Hunky Star Saves Six Lives in Shocking Act

He may be standing on the brink of stardom, but unlike so many of his peers who reach celebrity status Belmont Cameli is no self-centered, spoiled brat.

Indeed, the actor who is front and center of the steamy new Prime series Off Campus gave one of the most selfless gifts a person can just before his 20th birthday.

Cameli donated one of his kidneys – and it went to a stranger he had never even met.

His gift to then 59-year-old Clotilde Ruiz was part of a complicated merry-go-round of organ donations carried out in Northwestern Memorial Hospital in .

'Most of us have two good kidneys, but thousands of people struggle to live day to day with only one failing kidney,' Cameli, now 28, said at the time.

'Every day, 20 people die waiting for a kidney transplant.'

Now his generosity is being repaid with the chance to hit the Hollywood A-list.

Off Campus, which debuted on Wednesday, is set to be one of the smashes of the season with a similar mix of steamy sex mixed with hockey that rocketed the show Heated Rivalry to must-watch status. Cameli's fabulously-chiseled abs are one of the show's main attractions.

But unlike Heated Rivalry, the sex scenes are straight, not gay.

The complicated story of Cameli's extraordinary act began when his boyhood friend Brendan Flaherty's kidneys failed, meaning he had to be hooked up to a dialysis machine for 10 hours every night.

Cameli offered to donate his kidney to his friend, but the pair were found not to be a match.

So doctors at Northwestern decided to play body organ musical chairs. 

First they found a match for Flaherty in Kimberly Cooper. Then they realized that Cameli would be an ideal donor for Ruiz, who had planned to get a kidney from her daughter Daisy before they were discovered to be incompatible.

But Daisy's kidney was found to be a perfect match for patient Scott Rial – and so it went on.

The swap meet continued until six potential donors were matched with six hopeful recipients – none of whom knew their donors.

'I've made a lot of selfish decisions in my life,' said Cameli, who at the time was going by his first name Philip – his middle name is Belmont.

'I thought that this would be a really great opportunity to kind of amend those decisions.

'Thankfully, after six years of strenuous waiting and anticipation, Brendan has been gifted the organ he has so long awaited, and my new friend Clotilde will finally have a healthy kidney and a fresh new start to life.'

Now his generosity is being repaid with the chance to hit the Hollywood A-list.

Off Campus, now streaming on Prime Video, revolves around the relationship between Cameli's character Garrett Graham and Hannah Wells, played by British-American actress Ella Bright, 19. 

It is

College hockey star Garrett strikes a deal with music student Hannah to play her pretend boyfriend, only for things to turn very real.

Cameli is the middle of three children who grew up in Naperville, a suburb of Chicago, 30 miles from the hospital where he gave up his kidney.

He says he had a charmed childhood along with brother Patrick, 31, and sister Julia, 25.

He has repeatedly spoken of his closeness to his family, who make frequent appearances on his social media accounts.

But tragedy struck in 2016 when his father Joseph died suddenly aged just 51 – never getting the chance to retire from his job in marketing at Follett Educational Services.

Although Cameli has never spoken about the impact of losing his dad aged just 18, he has spoken of his closeness to mom Leslie, now 60, who still lives in Naperville.

In an interview with Flaunt Magazine last year, Cameli revealed his family were less than impressed when he revealed he was dropping out of his business major at the University of Illinois – with the general reaction being 'you're nuts!'

He added: 'I did [business] for one year before leaving college and deciding that I wanted to be an actor and a filmmaker.

'My mom wanted me to have a plan B and it took a lot of chipping away to explain that if I have a plan B, I'll fall back on plan B.'

A stint working as a model in Chicago followed before, in 2019, he relocated to LA in a bid to pursue acting full time.

Although he only had one credit under his belt at the time – a cameo on Empire which was thrust into infamy after star Jussie Smollett faked a racist attack on himself – Cameli hit paydirt soon after arriving in LA when he was cast in a reboot of Saved By The Bell in which he played Jamie Spano.

Although the reboot flamed out after two seasons, Cameli continued to work steadily starring in Netflix romcom Along for the Ride in 2022, followed by a role in Robert De Niro crime thriller The Alto Knights in 2025.

Currently in Brazil promoting Off Campus, his new role looks set to take his fame to the next level thanks, in part, to steamy love scenes reminiscent of Heated Rivalry which has made stars of Connor Storrie and Hudson Williams.

But, as with Storrie and Williams, most fans of the Elle Kennedy novels and the upcoming drama want to know one thing: is he single?

Sadly, for fans hoping to have a shot with the handsome leading man, the answer is no – he's off the market.

Although he has not spoken publicly about it, the Daily Mail understands Cameli has been in a relationship with glamorous screenwriter Raina Morris since early 2025.

The California native – whose writing credits include Emily In Paris – was front and center at the LA premiere of Off Campus last week and was seen enjoying a friendly chat with Bright the same night.

She was also photographed with Cameli, posting a photo of the pair looking loved up in sequins and a sharp suit to her Instagram stories.