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Between love and war stands Kit Connor. The British actor, who first made his name in Emmy Award-winning queer rom-com Heartstopper (which returns this October), is preparing two seismic projects that are as disparate as they are defining. First, Connor takes on the ultimate leading man, playing Romeo in Sam Gold’s modern-day Broadway adaption of Romeo and Juliet, starring in the titular role opposite Rachel Zegler. Next, he is catapulted onto a battlefield in Alex Garland and Ray Mendoza’s upcoming epic Warfare, inspired by Mendoza’s experience on the front line. Enlisting a major cast of this generation’s leading male actors to tell the tale, Connor joins the likes of Will Poulter, Joseph Quinn, Cosmo Jarvis, and Charles Melton.

Similarly to Connor, Melton’s career break came in the form of a Netflix teenage drama – Riverdale – and the US actor has since been introduced to a new audience, earning a Golden Globe nomination for his captivating performance in Todd Haynes’ May December opposite Julianne Moore and Natalie Portman. Having forged a tight brotherhood while filming Warfare, the two actors call each other as Connor prepares to swap fair Verona for 21st-century New York and hand over Shakespeare’s timeless tragedy to a new generation.

Charles Melton: How’re you doing, baby face? [Kit laughs] Where are you?
Kit Connor: I’m in my flat in London, relaxing. I’m missing you and the guys but I’m prepping, I’m getting ready for Romeo.

CM: Romeo and Juliet, that’s amazing. I remember when I came to your house, I saw your desk and all the stuff you had prepping. What were you reading?
KC: I’ve got them here. I was reading a book by William Redfield called Letters from an Actor because I saw a play called The Motive and the Cue, which was about the production of Hamlet in the mid-60s with Richard Burton and John Gielgud. It describes in detail the extremely interesting rehearsal process, which is what that play was about.

CM: You’ve done theatre before, right?
KC: I’ve done a little bit of theatre, I’ve done two plays but not for about six years. The last time I did it was in 2018, so I would’ve been about fourteen. I’ve been itching to get back on stage.

CM: As far as preparation goes, I know we did Warfare and that was this whole intense process. Getting immersed in a boot camp and everything, knowing you were going to do Romeo and Juliet afterwards, how do you separate the two? How has that process differed so far?
KC: That’s a good question. I knew that I was going to do Romeo and Juliet quite a bit before we started the film, so going into it I was trying to work out how I was going to do my best work in both projects. I wanted to put as much focus as I possibly could into Warfare but then also whenever I had a minute I would try to start learning my lines, I remember at one point I was in my hotel room after shooting and I saw you reading a book in that bit of the hotel where all the peacocks were and I was like, “That might be my Romeo spot.” So a lot of days, I would just go back, sit there and learn my lines.

CM: That’s cool.
KC: I probably learned about half of the play there.

“I’m prepping, I’m getting ready for Romeo.”

CM: So, it’s pretty instinctual as far as your process goes, you’re finding your own flow, it’s not rigid. Do you find your process is more like, “Oh that looks inspiring, I’m going to go sit there and find my Feng shui?”
KC: Yeah. In the same way that I couldn’t prepare for any other project in the same way I’m preparing for Romeo and Juliet. Romeo and Juliet is so much in the words and my mindset was on knowing the words and the meaning behind the words back-to-front by the time I started rehearsing. Warfare was a little bit more experimental, it was based on experience, getting to know each other and developing a bond, which is what built it for us. Romeo and Juliet is Shakespeare, so you’ve got to try and find the fine details, once you’re able to, you can go into the nitty gritty. And then when you go into the rehearsal room you can hopefully find the magic. That’s my plan.

CM: You’re going to be great man, I’m so excited. I haven’t done any plays but would you agree that the experimental process of our filming, where we had long extended takes from beginning to end, is parallel to a version of doing Broadway? Where you’re just in it, you can’t really pretend for a take, you’re just existing.
KC: Yeah, that’s a really good point. There’s a sense of theatre to the way that we made that film, because in any film where you’ve got big set pieces it has to be rehearsed and choreographed. It’s about stamina as well, being able to hold yourself in a scene for that long and not breaking, not waiting for the camera to come off you. That’s definitely a factor, that’s something that I think Warfare helped me with in preparing for this because you can’t switch off, you always have to be listening, you always have to be present. Which, for an actor, is the best kind of practice to get into. That helped me quite a bit.

CM: That’s awesome. Bringing in that process and allowing it to find its own way into your next thing. You start Romeo and Juliet soon, right? You’re going to New York.
KC: I’m going to New York in a couple of weeks and I start rehearsing pretty much as soon as we get there, which is exciting. That’s one of the things I’m most excited about, obviously, I can’t wait to get on stage, but I’m dying to get in the rehearsal room.

CM: What do you like about the rehearsal process?
KC: That’s kind of where the magic happens, that’s where decisions are made. One thing I realised as I’ve been prepping is that you can make certain decisions in your character and certain considerations, but if you come into a scene a certain way and your scene partner has a completely different idea of how that scene should look, you start clashing and it doesn’t work because you’re playing two different scenes. When you’re in the rehearsal room you’re able to find the play that you’re making, I can’t wait to work with Sam [Gold, director] because he’s going to steer the ship.

CM: I remember watching a trailer for Romeo and Juliet, the Broadway show.
KC: The music video we shot, you got a sneak preview.

CM: It seems very new, in the sense of social media and everything and how that may play into announcements for certain projects. Do you ever feel pressure from people knowing you from one specific project and then moving on to the next? How do you navigate that as an artist transforming into your roles? Does that hinder you or does that motivate you?
KC: It definitely motivates me, because anytime you hear comments like, “Oh I can only really see them as this character,” or, “This doesn’t feel right because I’m so used to seeing them in this light.” I don’t want that to be the case, that’s like death to an actor’s ears. In the same way, I was thinking about you doing Riverdale and then doing May December, suddenly there was just this huge, “Holy shit, this guy is fucking great.” There’s a danger of getting stuck in these routines and roles, but I think that one of the beauties of the job and the industry is when you can break it and do something that surprises people and shows your range, then it’s awesome. That has been a very conscious thing in my career, especially in the last year or so. It’s always been my intention to make sure that the jobs that I’m taking and I’m going up for are different. Heartstopper is obviously what I’m known for most and Warfare is a great example of something that is completely different and will hopefully show people that I can do different stuff, then doing a Shakespeare play is also different.

CM: You’re such a brilliant actor, man. I remember watching you at the start of your career, beginning at a young age, going from the zeitgeist and the success of Heartstopper to doing Warfare and then Romeo and Juliet. Before working with you, I watched some of your work and it was a complete transition to what you did in Warfare, it’s incredible and I’m so excited for everyone to see what you’ve done. I want to go back to what you were saying about how people can have this idea of you, put you into a box and prescribe to that, and you saying that’s motivating to be an actor and transform and get into these characters. Is there a philosophy that you take with you when it comes to choosing your next role? I know it’s so ever-evolving, but today, how do you make your decisions?
KC: As you said, it’s always changing, so this might be completely different in a year. I came to this realisation that in the last couple of years every so often I found myself meeting a really talented director or writer, or another actor like yourself who I respect, and thinking, “If they were going to look me up and look at what I’d done, my goal is for that to be projects I’m proud of.” Heartstopper is a beautiful show and something I’m incredibly proud of, but it’s also only a fraction of my career and only a fraction of what I can do. The real opinion I care about is the opinion of my peers and those I respect in the industry. What drives me is wanting to work with really talented actors. Warfare was one of the best jobs I’ve ever done for many reasons but also because of the ensemble we had – not just because we all became really close, but also because there were just so many unbelievably talented people in that room.

CM: Do you feel that social media and the perceptions that can be prescribed to you play some sort of role in your decision-making? With Heartstopper, you went to just hitting this celebrity in a way, this notoriety, how do you navigate that? What do you do for yourself to navigate those waters and stay grounded?
KC: Since we finished shooting Warfare, I’ve actively been spending a lot less time on my phone, doing all the limiting stuff on the apps.

CM: That’s healthy, you have to set those guidelines.
KC: It really is. I remember you didn’t have Instagram on your phone, and we were on set one day and you re-downloaded it for a day to scroll through memes…

CM: Oh yeah, we were laid down, me, you, Will [Poulter] and Michael [Gandolfini]. [laughs] Sharing the insight of my explore page.
KC: It was the most ridiculous shit ever. And you were like, “I can see why this is fun, but I’m also going to delete this again.” It’s fun in small doses but if it’s there, if you let it dictate your life and your decisions, making decisions based on the idea of how people perceive you online, then it can rule you and that is the worst thing to do. My philosophy at the moment is, although it’s not always easy to do, I try to focus on opinions from people I care about, the people I love and my peers who I respect and look up to.

CM: That’s great man. I’m tempering myself for making a joke… How nervous were you when you found out you were going to be working with me on Warfare? [both laugh] Let me change that up.
KC: No, no, I want to answer that question because it’s an interesting question. [Charles laughs] Going into it, I was thinking, “This cast is crazy, this cast is awesome.” It was such an odd group of guys because every single person in that cast could lead a movie, that was the vibe it felt like they were trying to build. It was really cool because we all went in and it could’ve been a situation where all these guys had huge egos and instead, everyone put their egos at the door and decided, “I’m so happy to be here, I feel so lucky, I get to learn from all these other great actors, I get to do my bit, I get to work with incredible filmmakers,” and that was awesome. I was super excited, I’d seen May December and I thought you were incredible in it, there was a beautiful subtlety. I hadn’t seen any of us in the cast doing anything like Warfare. I was super excited, I really was. I just thought, “Wow, Charles Melton. Star of Riverdale.” [both laugh]

“I’ve been itching to get back on stage.”

CM: I was like, “Kit Connor, damn. I’m going to have to take this guy under my wing.” [both laugh] Going back to what you were saying about being on a cast, it was 23 guys coming together for this common goal to tell this story for Ray [Mendoza] with Alex Garland. It’s amazing and rare for everybody to come with the same goal, to serve the story. We did a boot camp, and we all shaved our heads…
KC: That was fun.

CM: As fun as that was, it was a symbolic expression of ground zero, we’re in this together. Do you feel like there are different degrees to that on other projects? What is your driving force? What is the thing that you take into every job?
KC: It really does depend on the job. If we talk about something like Heartstopper, it felt like by the time we shot the third season we knew what we were doing, so you can go into that and know the character really well. You know the story, the dynamics and you know the people who are making it, you’ve got a bit of a family there and you have people you can rely on. For certain members of the Heartstopper cast, it was their first job, but I’d been working for a good few years. As the seasons have progressed, all these really talented people have become even more experienced and worked on different things and become seasoned actors. With Heartsopper, it takes a little less thought, whereas The Wild Robot [Connor voices a character in Chris Sanders’ upcoming animation movie] is an animation, so it’s not something I’m that well-versed in. You also don’t have as much of a relationship with the other cast, you go in and say your lines in a booth and develop a bit of a rapport with the directors and producers. It really depends.

CM: It’s all different kinds of art forms, different responsibilities. You know the lay of the land whenever you’re on a show for longer than a year, we only had three months, could you imagine if we were still filming right now?
KC: I’d love it.

CM: I would love it too, it would be incredible. With the show that I was on for six years [Riverdale], everyone is like family to me. It’s interesting what we do because we have just a short amount of time where we get to grow up with the people that we work with. For films it’s a little different because it’s not as long, but you become really close, then you’re off doing the next thing.
KC: With Heartstopper, it is that thing of growing up with these people and in many ways I learned who I was with those people, which was really beautiful. Getting to work with them and see them was always a joy and a pleasure, it’s beautiful. But as you say, it’s always exciting to go and do these new things, I cannot wait to do Romeo and Juliet and get to know this new cast and crew, and get to know a new city. Warfare was beautiful because we all created this incredible bond and now I feel like I’ve got genuine family all around the globe, I’ll hit up someone…

CM: Me! [both laugh]
KC: If I’m in New York I can hit up Michael, it feels like I’ve got this web of people.

CM: It’s not really a common thing, is it? I’ve never experienced anything like that, every experience is its own thing but, man, I can’t wait for everyone to see what we did. It’s the process, the experience is great and then the movie comes out and people have an opinion, but do you find yourself reminding yourself that the best part of this was the making of it, the getting to know each other?
KC: Yeah, it goes back to that thing I was saying about being in the rehearsal room. That’s why I’m so excited about Romeo and Juliet. With Heartstopper, when we made the first season and before it came out we thought it wasn’t going to do well. We didn’t think it was going to have a big reception, it was a tiny little show and we did it because of our love for it and if anything, that was what made it so pure.

CM: Do you remember when you found out that you booked Heartstopper?
KC: I do. It was the end of a long rehearsal process during Covid, so it was a lot of Zoom calls. On my last Zoom reading before I booked it, I was doing a reading with the director, writer and producers and I was doing a scene where I was trying to put into words my feelings and trying to realise in my head what it was I was feeling about this boy that I had a crush on. I forgot my lines completely.

CM: Because you were so excited?
KC: Yeah, I was nervous. There was nothing going on behind my eyes. [Charles laughs] My face goes all red, you know how my face goes flushed. I just about brought it back after what felt like a minute of silence, and I think they took that as this brilliant acting of being flustered.

CM: It’s so human.
KC: Then I booked it right after that. I was downstairs with my parents when I still lived at home. I got a call from my agent and I quietly went upstairs and they told me I got it. I came downstairs, was talking with my parents and then I went, “By the way, I just booked the lead in a Netflix show!”

CM: That’s beautiful, man. It’s always exciting when you book things. Is there an element based on the success you’ve experienced at such a fast pace that has brought more opportunities to you where you maybe skip a few steps of the process, maybe you’re not auditioning as much?
KC: It’s interesting, I was talking to my friend about this the other day weirdly, which I hadn’t thought about in ages. When I was about seven or eight, when I first started going up for commercials and little roles in TV shows and things, at times I was doing nine auditions in a week. I would do one audition, then straight to another, then straight to another – and this was all after school.

CM: What?! [laughs]
KC: I look back and I’m like, “That was crazy.” My parents were never pushy, I did it because I really wanted to. I didn’t even really want to be an actor by that point, I think I just really enjoyed doing it because it was fun, so I was like, “I want to get another job because the jobs are fun.” Looking at it now, I booked Heartstopper when I was sixteen and we started filming when I was seventeen, I always thought that was pretty early and I skipped a couple of stages, but I look back and I did the flogging my guts to go to all of those auditions. I think I had a head start which is amazing and I’ve been incredibly lucky but I also weirdly feel like I’ve had a similar experience to a lot of actors but I just started while I was in primary school.

CM: Wow, do you miss the hustle? You’re still hustling, it’s just a different kind of hustle.
KC: Do I miss it? No, not really. [both laugh] What I do miss is that a lot of auditions these days are on Zoom as you know – I’m joking, you don’t do auditions. [Charles laughs]

CM: You’re so stupid… [both laugh]
KC: I do miss doing in-person auditions, those were fun. Zoom auditions are fun and self-tapes are alright, they’re incredibly useful for actors in terms of getting tapes out there. But I do wish they’d bring back a little bit more of the in-person auditions, especially to up-and-coming actors because it feels like that’s a real way to develop a relationship between casting directors and filmmakers. I love being in a room and being able to try out a new script.

CM: Because that’s the work, right? That’s the process, collaborating and figuring it out. It’s so great to be doing that in a room with somebody else.
KC: Do you miss Riverdale?

CM: I’m grateful for it, I really discovered how badly I wanted it because there is so much rejection that we deal with. I have two or three boxes back home full of every audition script that I have ever had. I was like, “Maybe one day I’ll show this to my kids and be like, ‘I had to audition for all these!’” That’s the work, the job is the exciting part when you book it, but it’s good to go back to the basics when you really want something and you put that into your preparation. You’re not preparing to book it you’re preparing to just be engulfed in it. What are your go-to films you can watch or actors that inspire you? What is Kit Connor’s taste today? You have a really great James Dean, Paul Newman kind-of vibe, just how you move.
KC: You can’t be saying that for real. You know how happy that makes me. Over recent years I’ve become quite a big fan of Old Hollywood and it has a real special place in my heart. James Dean only did three films and died at 24 but has created this incredible legacy as an actor and as an icon of Hollywood. People like [Marlon] Brando are kind of untouchable, that level of iconic-ness. I read in that book I mentioned earlier that Brando’s A Streetcar Named Desire, which he did on stage before he did the film, was ten times better than his performance in the film.

CM: I remember you telling me this.
KC: To have been alive to see that would have been extraordinary. He’s one of those actors who is naturally gifted to an unbelievable level. I texted you a couple of days ago because I was lucky enough to see the film Sing Sing early, I texted you specifically because I think you’d love it. The films I really love are character pieces, about relationships, and less driven by narrative. Not to say that there isn’t a narrative in that film, but the characters and beautiful jaw-dropping performances really make it. The special thing about that film is that most of the cast are playing themselves, it’s some of the most raw, beautiful performances and a beautiful film. I texted you because we’ve spoken a lot about subtlety in acting.

CM: I love the way you watch movies. We’re drawn to performances where we can appreciate subtlety.
KC: Yeah, it’s the kind of stuff I find myself drawn to the most because it feels like you’re observing a human, you’re sitting and watching a human work, you’re able to disappear into it and they’re able to disappear into it. If you look at someone like Emma Stone in Poor Things, that’s the complete opposite and it’s this real larger-than- life performance, and it’s still utterly extraordinary, it’s just a different genre.

CM: Is there a performance that you’ve seen in recent memory or one that you always come back to that exemplifies everything you’re saying right now? Is there something where you’re just blown away?
KC: That’s really tough. Philip Seymour Hoffman is up there, in pretty much anything. Someone who I often find myself weirdly associating with Philip Seymour Hoffman as a similar kind of actor is Jesse Plemons, incredibly talented and one of the best in the industry at the moment. His scene in Civil War…

CM: Oh my gosh, it’s incredible.
KC: Movie-stealing. Every performance in May December. [Charles laughs] Honestly though, I’m not going to fan your ego but it is a really beautifully quiet film and very subtle, it’s almost hard not to feel uncomfortable watching it because you feel like you’re in the room.

CM: That’s sweet. It brings me back to Warfare, I really want to work with you again.
KC: I’m desperate to, I’d work with every single person on that set again, but I would adore working with you.

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