As one of the stars of a hit Netflix series, Kit Connor has become sadly used to intense scrutiny from both the fans and media.
After rising to fame by starring in the queer teen rom-com series Heartstoppers, the actor was forced to come out as bisexual on Twitter late last year in response to ongoing speculation about his sexuality and accusations of queerbaiting.
Now Connor reveals that he has been impacted by fans' expectations of what his body should look like as he portrays a high-school rugby player at Truham Grammar School who discovers that he’s bisexual and falls for his classmate, Charlie, played by Joe Locke.
Kit Conner as Nick Nelson in 'Heartstoppers.'
Courtesy of Netflix
In an interview with Vulture, the 19-year-old star explained that he started going to the gym when fans began saying his body didn’t match the drawings of his rugby-playing character in Alice Oseman’s webcomics and graphic novels that the show is based on.
“I wouldn’t say I was forced into it by fans, but it was me as a young adult coming to terms with the body that I had and feeling I wasn’t completely equipped to play the role,” Connor said. “That wasn’t a good way of thinking, but I was a teenager. I still am.”
Connor began bulking up at the gym after getting these comments and in March of this year YouTuber and fitness model Nathaniel Massiah posted a workout video of the young actor that showed him with a superhero level physique.
While he has a better relationship with his body image now, Connor admits to posting thirst traps on social media while he was still trying to figure things out.
“I saw that picture and posted it, then I immediately was like, ‘Oh my God, this is embarrassing,’” he said about a shirtless photo he posted on social media. “Anyone else does it, I’m like, ‘Yeah, absolutely, body positivity,’ but when it comes to me, I’m just like, ‘Absolutely not.’”
Heartstoppers season two will arrive on Netflix on August 3, 2023.
