Goodbye brat summer, hello Kit Connor fall
I don’t know if it’s just me, but Heartstopper season 3 has seriously revived my obsession with Kit Connor. At only twenty years old, Kit has had numerous quantifiable achievements in the entertainment industry that some don’t achieve in their entire career. Beginning acting at eight years old, he has grown up in the industry and has only been on an upward track in his stardom since. However, he has reached a new level of success and fame these past few weeks after the release of the third season of Netflix’s Heartstopper, his broadway debut starring as Romeo in Romeo and Juliet alongside Rachel Zegler, as well as starring in the new animated film The Wild Robot. He is quite literally a triple threat.
Beloved by fans, Heartstopper season 3 was a hot topic across many social media sites among its release on October 3rd. Since the series is based on graphic novels of the same title by author Alice Oseman, fans had ideas of what the season may encompass. Season 3 was a big jump from the earlier seasons, gravitating towards much more mature themes. Connor’s character, Nick, had many ups and downs that reflected realistic teenage experiences that fans appreciated. When asked by British Vogue what could be expected of the new episodes, Joe Locke (Connor’s co-star who plays Charlie, Nick’s love interest) playfully remarks that the new season would have “more sadness, and more horniness”.
While I haven’t seen it yet, The Wild Robot is definitely next on my watchlist. With a starstudded cast of Lupita Nyong’o, Pedro Pascal, Bill Nighy, Stephanie Hsu, Mark Hamill and many more, how could you resist? It was Kit Connor’s breakout voice acting role, and clips prove that he can take on any role that comes his way. I can personally see a bright, bright, future for him in the world of voice acting.
Going from supporting roles to a coming of age, Netflix adaptation was big, but you know what was bigger? Debuting on Broadway as *THE* Romeo in Romeo and Juliet. Fans went crazy when they heard of Connor’s involvement with the modern adaptation of Romeo and Juliet on Broadway, directed by Sam Gold. One scene in particular has gone especially viral, where he dead hangs on Juliet (played by the gorgeous, and insanely talented, Rachel Zegeler)’s “balcony”, before doing a pull up to kiss her goodnight. Now I don’t know if its just my TikTok FYP, but it seems like the entire internet is swooning over this. The Romeo and Juliet online conversation has grown even louder recently as well, as fans have begun to debate whether the vape Connor seems to use in the show (its a modern adaptation of the Shakespearean play, don’t think too hard about this) was real, a prop, or even a vocal nebulizer as suggested by some users. All of this chatter and silly controversy is only adding to the buzz and excitement over the show, and Kit Connor’s career in general.
All of these accomplishments in such a short period of time, and at only twenty years old is a daunting feat, but proves further just how ready Kit Connor is to be a star. I think I speak for most fans when I say I am anxiously awaiting his next project, hopefully the release date Heartstopper S4, and praying for an opportunity to see Romeo and Juliet live in New York. Whatever it may be, I am expecting to see a lot more of Kit Connor in the upcoming months- this is only the beginning!