Spreading Joy with Kit Connor

In some ways, the new Netflix hit Heartstopper follows a familiar path of high school romance. It begins with a classroom meet cute between two opposites who attract, burns for a time with the intense, unrequited longing and pining of adolescence, and overcomes the obstacles of disapproving friends and combative cliques before culminating in a spectacularly public display of affection. Where Heartstopper strikes off in a compelling new direction, however, is in its leading couple, Charlie Spring and Nick Nelson, the former an awkward, overwhelmed self-proclaimed "gay nerd" who bears the scars of being outed and subsequently bullied and the latter a popular rugby star who initially struggles to come to terms with his bisexuality. Played by Joe Locke and Kit Connor, the couple has become an online sensation since the show premiered last month, building on the passionate audience of Alice Oseman’s original webcomic. "It's so incredible because the Heartstopper fanbase has been so passionate and so loud and proud and supportive," says Connor. "It's been so overwhelming as an actor. From the minute Joe and I were announced as Nick and Charlie, it was immediately this flood, this rush of excitement and support, and just people going, 'Oh, we can't wait! I'm sure you're going to be amazing!' And we were just kind of going, 'Thank you, we really hope we don't let you down!'"

Given the fervent response the show has received, it's safe to say they haven't. Heartstopper, which was recently renewed for two more seasons, has claimed the top spot on Variety's Trending TV chart every week since its release, and Connor and Locke have each amassed a few million Instagram followers in nearly record time. A joyous celebration of same-sex love with an ebullient tone, the series offers something different in its uplifting of the queer experience, which is exactly what Connor says first attracted him to the script. "I think it's such a fresh approach to, especially, a queer teen drama," elaborates the eighteen-year-old. "A lot of these teen dramas in general, but especially queer ones, are very much focused on the negatives. It's a very gritty—you've got your Euphorias and your Sex Educations—and I think that, although those shows are great, it's nice to have a more optimistic, more rose-tinted-spectacle approach to teen life and queer teen life and life in general."

The budding romance between Nick and Charlie forms the emotional center of Heartstopper, but the supporting characters cover a meaningfully broad range of the LGBTQ+ experience as well: One of Joe's best friends, Elle, has recently transferred to an all-girls school after coming out as transgender, and Tara, who was Nick's first kiss, is now dating another girl. Connor is also quick to point out that crew on the series was extremely inclusive and felt passionate about the project. "They really wanted to be there, they really wanted to bring this important story to life, because I think that so many people on set didn't have it when they were growing up and didn't have this kind of queer representation," he adds. "Having this kind of queer representation is extremely important and hopefully we'll get to the point where it's not such a big deal."

In the show, Joe is bullied by his rugby teammates and Nick suffers what he famously terms a "proper full-on gay crisis," but the overall tone is gentle and welcoming. Joe finds refuge in the classroom of a gay teacher during lunch and Nick's mother (played by Olivia Colman) reacts with reassurance and acceptance when he tells her he is bisexual. Like the original webcomic, Heartstopper centers the teenage experience, but it has also resonated (sometimes bittersweetly) with many queer viewers of older generations whose own adolescences may not have been so positive and who see the series as both a marker of the progress that has been made and a reminder of what they missed themselves while growing up. "Our main priority is I hope very much that the queer community feels represented and feels well-represented and feels happy with the way that we portray queerness and growing up queer and that whole self-discovery journey as well," says Connor. "I hope that they feel well-represented and that they can hopefully relate to much of it, and those who are older and looking back at their life and their upbringing, how they came out to their parents or something like that, I hope that they can relate."

Most young actors still in their teens would count themselves lucky to land a single career-changing role like Nick Nelson, but Connor has now done it twice. After getting his start as a child actor in commercials for Sainsbury's and KFC, he made his first appearance on television at the age of eight and starred in his first film at nine. Then, in 2019, he had a pivotal role as a young Reggie Dwight (the future Elton John) in the biopic Rocketman. "I owe a lot to that film," he recalls. "It was probably less than fifteen minutes of screen time, but it still felt like an important part of the story, showing Elton's upbringing and his experiences as a young teenager. It was incredible." He recorded "I Want Love" and "Saturday Night's Alright (For Fighting)" at Abbey Road Studios and went to the Cannes Film Festival at fifteen. "That was just mind-blowing and really helped me as an actor in terms of putting me on a stage for a lot of people to see," he adds. "It's a real honor and I was so lucky to be able to be a part of that film."

Now just about to finish high school, Connor has at least two more seasons of Heartstopper to look forward to and says he hopes to find a "darker, more twisted role" to tackle in the near future. Until then, however, he is fully committed to using his art to open people's hearts and minds. "It's really important for straight people to see queer people just being happy and just being joyful and seeing the real beauty of queerness. I think that's something I hope will have a really important effect," he says. "Joe said a little while ago Heartstopper is a very fresh take on romance, but it also definitely takes from the old classic rom-coms and the old classic Hollywood romances, because the queer community never really got that. Back when those kinds of films were being made, it wasn't even a possibility to have a queer love story like that, so we're very much trying to give the queer community that representation and those love stories and that pure beauty and happiness and wonder. Equally, it's very important that straight people also see the beauty of queerness and it’s not all doom and gloom and it can be a very positive thing."

Heartstopper is now streaming on Netflix.