Connor Storrie is making hay while the snow falls sun shines! Keep in mind, it’s only been three months since Heated Rivalry skated onto our screens, etching itself into the annals of pop culture history (and making real life men’s hockey extra disappointing by comparison). Within weeks of the season finale airing, the show’s leads Connor and Hudson Williams were attending and presenting at the Golden Globes together, and globe-trotting to multiple fashion shows. The trajectory is insane! But we love the show (please let season two be more than six episodes!) and it feels like there’s a lot of goodwill for the young stars. Heated Rivalry season two will hopefully be filmed later this year. In the meantime, Connor is hosting SNL this weekend and has joined the ensemble cast of a new A24 comedy, Peaked. To top it all off, he has an edgy fashion editorial in the latest edition of VMAN. A few highlights from the interview:
Clothes make the man: Fashion was not on my radar, but the moment you start trying on really nice clothes, you understand why people love it so much. It was never on my radar before, but I really enjoy it. I love the artistry of it. You also realize really quickly how much materials matter—like a $50 pair of jeans versus a $500 pair. You can really feel the difference. … Especially with tailoring, too—when things are really form-fitted to your body, it’s hard to go back to off-the-rack pants. It’s just fun. Playing dress-up is my favorite thing, which is probably why I’m in film—it’s a prolonged version of that. So these photo shoots are an even more heightened version of it.
The mega-success of HR is still hard for him to comprehend: First of all, it’s really difficult to fully comprehend the level at which this is being seen. I’ll be completely honest—it’s only really started to settle in over the last week. I was on the east side, driving to get dinner, and there was this big crowd on a street corner. I was like, “Oh, I wonder what everyone’s doing.” I pulled forward a bit and realized it was a club doing a Heated Rivalry night—sold out, our faces everywhere. I literally drove for a block and a half, and the line just snaked all the way down the street. That was the first time I could really visualize it. Online numbers are so elusive—millions of views don’t always feel real. But seeing a few hundred people physically waiting to get inside, I was like, “Whoa, this is a real thing.” It’s been beautiful, honestly. I’ve wanted this for so long, and I’ve imagined what it would be like—the projects, the conversations, the people I’d meet. I’m meeting some of my idols, like Gregg Araki. And I say this without wishing it at all, but even if it all ended now, I’d be floored. Anything after this really feels like a cherry on top.
On whether he’d read romance novels before landing HR: My only connection to the reading world was my sister, who’s a very big reader. But it’s funny—looking back, I don’t even really register it as a romance. I think Ilya, specifically, has so much going on in his personal life that the romance feels more like a byproduct of his human experience. I’m honestly jealous of people who discover reading as their pastime. I was talking to Rachel [Reid], the author, yesterday, and she asked if I’d read the book. I was like, honestly, the only books I’ve read in the past few years are Heated Rivalry and The Long Game. So no, I wasn’t familiar with romance at all, but I definitely see the power of it. I think reading in that way is really good for your brain. And the people I’ve met through book culture are great—it’s a cool fan base. They’re incredibly enthusiastic, bright, and emotional.
So the uber expensive fabrics/fashions really do feel better? Dammit. Maybe someday… As someone who’s vertically-challenged and has spent a lifetime having pants hemmed, I totally understand his comments about the difference in clothing that’s tailored to fit your unique body. Where I’m not quite on the same page with Connor, is the whole section on reading. Look, I’m a fan of Connor’s! But I’m dying over “reading is really good for your brain!” My positive spin: acting requires a lot of reading (not just scripts but for research as well), so my wish for Connor is a long, rich career that affords him the opportunity and time to fall deeper in love with reading. For right now, mark your calendars for Saturday! I thought Connor was fantastic in his SNL promo, an “accent duel” with James Austin Johnson. Apparently Connor is “very involved in the clown scene in LA,” which I feel like should really be more front-and-center in his image building/branding, and will definitely be an asset when hosting live this Saturday night.
Photos credit: Xavier Collin/Image Press Agency/Avalon, Faye’s Vision/Cover Images, VMan via Instagram
Nice to see some completely new faces break into the scene and do so well
Right? I am delighted for them. Storrie seems so sweet and humble.
Hudson and Connor are just really refreshing. Love them.
They really are! Jacob Tierney really cast the hell out of these two. They are fun on their own, and delightful together!
It’s wild how the casting was. And no joke, all the promo I see for new stuff is copying HR. Jacob talked about how the show was about yearning and then alll the WH promo repeated the word yearning. So many romance projects are being green-lit now. And its not like co-stars aren’t always trying to show their chemistry off during the promo run, but man Connor and Hudson kind of upped the game.
He’s right a expensive pair of jeans is softer than the inexpensive ones. When I was younger I spent money on jeans until I realized meh, you get the same look at a lower price. I’m pretty cheap with my clothes but I SPEND on shoes and bags. Good shoes and bags last forever and the uplift your outfit.
Shoes.
Good shoes last. That’s the thing.
Same for bags.
I found an amazing one of a huge French brand in a thrift store.
25 eur.
The actual price? Between 3/400 EUR.
I tried to find something similar and cheaper. It didn’t last long. That one 5 years later is still “my bag”. I think i will make an effort and buy another one, it’s an investment.
Lemme just say I have Champaign taste but not the accompanying champaign budget. If you have sensitive skin, there is 100% difference in good quality textiles. It’s quite noticeable. And it’s hard to go back once you’ve been exposed. You begin to notice cheap and bad quality. I need to win the lottery.
He is correct about the fit and quality of fabric of clothes. My grandmother was a dressmaker (more than that, really, she could look at a Chanel suit and duplicate it and the quality so well her clients couldn’t tell the difference. Also, she knitted me some awesome sweaters.) Anyhow, she would make clothes for us and I had beautiful clothes (we still got store-bought), so much so that my college roommate many years later remembers them!
On another note, I haven’t watched Saturday Night Live in years but that promo was hilarious. I am going to make a point to do so tomorrow night!
I am so happy for the cast and I am so obsessed with this show. We need more episodes in Season 2! I was so sad when it ended. Then I just re-watched it lol
Tierney confirmed 6 episodes for season 2 as well, unfortunately
Francois Arnaud mentioned something about a spin-off and I’m pretty sure we’ll get a season 3 for Unrivaled, so I think we’ll get more content after the next 6 episodes. I would love for each book to get its own series. I neeeeeeeeed Ryan & Fabian and Troy & Harris’s stories to be televised!!
Love the cast from Heated Rivalry!
Anxiously awaiting SNL this Saturday.
It’s been delightful seeing them model clothes also.
Glad to see non-nepo babies getting their big breaks for a change.
I was very blasée about this craze and all the hype and then I watched the show after a good friend whose taste I trust recommended it and it was like OH MY GOD it’s the best thing I’ve seen in a long time. Put it this way: the friend who recommended it had come with me to watch Wuthering Heights and this was waaaaaaaaaay better. And then I watched a few YouTube clips where the two actors are interviewed together and ….it’s even better. They’re funny and good natured and actually the really intriguing part is, they both say, in real life, Hudson is Ilya and Connor is the other guy, whose name escapes me.
LOL. Connor is Shane Hollander in that scenario then. It’s funny bc yeah there is a little bit of a personality switch irl. I would never imagine seeing Shane as the more Ilya type, but yeah irl, Hudson Mildred Williams is noooot Shane, like at all. And Connor is a sweetheart but really I think Ilya actually is one too ya know, but yeah totally different. The whole cast was so good and I wana see them all in everything. And basically watch more Canadian shows and movies bc at least then it feels like you’re watching new faces. Although, technically, if you started watching Canadian shows a lot then you might start seeing the same people idk. I’m just grumpy about the Paramount merger.
His accents sounded so good! Like not parodies, real accents and yes his clown background will come in handy
LOVE Connor and Hudson and Heated Rivalry! The show is amazing and they both knocked it all the way out of the park with their portrayals.
Once the NHL understands that they are the villains of the entire Game Changers series, they should do better and stop capitalizing on the goodwill, increased exposure and tickets sales driven by the show. I’m really disappointed in the mens team and particularly the Hughes. I also want Quinn to stay far far away from Connor and his SNL hosting debut.