Joe Locke Reveals a Person Behind His Breakout Role In 'Heartstopper'
Netflix's biggest LGBTQ+ romcom series, 'Heartstopper', was an instant hit upon its release last month, all thanks to the great chemistry between the two leads, Kit Connor and Joe Locke.
The young actors (both 18 years old) play two teenagers experiencing their first love and happiness. The series is based on Alice Oseman's bestselling graphic novels, and many fans of the original have praised Netflix for carefully bringing the comic book to the screen.
Of course, getting these roles was no easy task for Connor and Locke, who shared their audition stories to Entertainment Weekly.
Keith Connor is a more experienced actor compared to his co-star – he began acting at age 9 and has appeared in many films, including 'Rocketman' and 'Little Joe'. Connor said he received an invitation to audition for the role through his agent along with a digital copy of the comic books, which the actor immediately fell in love with.
"I got it via my agent. It was a self-tape, and they sent through this link to the webcomic, so I read through the first volume's worth, and I was just like, 'This is something so special.' I was just like, 'Yeah, this is something I've got to be a part of", Connor said.
Locke's story is much more unique than that – he had never done professional acting, and when loved ones advised him to try to audition for a role, he decided to give it a try, getting the role after competing with 10,000 (!) other contestants.
"I hadn't done any professional acting work before, and they did an open call so anyone could audition, didn't need an agent or anything. And so, a family friend was like, 'Joe, you should go for this.' And I was like, 'Yeah, you know what, why not?' This whole experience has just changed my life completely, and I feel like I'm living my dream," Locke said.
Fans seem to be 100% supportive of the producers' decision to hire the young actors, praising their incredible chemistry over at Twitter.