“Heated Rivalry” stars Hudson Williams and Connor Storrie recently spoke with Out Magazine about the intense chemistry that emerged during the audition process for the LGBTQ hockey romance series.
“Hudson was the third actor that I read with,” recalled Storrie, who plays Ilya Rozanov, a Russian American player for the Boston Raiders. “The first two I was like, ‘OK, this is cool,’ and then Hudson came on. Jacob [Tierney] actually texted me directly and was like, ‘What do you think?’ And I was like, ‘Yeah, Hudson, for sure.’ Instantly.”
Williams, who plays Montreal Metros pro Shane Hollander, added, “I read with one other possible Ilya, and it was good. But something about Connor… There was an inexplicable X-factor that just felt realer than what I thought it could possibly be. And that was something. I had a quote I told Jacob, at one point, about my read with Connor in particular.”
Williams couldn’t recall the exact quote he had said after a chemistry test with Storrie, so he turned to “Heated Rivalry” creator and showrunner Jacob Tierney to say it for him.
“Hudson told me, ‘The other guy was good, but Connor felt like he was going to pin me down and fuck me,’” Tierney told Out Magazine, later adding, “That is literally what he said. And I was like, ‘Well, I think I cast this right.’”
Based on Rachel Reid’s bestselling “Game Changers” series, “Heated Rivalry” follows the love story of rival hockey players Shane Hollander (Williams) and Ilya Rozanov (Storrie). The cast also includes François Arnaud, Robbie G.K., Christina Chang, Dylan Walsh, Sophie Nélisse and Ksenia Daniela Kharlamova.
The six-episode show scored multiple international sales ahead of its Nov. 28 premiere on Crave in Canada, including to HBO Max in the U.S. and Australia, where it also debuted on Nov. 28. New episodes drop every Friday.
