Because of Heated Rivalry, followers have a brand-new crew of actors to fawn over. Hudson Williams and Connor Storrie lead Crave and HBO Max’s fiery romance collection, primarily based on the books by writer Rachel Reid. And although the present is just midway by its debut season, the celebs have already made an enduring impression.
Get to know every of the primary solid of Heated Rivalry under!
Hudson Williams — Shane Hollander
The breakout star, who performs Canadian hockey participant Shane Hollander within the collection, is a recent face to the massive leagues of Hollywood — however that doesn’t imply he’s model new to the movie business. The 24-year-old actor has additionally written, directed and acted in brief movies.
In line with his IMDb profile, Hudson co-wrote, co-directed and starred within the 2024 quick Rancid. His on-screen work started in 2024 with quick movies and in numerous TV exhibits, showing within the shorts Brim Reaper, Teresa’s Alternative, Peace of Thoughts, Mrs. Changs Good Enamel, Chad GPT, The Relationship Recreation and Snow Angel.
Hudson was born in 2001, in keeping with a number of retailers.
Connor Storrie — Ilya Rozanov
Imagine it or not, Connor isn’t really Russian, regardless of how convincing his accent sounds in character as Ilya. He’s really a Texas native. The 25-year-old actor, who can also be a director and author, per his IMDb profile, has appeared in a handful of movie tasks over time, together with Joker: Folie à Deux as a younger inmate.
Throughout a 2025 interview with Etalk, Connor defined why he was drawn to perfecting his dialect abilities, particularly for a Russian accent.
“Truthfully, I’ve all the time simply thought Russian language and Russian tradition was actually cool,” Connor stated. “It’s so completely different from American tradition, so it feels actually unique and on the market. … Attending to play something that’s as far-off from me as doable, I really feel like is absolutely enlightening. It’s additionally simply enjoyable to placed on that type of posture. It permits you to uncover issues about your self and in regards to the world. It’s simpler to play that manner too as a result of I’m not so involved about being Connor.”
François Arnaud — Scott Hunter
François is a Canadian actor greatest identified for taking part in Cesare Borgia in The Borgias, Manfred Bernardo in Midnight, Texas, and Tommy Castelli in UnReal. The 40-year-old Montreal native has been appearing in movie since at the least 2009.
Amongst his different notable movie and TV credit are roles in Permission, Marlowe, Schitt’s Creek, The Moodys, Yellowjackets and Quantum Leap.
François has opened up about his private life. He’s bisexual and has been courting fellow actor Marc Bendavid since 2023.
As the general public’s curiosity within the Heated Rivalry solid’s private lives has soared, François famous that it’s “absurd” to imagine that any actor ought to really feel pressured to share info like that.
“It’s absurd to suppose that you need to be allowed to ask about somebody’s sexuality after they’re making an attempt to get employed for a job,” the actor informed Selection in late 2025. “It’s loopy, like we’re solely going to rent you if you happen to’re homosexual? After which it’s, like, how homosexual are you? It’s a spectrum.”
Robbie G.Okay. — Kip Grady
As the one non-hockey participant love curiosity within the present to this point, Robbie shortly made an impression amongst followers after episode 3 premiered. The 29-year-old Ontario native performs the candy barista and soon-to-be grad pupil Kip, Scott’s boyfriend.
Robbie has appeared in numerous movie and TV roles over time, together with Utopia Falls, Overcompensating, Marry F*** Kill, The Neighborhood Gamers, The Stanley Dynamic, Full Out, Delinquent and extra.
What followers won’t know from the get-go about Robbie is that he’s a musical theatre child! Per his IMDb profile, the actor fell in love with performing when he was 13, enjoying Kurt Von Trapp in The Sound of Music.
Ksenia Daniela Kharlamova
Ksenia Daniela Kharlamova performs Svetlana, Ilya’s longtime Russian good friend and occasional hookup buddy. She helps Ilya again house in opposition to his emotionally abusive household state of affairs.
The actress and mannequin is predicated in Toronto. She launched her movie and TV profession in 2016 and has appeared in a slew of different tasks, together with The Boys, Strays, Slip, Robyn Hood, Adults and A Very Jonas Christmas Film.
Sophie Nélisse — Rose Landry
Followers ought to acknowledge Sophie Nélisse from Yellowjackets! She performs the teenage model of the seemingly reticent but domineering Antler Queen within the hit collection.
The Canadian actress has additionally starred in The E book Thief, which earned her a number of award nominations and accolades, together with the 2013 Highlight Award from the Hollywood Movie Awards.
Sophie performs Rose Landry, one in every of Heated Rivalry‘s simple queens, who briefly dates Shane as he struggles to return to phrases along with his sexuality. After she figures it out, Rose vows to be a secure area for Shane as a good friend.
