Kit Connor’s hair looks ever so slightly different each time. It’s not softly side-swept like in his Loewe campaign, nor freshly buzzed short in recent social photos. It’s in a neat length that frames his face well and characteristically bearing a distinct auburn. Which is likely the first thing you’ll notice. We’re catching him merely two weeks into rehearsals for Romeo + Juliet.
The English actor would be tackling the possibly 37th Broadway iteration of the star-crossed lovers’ age-old tale alongside Rachel Zegler. Except that its pop-imbued teaser, shot no different from a music video, previews a score by the trendiest Producer of late. Like Jack Antonoff’s inaugural composition for a live stage, this will mark Connor’s Broadway debut.
It’s his first time working across the pond too, but make no mistake. This is hardly the 20-year-old’s first rodeo. The adaptation of Ingmar Bergman’s Fanny and Alexander at the Old Vic was entered into his CV—at the age of 14. So young that the part had to be shared in fulfilment of British child labour laws. If that amazes you, wait till we get to how old he was when he embarked on this gig.
“It’s early days, and I’m finding the flow, enjoying myself a lot.” The Croydon-raised youth tells of his return to plays, speaking at a mindful and measured pace. He’s starting to get back into the swing of it, and he’s certainly approaching it differently now as an adult. “Every job is a learning curve in its own way. It’s really nice to be in the same room for a few weeks working at it and doing what you love.”
Doing what you love. It’s a phrase that sporadically punctuates his speech. It’s not difficult to see why when you trace his career. Signed up for Stagecoach Performing Arts School by his parents in an effort to pry a fairly introverted kid out of his shell, the attempt paid off in an almost accidental entry into the industry.
“A random opening for an Xbox commercial,” he briefly recounts the what’s-the-harm mindset, “I got it, did it, had a great day and thought, ‘Yeah, I’d do this again’. And it all very naturally progressed from there.”
Natural progression like his first feature (aged nine) and first red-carpet interview (aged 10). Shooting advertisements in South Africa and playing a young Elton John in the biopic. All before taking his GCSE examinations. Quite the makings of a child actor, minus the wayward behaviour, thankfully.
“It’s a brilliant but strange way to grow up. You spend months at a time out of school trying your best to keep up with the tutors, and come back still a little bit behind everyone,” he admits, quick to furnish with how lucky he felt to have been able to gain experiences working opposite incredible actors throughout his childhood.
It’s the reason when posed with the standard question for celebrities, Connor has still yet to find an alternative occupation that would make a good answer. The factors are not particularly stellar in school (with that schedule, can anyone blame him?); plus a keen interest in the arts.
“I would have always gravitated towards the film industry or creative arts in some way.” he muses, before almost mumbling, “I still hope at some point to be a director... when the time is right.”
There was a formative time when a role he was excited to have landed eventually failed to come to fruition due to an executive decision by the studio. Since then, the young thespian does not take things for granted. This rejection-resilient fortitude was further blustered by the pandemic; where the then-student recognised the possibility of never working in this trade again.
Fortunately, that was the season he was chosen for his breakout Netflix role. Funnily enough though, if forced to pick a preferred medium among the three, Connor’s controversial opinion ranks TV as the last. Only because it stems from the love he has for a process and timeline that allows more care dedicated to a project.
One upcoming billing to anticipate is Alex Garland’s Warfare, which also stars Joseph Quinn, Will Poulter, Cosmo Jarvis, Charles Melton and Noah Centineo. Despite wrapping months ago, the two-month job felt like just yesterday to him.
“I really loved Civil War, which came out after I knew I was doing Warfare, so I was really excited to see Alex’s most recent work,” he explains, having enjoyed Ex Machina and Annihilation. “I thought everyone was brilliant in it. It gave a taste of what Warfare could be like.”
The extent of similarity lies in writer and co-director Ray Mendoza as military advisor across both films; and why action sequences come across as authentic as they are terrifying. “It opens your eyes to the horrors of war, and it’s not going to be an easy watch. Incredibly intense, probably uncomfortable. Yeah... it’ll be an experience.”
On the lighter side, there’s The Wild Robot. Connor voices young gosling Brightbill in the animated adaptation of Peter Brown’s illustrated literary series, across Lupita Nyong’o, Pedro Pascal and Bill Nighy (special shoutout to Matt Berry for lending his iconic inflexions).
While he was not necessarily a runt of the litter like the little hatchling, Connor relates growing up somewhat shorter and skinnier than everyone else. Together with what he calls “a massive baby face” that placed him looking years younger than his peers, you instinctively match that with his self-description of an adolescent who was generally rather quiet among strangers.
Before picturing a sensitive child, however, anyone who is or knows an introvert is aware of how loud they can be when they’re comfortable with you. And if anything, he’s the furthest from a crier. “A lot of my friends are,” he says, “So next to them, I look like this sort of heartless man. I do get very moved by things but I rarely cry.”
The last thing he recalls that gave him utter goosebumps was The Motive and The Cue, a meta-production on the production of Shakespeare’s Hamlet during the ’60s. In that realm, the theatre geek also has high regard for other Hamlet partaker Andrew Scott.
“Anything he touches is bound to be a success,” he expresses, citing Present Laughter and Vanya. “There’s such an incredible range in his performance. I wouldn’t say Vanya is designed to be a one-man show and was quite sceptical when it comes to those, so my jaw was on the floor with how he did it. One of the single best feats of acting I’ve seen in a long time.”
Connor occupies a comfortable space where he has the luxury of picking what he truly wants to be a part of. He acknowledges the privilege of turning down offers avails only upon reaching a certain point in one’s career. Not that he’s getting them from all directions, he adds with a reconciling smile. It’s just a little more leeway that’s provided with the support from his parents. “They never made me do things I didn’t want, towards the direction of money or anything. It’s always been how best to help me, which is being there for me and looking out for me. It’s clear that if I didn’t want to be doing it, I wouldn’t. And that’s still the truth today.”
Though the wild card sibling to an older brother and sister outside the entertainment business turns 20 this year, he reveals he hasn’t felt like a teenager for a while now. “I feel like I’ve been 60 since I was nine,” he shares of his regular demeanour, “Many of my Heartstopper friends call me a bit of a dad, and I think I am at times. There are moments the teenage side really comes out, but in most cases maybe as a result of starting work so young, I have felt like a slight old man.”
The statement is consistent with the very diplomatic way he articulates himself; sans slang or any tell-tale giveaway of his actual age. A concise conversation leaves the impression that this is simply a facet of himself that he’s open to impart, and the bigger canvas remains reserved for a passage earned with time. But time is something Connor can afford, and you suspect it would be magic the day he fully steps into his own skin.
Heartstopper Season 3 launches on Netflix on 3 October and The Wild Robot is in cinemas on 26 September in Singapore.
Photography: Kolby Knight
Fashion Direction: Asri Jasman
Art Direction: Joan Tai
Styling: Charlie Ward at SEE MANAGEMENT
Set Stylist: Elaine Winter at SEE MANAGEMENT
Grooming: Melissa DeZerate at A FRAME AGENCY using CAUDALIE
Producer: Nick Turk
Assistant Producer: Isabella Schliemann
Photography Assistant: Beka Maglakelidze
Grooming Assistant: Ryann Carter
