Joseph Zada is drawing attention as Caleb Trask in Netflix’s Florence Pugh-led adaptation of “East of Eden,” but the Australian actor may already look familiar to viewers following two other major projects.
Zada appears in trailers for “The Hunger Games: Sunrise on the Reaping,” the next installment in the franchise. He will star as a younger Haymitch Abernathy, the tribute-turned-mentor played by Woody Harrelson in the Jennifer Lawrence-led movies.
Joining that franchise has left Zada balancing anticipation with the pressure of stepping into an established role.
“It feels like I am a tribute and the Capitol is all the viewers watching to see whether I’m ever going to act again,” Zada told Polyester. “But I’m so excited, the cast is incredible.” He described himself as both “very excited” and “very nervous” about the project.
Prime Video audiences may also know him as Johnny Sinclair Dennis, the reckless rich boy in “We Were Liars.” The series is based on E. Lockhart’s book, and Zada is officially set to return for its confirmed second season.
His road to Caleb Trask
Zada made his film debut in 2019’s “Bilched,” which was directed by his father and co-starred his brother. He later appeared in the Australian television shows “Total Control” and “Invisible Boys.”
His commitment to acting also led him to leave school after his attendance became an issue.
“My attendance was too low,” he told GQ Australia. “They said, ‘If you do that audition, you’re not coming back.’ So I dropped out to do an audition.”
That path eventually brought Zada to “East of Eden” and a character already associated with one of Hollywood’s most recognizable actors. James Dean played Caleb Trask in the 1955 film adaptation of John Steinbeck’s work, but Zada deliberately avoided watching that performance while preparing his own.
In an interview with “Today,” Zada explained that writer and showrunner Zoe Kazan asked whether he had seen the earlier movie. When he told her that he had not, Kazan advised him to wait until after he had finished his work on the Netflix production.
According to Zada, Kazan was concerned that Dean’s performance could influence him too heavily. She had responded positively to the version of Caleb that Zada presented in his audition and wanted to preserve that interpretation for the series.
The decision allowed Zada to approach Caleb without modeling his work on the 1955 portrayal. He did not watch the Dean film until after filming the Netflix adaptation.
What Happens Next?
Viewers discovering Zada through “East of Eden” already have two confirmed opportunities to see more of him. He will take on the younger Haymitch Abernathy in “The Hunger Games: Sunrise on the Reaping,” while also reprising Johnny Sinclair Dennis in Season 2 of “We Were Liars.”
For now, those roles offer the clearest answer to why Netflix audiences may recognize the actor playing Caleb—and why his face is likely to become even more familiar.