kit for a king

Real-life heartstopper: 20 fascinating facts about Kit Connor

By Carson Mlnarik
Kit Connor, with coiffed blonde hair, softly smiles and looks on in a golden collared shirt on a red carpet.

Ever since his debut as adorable rugby player Nick Nelson in Netflix‘s Heartstopper, Kit Connor has been giving us “a proper full-on gay crisis.”

The 20-year-old English actor went from child star to major celebrity, thanks to the coming-of-age series’ whirlwind success. And while growing up in the public eye, he learned a lot about himself and the world.

Especially back in November 2022, when he came out as bisexual amidst fan accusations of queerbaiting. (“Congrats for forcing an 18 year old to out himself. I think some of you missed the point of the show,” he wrote in a since-deleted tweet.) In that sense, he’s also taught the world a lot about what it means to queer, accepting, and respectful of everyone else’s journeys.

That being said, Connor –– who’s bulking up for a role in Alex Garland’s Warfare and preparing to make his Broadway debut in Romeo + Juliet –– is focused on curating a career that speaks to his breadth of experiences. Not just his queerness.

“It shouldn’t matter, and in my experience so far, it hasn’t,” he told Vulture. “But I want to play roles that are interesting and challenging, whether they’re queer roles or straight roles.”

Get to know the rising star better with these 20 fascinating facts about Kit Connor…

1. Kit Connor got into acting as a means of opening up.

Kit Connor softly smiles wearing a light blue collared shirt at a Loewe fashion event.
Image Credit: Getty Images

Although he’s one of Hollywood’s brightest rising stars, Connor has his parents to thank for his introduction to the arts. “When I was in my family setting, I was really loud and annoying, but I was quite shy in that public setting,” he told Women’s Wear Daily. “So [my parents] sent me to this drama school, and then after a year or so of that, they had a sort of opening for a commercial and I just found myself going for it.”

2. He went deep in the lore to prepare for Rocketman.

Kit Connor portrayed a young Reginald Dwight –– a.k.a. Elton John –– in 2019’s Rocketman, a jukebox musical recounting the pop legend’s rise to fame. Not only did he sing “Saturday Night’s Alright for Fighting,” but he dived HARD into the singer’s lore. “I wanted to take it really seriously, so I made this huge playlist of Elton John’s songs and, for a year straight, all I listened to was him,” Connor told Interview Magazine. “I would read books about him, watch documentaries—I was entirely, completely obsessed with Elton.”

3. Growing up as a child star has had a “lasting impact” on him.

Taron Egerton and Kit Connor on a 2019 'Rocketman' red carpet. The pair are wearing suits and bowties.
Image Credit: Getty Images

Connor made his onscreen debut at just 8-years-old with a handful of appearances in British TV shows like Casualty and Chickens. And while the English actor is thankful for his career, he admitted that his nontraditional childhood affected him. “I definitely think I was forced to mature in certain ways that made me speak a bit like an old man at times,” he explained to Interview Magazine. “But then I also sometimes felt, whether this was true or not, a little socially stunted.”

Working while “friends and family would be going out on holiday,” he added, had “a sort of lasting impact,” though for the most part he “really loved growing up on film sets.”

4. He originally auditioned for Charlie Spring in Heartstopper.

Joe Locke and Kit Connor look into each other's eyes and smile widely holding a pamphlet for Paris in a scene from 'Heartstopper.'
Image Credit: Netflix

Kit Connor is so Nick Nelson, that it almost feels like he came right from the pages of author Alice Oseman’s graphic novels. However, Connor’s original self-tape was for the other romantic lead: Charlie Spring, portrayed by Joe Locke.

“The real reason I [auditioned] is because I knew about the project –– I thought it was an amazing project I’d like to be a part of,” he told RadioTimes. “I thought, ‘There’s no chance I’m going to get it,’ because physically there’s nothing about me that could fit this character, but then luckily there was Nick that I could sort of slot into quite well.” Send our regards to the casting director, because everything worked out perfectly!

6. He does not relate that much to his Heartstopper character IRL.

Despite his perfect portrayal of Nick Nelson –– and also identifying as bisexual, like the character –– Connor admitted that playing the adored rugby player was a bit out of his comfort zone. “I was never nearly as popular as Nick was, I think,” he confessed to British Vogue. “Nick is super socially comfortable and I can get quite sort of socially inept. Not socially inepet, but like, awkward. I am a bit introverted and generally like to keep myself to myself.”

7. Connor carries one very British thing with him all the time!

In an interview with British Vogue, Connor spilled out the contents of his backpack, which included one extremely British go-to: a collection of teabags in a small plastic bag! That being said, it’s more about the flavor than anything else.

“I didn’t want to be the guy who goes … ‘I bring tea everywhere I go,’ so I’m gonna specify, I don’t bring tea everywhere I go,” he explained. “Sometimes in hotels, they just don’t have English Breakfast tea, which is kind of stressful.

8. Heartstopper has bonded him and Joe Locke forever.

Appearing on the hit Netflix series has undoubtably changed both Connor and co-star Joe Locke’s lives forever. (The role was actually Locke’s first-ever audition.) For that reason, the two actors told Teen Vogue that they’re bonded together forever. “I know that he cares for me and that I can rely on him, and I know that he can rely on me,” Connor explained. Locke, on the other hand, called Connor “a very, very brave man, in more ways than anyone in the public eye could understand.”

9. He looks to these Hollywood legends for style inspiration.

As he told Women’s Wear Daily, Connor describes his style as “old Hollywood with a twist.” His specific inspirations include James Dean, Marlon Brando, and Paul Newman, though he’s trying to expand out of his comfort zone. “In the last year or so, I’ve tried to not limit myself to a rule in fashion,” he explained. “If you want to wear something, then you just got to do it and try it.”

10. Connor was navigating his sexual identity way before he came out.

Kit Connor wears an orange turtleneck under a black blazer and softly smiles looking into the camera.
Image Credit: Getty Images

Even before being cast on Heartstopper, Connor was coming to terms with his sexuality. “It was just a very natural process for me; I didn’t really have an ‘Oh sh*t’ moment,” he told British Vogue. “It just became more and more evident.” And although his family was “super accepting and inclusive,” attending an all-boys school did inspire his decision to largely stay quiet. “I was in a very heteronormative atmosphere,” he explained. “It wasn’t hugely inclusive. it wasn’t really accepted in a lot of ways.”

11. He has two older siblings.

Kit Connor stands out a shopfront wearing a gray polo t-shirt and smiling softly.
Image Credit: Getty Images

Connor is the youngest of three kids, and he actually has his sister to thank for introducing him to Heartstopper. “She had the first volume on her bookshelf so I had seen it around the house [when I got the invite to audition],” he told Variety.

12. Connor enjoyed bulking up to play Heartstopper‘s rugby heartthrob

The pressure was on Connor to bring Nick Nelson –– a nearly Hulk-sized rugby player in the webcomics –– to life in Heartstopper. Because of that, he felt a lot of pressure to bulk up after the show’s first season. But what started out as a mandatory gym visit for a role turned into a very healthy routine. “I used to go [to the gym] five days a week and at first it was very much about the aesthetic,” he told The Guardian. “Now, I go a couple of days a week for my mental health. I just sit down and kind of blow off some steam and I find it very helpful.”

That being said, he’s still figuring out how to own his physique. “It’s not a thirst trap,” he joked in response to a pic that his trainer shared of him after the gym (seen above).

14. Heartstopper‘s sincere brand of queer representation is important to him.

One of the most captivating parts of Heartstopper for fans is the sincerity and chasteness with which it approaches a young queer romance. And if you ask Connor, he’d wholeheartedly agree. “I don’t think there’s a lack of queer sex in the media, but a lot of the time when queer people are on screen, especially gay and bisexual men, they are heavily sexualized,” he explained to The Guardian. “So, I think there’s something quite nice about the fact that we’re not sexualizing it.”

15. He considers his parents to be “superheroes.”

@kittkatt1.1 Parents are his superheroes 😭😭😭 #heartstoppertv #heartstoppercast #findyourgrace #heartstopperedits #heartstoppernetflix #blowthisup #kitconnor #heartstoppercomic #viral #kitconnoredit #kitconnorheartstopper #kitconnorsupremacy #nickandcharlie ♬ Last Request – Kit Connor

Connor’s parents, Richard and Caroline, worked in advertising while he was growing up. And while they “were ‘definitely not’ the kind to drag him to Harry Potter auditions,” he considers them to be “superheroes” for the way they would eventually support his passions.

“They’re two really amazing examples for me of people who just work tirelessly,” he said in an interview. “I’ve obviously grown up with my parents and watched them just sort of slaving away to look after me and my siblings. Especially when I was a child actor … answering all my emails from my agent and taking me to auditions and things like that. I think that was an extremely tiring job, but they did it and they never complained.”

16. He nailed his first-ever audition for a commercial.

While the life of an actor involves a heavy hand of rejection, Connor actually scored the first part he ever tried out for. “My first-ever audition was for an Xbox commercial and I got it somehow,” he told Teen Vogue. That being said, the perks started and ended with his appearance in the 2011 advertisement. “I didn’t get anything from the Xbox commercial, annoyingly,” he added. “Not even an Xbox.”

17. His ideal day off of work is “extremely boring.”

Kit Connor poses on the red carpet with his hair parted in the middle. He wears a plain white t-shirt with the sleeves cuffed.
Image Credit: Getty Images

Stars, they’re just like us! As Connor told Interview Magazine, his ideal off-day involves a lot of relaxation and self-care. “I tend to wake up, have breakfast, some coffee,” he explained. “I’ve been trying to read a bit more, watch films, stay off my phone … It’s great because I’ll go to, say, Paris … and have an extraordinary time, and then I’ll come back home and remind myself, ‘Ah yes, that’s a little fantasy. Now I’m back to reality and I’m going to walk my dog.”’

18. Connor had plans to return to high school – but that changed quickly.

Kit Connor walks outdoors alongside a glassy building. He looks off while wearing a tight-fitting maroon t-shirt with the image of a figurine on it.
Image Credit: Getty Images

After becoming an established child actor, Connor told Vulture that he quickly realized acting was going to be “it” for him. “I thought, ‘This is something I could do for a living,'” he said. “I was also thinking that I was missing so much school. I never thought I could come back and go to university.”

That being said, he had big plans to resume a normal, in-person schooling experience. He began studying for GCSEs –– Britain’s high-school exams –– until COVID hit and many schools went online. Connor considered the idea again in 2021… until he got cast in Heartstopper. And the rest was history!

19. He left Twitter for a good reason.

Kit Connor poses at The Fashion Awards 2023 in London England. He has long strawberry blonde hair slicked back and stands in a golden blazer over a blank tanktop.
Image Credit: Getty Images

When Heartstopper premiered, Connor realized just how toxic having a social-media presence could be with the sudden scrutiny. “There’s something so exciting about hearing what people think,” he said to Vulture. “And then you see one negative comment and think, ‘Oh my God, the world’s ending.'”

In fact, accusations around queer-baiting led him to feel forced to come out as bisexual. And when fans started “reaching out to [his] friends and people [he] was close to” about his sexuality, he made the decision to leave the “silly silly app” for good. “I think human beings weren’t meant to meet more than a certain amount of people in their life, know a certain amount of people, or be known by a certain amount of people,” he explained. “I always thought I would find it easier –– when you’re a kid, you’re thinking, ‘Wow, I’m going to be famous.'”

20. Despite the circumstances of his coming-out, Connor now feels empowered.

Kit Connor lays in bed with Joe Locke and cuddles him while looking into his eyes. They both wear their schoolboy uniforms in a scene from 'Heartstopper.'
Image Credit: Netflix

Despite being “slightly disappointed” around feeling like he had to come out, Connor is more secure in himself than ever before as a bisexual man. “[I felt] the experience of maybe you’re too straight to be gay and you’re too gay to be straight,” he told British Vogue. “It’s like, ‘Where do I sit?’ But I feel much more secure in myself now.”

Furthermore, the overwhelming support he got from both his friends, fans, and other LGBTQ+ people in the closet helped him see a silver lining. “At the end of the day, I don’t regret it,” he added. “In many ways it was really empowering.”

Help make sure LGBTQ+ stories are being told...

We can't rely on mainstream media to tell our stories. That's why we don't lock Queerty articles behind a paywall. Will you support our mission with a contribution today?

Once Monthly Annually

Cancel anytime · Proudly LGBTQ+ owned and operated

2 Comments*

  • Cam

    I always fid it interesting when folks like Kit and Sean Hayes blame the LGBTQ community when they come out instead of the homophobes who made them afraid to come out in the first place.

  • Squeak

    Kit Connor’s cutest role was in the film The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society (2008)

Comments are closed.

More in Life*

Latest*