows to rom-coms, but that's exactly what happens in the last To All the Boys I've Loved Before movie, Always and Forever.
The film focuses on Lara Jean's (Lana Condor) and Peter Kavinsky's (Noah Centineo) senior spring, which introduces some drama into their relationship when their college plans go off the rails. Meanwhile, Peter gets a message from someone who's been gone from his life for a long time: His dad.
In Always and Forever, Peter tells Lara Jean that his dad reached out about having dinner together, but he hasn't responded because he isn't sure he wants to see him again. Then, Peter's dad spots him and LJ at the bowling alley when the two are on a date, and things get really awkward, really fast. Peter's dad mistakes Lara Jean's name for Laura, asks Peter about having dinner, references a steak restaurant they apparently frequented when Peter was a kid and then asks if the young couple want to bowl with him and his family -- a family Peter isn't and hasn't been a part of since his dad left many years ago.
The scene is awkward for Peter, specifically, but it's also a little fun for viewers. The actor who plays Peter's dad, Henry Thomas, is also the young Hugh Crain in Netflix's The Haunting of Hill House, as well as Henry Wingrave in The Haunting of Bly Manor. Some fans may also recognize him as Elliott, the main character in the classic sci-fi flick E.T.: The Extra-Terrestrial.
Thomas doesn't play a particularly big role in Always and Forever. He's only in two short scenes, but his awkward demeanor is perfect for the character and for the situation.
Ultimately, he's there to give Peter advice about love, which is more than a little ironic. However, it works as a plot device in this trope-ridden rom-com trilogy, and seeing Thomas play a dad who's terrible in the average sense, rather than because of supernatural forces plaguing his family, is kind of refreshing.
Based on the book by Jenny Han, adapted for screen by Katie Lovejoy and directed by Michael Fimognari, To All the Boys I've Loved Before: Always and Forever stars Lana Condor, Noah Centineo, Anna Cathcart, Janel Parrish, Madeleine Arthur, Emilija Baranac, Ross Butler, John Corbett, Sarayu Rao and Trezzo Mahoro. The film is streaming now on Netflix.