Hudson Williams of Heated Rivalry Shares His Goals Beyond Shane: “I Have So Much I Want to Achieve”
As fans of Heated Rivalry eagerly anticipate a second season of the LGBTQ hockey romance, actor Hudson Williams expressed his desire to explore a wider range of roles. Williams, who portrays closeted Montreal Metros captain Shane Hollander on the Crave/HBO Max series, recently shared insights into his upcoming projects, emphasizing that he aims to break free from typecasting.
In a conversation with co-star Sophie Nélisse for Wonderland, Williams revealed, “I’ve got projects in the inbox. I want to do a few things before season two. I want to break the idea of Shane. I love him, but I don’t want every role to be ‘square guy in a romance.’ I want to do other stuff. Eventually, I want to do theatre. Broadway. A musical, after singing lessons. There’s a lot I want to do in the next two years.”
Moreover, Williams spoke about the importance of differentiating himself from Shane, whose character was derived from Rachel Reid’s Game Changers book series. “I think I was trying to show another side of myself after Heated Rivalry,” he explained. “I have a cocky side – ‘F-ck you, this is me’ – but I also have a soft, quiet, scared side. I decided to show that. Some directors have seen my short films and were like, ‘Oh.’ I never thought they’d reference those films as a reason to cast me. I made them for two dollars and a camcorder.”
Connor Storrie as Ilya Rozanov and Hudson Williams as Shane Hollander in ‘Heated Rivalry’
In related news, Connor Storrie, who plays Ilya Rozanov, provided an update on the production timeline for Season 2, suggesting that filming may commence soon. “I think Jacob’s still writing it. I think we’re going to be filming, I don’t know when, exactly,” Storrie said on Today, when asked about the possibility of summer filming. “Yeah, I think about then.”
Storrie acknowledged the ongoing script development, stating, “I don’t have details. I have not started writing, so I’m not just trying to be evasive. I genuinely don’t know yet. I’m so lucky to have a whole world of books here to grab things from, to use, to add color, to add context, to add story. I can tell you I’m really excited to get back to writing. I’m excited to get back into this world with them, and I’m looking forward to it.”
Creator Jacob Tierney added, “Heated Rivalry will always be centered around Shane and Ilya, this show. But we have a whole universe here, and so there’s loads of other things that we’re thinking about and that we’re gonna explore and that we’re gonna start to take more seriously now that we know that there’s an audience for it. And that’s pretty exciting, so I’m looking forward to really digging into this world.”
