Though there’s plenty to love about Heartstopper, the hit young adult series is perhaps most beloved for the adorable teen romance at its core between Nick and Charlie, portrayed by Gen Z superstars Kit Connor and Joe Locke. In a new interview, Connor spoke to his and Locke’s chemistry and friendship, from reading together during Heartstopper auditions to getting intimate three seasons in.
On the latest episode of the podcast Happy Sad Confused, host Josh Horowitz asked Connor if he thinks on-screen chemistry — like the palpable chemistry he has with Locke — can be faked, or if it has to come naturally.
“It’s such a nuanced conversation, the whole chemistry thing,” Connor replied. “Because obviously the kind of simple answer is, I don’t think it can be manufactured. But I also think that — you know, I remember when Joe and I were first doing our chemistry reads and I couldn’t really tell. I couldn’t. I wasn’t sure. We didn’t know each other at all. We’re both quite, especially on first meeting, we’re both quite timid people. I think we were both sh*tting ourselves, and we were both very nervous.”
“Maybe I was too overwhelmed to clock whether or not there was chemistry,” he admitted. “But they obviously thought that there was, and from that, I think we then began to work together and then it was clear that these scenes were really making sense, and that we were getting on really, really well. And he’s obviously become one of my closest friends.”
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“I’d take my shirt off and see camera flashes from the audience,” Connor said. “There was something quite seedy about that.”
Later in the interview, Connor also talked about on-set intimacy with Locke, including whether things ever felt awkward while filming Heartstopper’s more intimate scenes across all three seasons.
“We got lucky in the sense that it was such a slow build, because I think that intimacy is a tricky thing,” Connor said. “Some actors find it easier than others, and it was probably one of the first times — it wasn’t the first time I’d had to do an on-screen kiss, but it was certainly the most intimacy I’d ever had to have done by that point in my career. So I was a little bit like, ‘Okay, let’s just try and feel our way through it.’”
“We had a great intimacy coordinator, David Thackeray,” he continued. “We were just kind of able to take steps throughout the three seasons that we’ve done to get closer, to a point where, that third season, obviously, we have sex, and it felt like a new step in that journey, but definitely a very natural one.”
Check out Connor’s full interview on Happy Sad Confused below.
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