Heartstopper’s Kit Connor bulked up for season 2 after feeling he ‘wasn’t equipped’ to play Nick

Heartstopper star Kit Connor has opened up about changing his physique ahead of the second season of the hit Netflix series.

Connor is all too familiar with the pressures of living in the public eye. After finding fame in the queer coming-of-age series, the 19-year-old actor was forced to publically come out as bisexual in October, following almost relentless speculation about his sexuality.

As Connor gears up to return as Nick Nelson in the new season of the show opposite Joe Locke, he spoke about feeling pressure from fans to change his body.

In an interview with Vulture, Connor explained how he has set about bulking up in the gym in response to comments that his physique didn’t match the drawings of rugby-playing Nick in creator Alice Oseman’s web comics and graphic novels.

“I wouldn’t say I was forced into it by fans, but it was me as a young adult coming to terms with the body that I had and feeling I wasn’t completely equipped to play the role,” Connor admitted.

“That wasn’t a good way of thinking, but I was a teenager. I still am.”

Connor went on to say that although he now has a more positive relationship with his body, he’s still figuring out the concept of body positivity – while posting “thirst traps” on social media.

“I saw that picture and posted it, then I immediately was like” ‘Oh my God, this is embarrassing’,” he said about a shirtless photo he shared on social media.

“Anyone else does it, I’m like, ‘Yeah, absolutely, body positivity’, but when it comes to me, I’m just like, ‘Absolutely not’.”

The actor also revealed that one of his Heartstopper co-stars had teased him, saying: “‘Oh, are we posting thirst traps now.'”

Elsewhere in the interview, Connor reflected on why playing Nick in the first season – who we only really see from the perspective of his besotted love interest Charlie Spring (Locke) – was more difficult than he had anticipated.

“I saw this light in him, I felt he’s too pure for the world he’s living in,” Connor said. “The only world he’s perfect in is the Heartstopper world, I suppose.”

However, he added that his character would have more nuance in the upcoming season and feel “a little closer to Earth”.

Oseman has previously hinted that Nick will face “nasty” challenges, including homophobia from his brother, while there will be mental-health troubles for both main characters as they go public with their relationship.

Heartstopper season two will be available to stream on Netflix from 3 August.