Heated Rivalry's Connor Storrie Addresses Speculation About Him & Why He Didn't Think He Would Get the Role

Connor Storrie is opening up about being in demand.

The 25-year-old Heated Rivalry star, who plays Ilya Rozanov in the series, got candid in an interview with THR about all the attention he’s received lately.

During the conversation, he spoke about speculation and chatter about him as a person online, social media love, why he didn’t think he’d get the role, and what’s next for him.

Keep reading to find out more…

On the social media love:

“I feel really honored and blessed. We all know the internet can be really ruthless, especially Twitter. For every negative comment, I feel like there’s a billion good ones, so I feel like the pros far outweigh the cons. Also, I think being from this day and age, I’m very aware of the presence of social media. I’m aware of how connected you are to the people who are watching it, so that’s prepared me to really engage with people. I feel good. My head hasn’t exploded yet, so we’re doing good.”

On the Internet weighing in on him as a person:

“As for people addressing me specifically online, rather than just the work that I do, I just see it as part of the territory. Once again, luckily people are really, really nice to me and say a lot of really nice things. I think it comes with the territory of wanting to work on the level that I’m really excited to work on, and I hope that continues to grow, and I get to do more stuff and work with other cool people that inspire me. It’s part of the job, baby.”

On why he didn’t think he’d get the role:

“When I got the breakdown, it was like 6’3, native Russian speaker, hockey player. Usually [the requirements are] a little less specific than that. With that being so specific, I didn’t think this was going to be me. The breakdown also said that it was a book. I remember looking up the book, looking up the fan art and reading about it online. All of the fan art was this ginormous guy with brown eyes and scruff. As an actor, especially at the phase I was at before Heated Rivalry, you audition for things all the time that are such a shot in the dark and are such a long shot, but you want to act and work, so you give it a shot. I thought this was special and cool from the jump, but definitely did not think it was going to be me.”

On Heated Rivalry getting picked up for international distribution:

“As an actor, you just always hope that things pop off. We do this, we make stuff so that it can be seen, it can be shared and so that it can affect people and it can become part of the cultural ethos. It looks like it’s doing that, so it’s so cool. I’m also kind of nihilistic in the way where I just — I don’t think it’s a bad thing, I actually think it’s a good thing — always expect the worst. I hope for the best. Shoot for the stars and expect the worst.”

On just starting his career:

“To be completely honest — and I think this is cool to talk about because I never hear a lot of actors talking about this — but when I auditioned for Heated Rivalry, I was working at a restaurant. I was working at a restaurant 40 hours a week, getting off at 1 a.m. I did that on and off ever since I was in high school.”

On his future:

“I just feel so blessed to be doing the thing that I’ve always wanted to do with my life. How long that lasts, what that looks like, who I get to work with, the ups and the downs, I don’t know, but all I can do is be thankful for right now and hope that those fruits continue to grow.”

Here’s what the show’s creator said about speculation about the actors’ sexuality.

Find out the NSFW thing his co-star thought about him during the auditions!