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Outer Banks is back with 10 all-new episodes. In the sophomore season of the Netflix series, we meet some new characters. But the core cast from season 1 also returns — including Drew Starkey. 

Starkey plays Rafe Cameron, a wealthy Kook and brother to John B.’s (Chase Stokes) love interest, Sarah Cameron (Madelyn Cline). Rafe certainly gets more screen time in season 2, which is one of the reasons why many Outer Banks fans think Starkey “carries” the entire season. 

DREW STARKEY as RAFE CAMERON in 'Outer Banks' Season 2
DREW STARKEY as RAFE CAMERON | JACKSON LEE DAVIS/NETFLIX © 2021

Rafe Cameron is a central character in ‘Outer Banks’ Season 2

Throughout season 1 of Outer Banks, Rafe is easily one of the most evil characters. His desire for power drives him, but his addictive drug use makes him sinister. It’s clear he wants to impress his father, Ward (Charles Esten), but Rafe will do just about anything to obtain that respect — including kill a cop. 

After he shoots Sheriff Peterkin (Adina Porter), blames John B., and gets away with it, Rafe enters season 2 with a renewed sense of confidence. He’s still trying to win his father’s respect, but more than that, Rafe wants to mean more to Ward than Sarah does. Rafe is even willing to take Sarah like he did Peterkin to reclaim his place as the number one Cameron child. 

CHARLES ESTEN as WARD CAMERON and DREW STARKEY as RAFE in episode 202 of OUTER BANKS Season 2
CHARLES ESTEN and DREW STARKEY | JACKSON LEE DAVIS/NETFLIX © 2021

Throughout the Netflix series’ second season, fans see so much more from Rafe Cameron. And as it turns out, they like what they see. 

‘Outer Banks’ fans think Drew Starkey ‘carries the entire second season’

In the Outer Banks Reddit thread, a meme circulated about Starkey being “hospitalized for severe back pain.” The joke headline also reads: “The actor is suffering from having to carry the entire second season of Outer Banks.” 

“It’s hard to take any of the other actors seriously while Drew is just on a whole other level casting [a] shadow,” one fan adds to the thread. Another fan always thought Starkey was one of the best actors in the series. 

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“I said this back in [season 1],” they wrote. “The fact that [people] have so much disdain for Rafe is why Drew is such a great actor.” 

Still, some fans think there were other stand-out stars in season 2 of Outer Banks. In many people’s opinions, Madison Bailey (Kiara), Jonathan Daviss (Pope), Rudy Pankow (JJ), and newcomer Carlacia Grant (Cleo) all stepped it up in Outer Banks‘ sophomore season. Esten was another commonly mentioned name in the thread, likely for his performance in “My Druthers.” 

What else is ‘Outer Banks’ star Drew Starkey in? 

For those Outer Banks fans who can’t get enough of Starkey in season 2, there’s plenty of other Starkey content out there. In 2020, Starkey played Tanner Van Holt in the film Embattled. He was also in the Netflix movie The Devil All the Time, adapted from the novel of the same name. 

Other movies and TV series starring Starkey include: 

  • Acting for a Cause
  • Limbo 
  • Extended Stay 
  • The Family Portrait 
  • Dolly Parton’s Heartstrings — “Lookout”
  • Just Mercy
  • Scream: The TV Series
  • Queen Sugar 
  • Mine 9
  • Doom Patrol
  • The Resident 
  • The Hate U Give
  • Bobcat Goldthwait’s Misfits & Monsters
  • Brockmire
  • Love, Simon
  • American Animals 
  • Good Behavior
  • Valor
  • Dead Silent 
  • Ozark 
  • Shots Fired 
  • Mercy Street
  • Love Is the Longest Con
  • Up the Hill 
  • Bounds
  • Lost Soles
  • The Radical Notion of Gene Mutation

See Starkey in Outer Banks Season 2. All 10 episodes are available now on Netflix. 

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