“Heated Rivalry” stars Hudson Williams and Connor Storrie are almost as close in real life as their on-screen characters.
“Me and Hudson had the chemistry down before we even started acting,” Storrie, 25, who plays Williams’ love interest on the HBO Max series, told Vanity Fair in an interview published on Friday.
“We got comfortable just being inches from each other’s face and invading each other’s personal space,” Williams, 24, added, joking, “A nightmare for HR.”
Based on the novels by Rachel Reid, “Heated Rivalry” follows “two rival hockey stars [Williams stars as Shane Hollander and Storrie stars as Ilya Rozanov] at the top of their game face an unexpected challenge when they develop feelings for each other, complicating their careers and the sport’s expectations,” per an IMDb synopsis.
The series premiered on Nov. 28 and has quickly catapulted its stars Williams and Storrie into the spotlight as fans can’t seem to get enough of their steamy fictional romance but seemingly very real chemistry.
Intermingled with the show’s sex scenes, are moments of close intimacy and added to the actor’s relationship.
“So much of their story is them not being 100% authentic with one another,” Williams told the outlet.
“So when we actually had scenes that we got to sit down and genuinely act, and not have any of the gimmicks of these two people flirting, it was fun and so easy. When we had scenes that had to be emotional like that, I don’t know if it’s ever been easier in my life to feed into it.”
Williams added that his “pretty close bond” with his on-screen partner “made it comfortable going into territories where you’re closer with a person than any other coworkers are with their coworker.”
“Unless they’re sleeping together.” he joked.
Though many fans have taken an interest in Williams and Storrie’s offscreen love lives, the two actors haven’t been paying attention to the online chatter.
“We’ve been really busy since the show has come out, so I haven’t been able to really dive too far into the online thing,” Storrie shared.
“I try to be involved and take in as much as I should, but it’s so easy to get lost in the sauce. You can’t help but want to dive into opinions about yourself,” Storrie said.
“It’s like being in middle school when a friend who’s not really your friend is like, ‘Josh said this thing about you.’ I can’t help but be like, ‘What did Josh say about me?’ But I try to stay off of it,”
Williams, on the other hand, claimed he occasionally tunes into the online discussion.
“Thankfully, everything’s been overwhelmingly positive,” he said. “And at the end of the day, I do care what people think. I can’t lie and say, ‘Oh, it doesn’t matter.’ No: I wanted to give something that’s well-received, and selfishly, I want people to like it. But it becomes a very fragile line of how far you can tip in either direction.”
“Heated Rivalry” was officially picked up for a second season by Crave and HBO Max on Friday.
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