Heartstopper Forever: Kit Connor and Joe Locke on queer joy, future plans and more | BBC News — Transcript

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1. 0:00I see Joe Moore as a friend than a than
2. 0:02a co-worker.
3. 0:03>> Do you think we're huge stars?
4. 0:04>> I wouldn't say we're huge stars, not
5. 0:05yet.
6. 0:06>> beautiful and sort of powerful message
7. 0:09that um
8. 0:10that
9. 0:11about queer joy.
10. 0:13>> Being producers on this film, um what
11. 0:15was that like and why was it important
12. 0:17for that to be part of your experience?
13. 0:19>> It was kind of amazing cuz uh it was
14. 0:22very new for us both. So, we were like
15. 0:25um
16. 0:26uh suddenly sort of thrust into this
17. 0:28experience of um actually being able to
18. 0:31read a sort of all of the iterations of
19. 0:33the script and um [snorts]
20. 0:35having actual input on
21. 0:38where our characters were going and not
22. 0:40just our characters, but the kind of
23. 0:41overall um
24. 0:44the overall piece. So, it I think it
25. 0:47allowed us both to be
26. 0:49uh sort of a creative input, but also a
27. 0:53um
28. 0:54mouthpiece basically for
29. 0:57the cast as a whole,
30. 0:58which was which was great because um
31. 1:03because you know all of all of the the
32. 1:04cast care about these characters and the
33. 1:06and the story and
34. 1:08>> Yeah.
35. 1:08>> uh and the the project in general.
36. 1:11>> Yeah, it felt it felt very like
37. 1:13we like growing up and then like okay
38. 1:16It's not and it felt like we'd almost
39. 1:18unpicked through the three seasons of
40. 1:19and then
41. 1:21Yeah, I I think that we
42. 1:23did good things with it and we tried to
43. 1:25not just I think a lot of times you can
44. 1:27they can
45. 1:28people are like oh well they just gave
46. 1:29you the producer credit to like, but I
47. 1:30think we actually did
48. 1:32>> Yeah.
49. 1:32>> We put some effort in.
50. 1:33>> it I think we took it seriously. Yeah.
51. 1:35>> And what was it about being a film? Like
52. 1:37why did you think it was important to
53. 1:38end the Heartstopper story on a film?
54. 1:40>> I think it means that, you know,
55. 1:42there's something really nice about
56. 1:43having like a cinematic ending.
57. 1:45And
58. 1:47lasering in focus on these two
59. 1:48characters and and giving them like
60. 1:51a more polished, you know, filming a
61. 1:53film means you have more time to
62. 1:55make it look nicer and and
63. 1:58all these things that in TV it's you go
64. 2:00bam bam bam bam but as with film you
65. 2:02have slight not not a lot of time but
66. 2:04slightly more time to focus on on those
67. 2:06things which is really you know
68. 2:08gives them a more picture perfect
69. 2:10ending.
70. 2:11>> Yeah. And I also think that in terms of
71. 2:14the the content of of the film and of
72. 2:17the sort of final chapter um I think it
73. 2:20works really well as a film because it
74. 2:22it it's um
75. 2:24it's these sort of final we've we've
76. 2:26been through so much with these
77. 2:28characters and we've sort of watched
78. 2:30them work so many things out and it
79. 2:32feels like this is the sort of final
80. 2:34moment. Uh it's it's it's a short period
81. 2:37of their life and yet it's very crucial.
82. 2:39So I think instead of sort of
83. 2:42basically dragging it out along a long
84. 2:44four hours it it feels like it's a lot
85. 2:47more sort of um
86. 2:50immediate and urgent and it feels as
87. 2:52urgent as it as it would for these
88. 2:54characters in the moment. So yeah.
89. 2:56>> And you mentioned the importance of the
90. 2:57content there. I think you know
91. 2:59throughout especially the third series
92. 3:01and then into the film that real
93. 3:02political nature ramps up and I think it
94. 3:05does you know the content grows and
95. 3:08becomes more mature as you guys mature.
96. 3:10So why do you think it was so important
97. 3:12to kind of address the themes that you
98. 3:13did in the film?
99. 3:15>> Because it's Heartstopper. I I think you
100. 3:17know because like it's uh because
101. 3:19Heartstopper in its very existence has
102. 3:22been this like um
103. 3:24beautiful and sort of powerful message
104. 3:28that um
105. 3:29that
106. 3:30about queer joy and um
107. 3:33about
108. 3:35queer humanity and these like sort of
109. 3:38beautiful characters um
110. 3:41who happen to be queer and happen to be
111. 3:45incredibly happy about it and and it's
112. 3:47you know how they
113. 3:49can live their life the way that they
114. 3:51want to live it, and um in the best
115. 3:53possible way. So,
116. 3:55I think that
117. 3:56um can't
118. 3:58Again, I keep saying well, like wherever
119. 4:00we are in the world, and um whatever the
120. 4:03sort of
121. 4:04uh powers that be are are doing, and
122. 4:07whatever the
123. 4:09one of the zeitgeists is,
124. 4:11it feels like making a show like
125. 4:14Heartstopper or a film like Heartstopper
126. 4:15forever is um is will always be
127. 4:19important, because it's just a part of
128. 4:21life, you know? It's a It's a
129. 4:23It's It's a huge part of life.
130. 4:26>> Yeah.
131. 4:27>> What is it?
132. 4:28>> And you guys have all grown up together
133. 4:30[clears throat] on set, and gone through
134. 4:32this massive change of, you know, either
135. 4:35having no acting careers or smaller
136. 4:37parts to being huge stars. What's it
137. 4:40been like, you know, for for the pair of
138. 4:42you, but also the other cast members who
139. 4:43have gone through the same experience?
140. 4:45>> Do you think we're huge stars? I
141. 4:47wouldn't say we're huge stars.
142. 4:48>> Not yet. Big stars.
143. 4:49>> One day.
144. 4:50>> Um
145. 4:50>> Um
146. 4:51I mean, for me, I Heartstopper is the
147. 4:54reason I have a career, and touch wood,
148. 4:56hopefully will for a while. For a little
149. 4:58bit, anyway. Um and so, I
150. 5:01I I always think about like what my life
151. 5:02would be like if it hadn't If I hadn't
152. 5:05done Heartstopper, I would be just
153. 5:06graduated university. I'd have Yeah.
154. 5:09And I think a lot of us feel quite
155. 5:10similarly in that gratefulness to to the
156. 5:13show for allowing us to live our dreams,
157. 5:16basically.
158. 5:17Um yeah, it's very special.
159. 5:18>> And what's it like to go through that
160. 5:19process of, you know, it was your first
161. 5:21acting role to now being something that
162. 5:23you're so well known for? It must be
163. 5:25life-changing.
164. 5:25>> Yeah, completely. And
165. 5:28there's not really
166. 5:30People always ask to go, "How's it
167. 5:31changed your life?" For me, the easiest
168. 5:32question is how it hasn't changed my
169. 5:34life, cuz it's changed my life in pretty
170. 5:36much every way. And I think it's changed
171. 5:38all of our lives in in in so many ways,
172. 5:40even though Kit was already a star
173. 5:42before Heartstopper.
174. 5:43>> Wasn't a star.
175. 5:45>> [laughter]
176. 5:45>> Absolutely not.
177. 5:46>> But I think your like your life has
178. 5:48changed a lot.
179. 5:48>> Absolutely.
180. 5:49>> Because of it.
181. 5:50>> Yeah.
182. 5:50>> Completely.
183. 5:51>> Yeah, I mean it's it's one of the
184. 5:52biggest things that that that will ever
185. 5:55happen to any of us. Just in terms of
186. 5:57um the sheer difference between
187. 6:00what it was before and what it
188. 6:01what it was after.
189. 6:02>> Yeah.
190. 6:03>> Um yeah.
191. 6:04>> And I think like 2026 has been like such
192. 6:06a good year for emerging talent,
193. 6:08especially you think in young adult
194. 6:10spaces. Um having watched like Kitty
195. 6:11Rivalry and Off Campus this year, it's
196. 6:13been the making of kind of start, you
197. 6:16know, new stars. And uh Joe, this is
198. 6:19probably something that you can talk to,
199. 6:20but why is it so important that you give
200. 6:23kind of new actors a chance, especially
201. 6:25on these huge streaming platforms?
202. 6:27>> I mean, I think this industry is so
203. 6:29still sort of run in a very closed doors
204. 6:31way.
205. 6:32Um
206. 6:34and there's so many so much talent out
207. 6:36there and people like that that like
208. 6:38like open calls and finding ways to open
209. 6:40up the industry to all more people, I
210. 6:41think is important cuz it it
211. 6:44you can't create a
212. 6:46a content that reflects the outside
213. 6:48world if you're not letting the outside
214. 6:49world in.
215. 6:49>> And do you think that, you know, now
216. 6:51that you have been producers, that this
217. 6:53is something that, you know, you'd like
218. 6:54to explore and kind of champion more in
219. 6:56the industry?
220. 6:57>> Definitely.
221. 6:58>> Yeah. Yeah.
222. 7:00I mean, I think that it was clear that
223. 7:02um
224. 7:04you know, in this case, obviously we we
225. 7:05care about this this this story and
226. 7:08these characters greatly and we know
227. 7:10them very well. Um but I think that
228. 7:13there are plenty of stories that we
229. 7:15want to tell.
230. 7:16>> And what's it like kind of being known
231. 7:17as a collective pair?
232. 7:20Um I'm guessing you're really good
233. 7:22friends, but, you know, is it something
234. 7:23where you want to work together in the
235. 7:25future?
236. 7:26>> Yeah, definitely.
237. 7:27>> Yeah. I think we like
238. 7:30regardless if we do or not work together
239. 7:31in the future, we'll always be
240. 7:33linked and that's really nice.
241. 7:35>> Yeah. If anything, I actually find that
242. 7:37like um I sort of value Joe
243. 7:42as a friend. I see Joe more as a friend
244. 7:44than a than a co-worker.
245. 7:45>> 100%.
246. 7:46>> And so I sort of I'm sort of like, yeah,
247. 7:49you know, if we work together again,
248. 7:51that's great, but like
249. 7:52that's that's that's it. I don't really
250. 7:54see obviously he's a great actor and I
251. 7:57love watching his work, but I don't
252. 7:59really see him as like an actor first. I
253. 8:01see him as a friend and
254. 8:02>> Yeah.
255. 8:03>> you know.
256. 8:03>> I think people probably will
257. 8:05avoid putting us together for a long
258. 8:06time.
259. 8:07>> Well, I think people will try to
260. 8:08probably go back to that again.
261. 8:10>> Yeah.
262. 8:10>> I think I've already had meetings with
263. 8:12people being like
264. 8:14>> [laughter]
265. 8:15>> I want to know your favorite memory from
266. 8:18filming on on set for the film.
267. 8:20>> It's in this
268. 8:21documentary that Netflix is releasing.
269. 8:23It's actually in that so spoilers, but
270. 8:25there's a moment when we were filming
271. 8:26season 3, we all we were filming the
272. 8:29like fair day and we snuck on the helter
273. 8:32skelter that was on
274. 8:33and
275. 8:35it was just so
276. 8:36fun and sweet and like watching it back
277. 8:39cuz Toby had his vlogging camera that he
278. 8:42would film loads of stuff on lots of
279. 8:43that's in in the documentary. And so we
280. 8:44were just like giggling and on this
281. 8:46helter skelter where we shouldn't have
282. 8:47been like literally being like naughty
283. 8:48school kids and that was a very that was
284. 8:50a very special memory.
285. 8:52>> Yeah, and I think on the film it was
286. 8:55probably
287. 8:57um
288. 8:59I think we
289. 9:00again I had a really lovely day when we
290. 9:03were in Home Bay.
291. 9:05Uh it was four years to the day
292. 9:07from when we had shot
293. 9:10at that beach for season 1. So it was
294. 9:12very sort of full circle and we shot a
295. 9:14really beautiful scene at the beginning
296. 9:16of the day and then just sort of spent
297. 9:18the rest of the day
298. 9:21wandering around Home Bay shooting sweet
299. 9:24moments. So it was it was like a lovely
300. 9:26a lovely day, I think.