Gay Olympian puts himself forward for Heated Rivalry season 2 role as he can ‘handle a stick’

Gus Kenworthy has the skills needed to make it in the world of Heated Rivalry and might have also just put his best skate-wearing foot forwards to join the cast.

The Olympic skier, 34, has come out of retirement to represent Team GB at the upcoming Winter Olympics in Italy. In 2015, Kenworthy came out as gay after being linked to Miley Cyrus, a relationship he’s said is mirrored in the Canadian LGBTQ+ sports drama.

Speaking to The New Yorker recently Kenworthy discussed getting into the worldwide phenomenon. The interviewer also suggested that the athlete could be well suited for a part in season two.

Creators of the series confirmed season two was happening last year. Showrunner Jacob Tierney’s recent comments have also boosted hopes for a third season.

Answering the interviewer’s suggestion Kenworthy then said: “You know, I played hockey through high school. I can skate, and I know how to handle a stick.”

In interviews, Connor Storrie and Hudson Williams, who play rival ice hockey players Ilya Rozanov and Shane Hollander respectively, have discussed coming into the roles without much skating experience.

Joining Late Night with Seth Meyers earlier this month, Storrie revealed the pair had “two weeks of skating training” prior to filming.

So, hiring an actor with some actual skating experience could be a good thing for the show, allowing them to show off more hockey as well as more of the intimate moments the series has become famous for.

And there are number of roles Kenworthy could take on. We’ve had strong hints that Kyle (Matthew Finlan) could be a main character in season two. Kyle is the main character in the fourth Game Changers book, Common Goal. There he meets Scott’s teammate, Eric Bennett, a character not yet depicted in the TV series, potentially a good fit for Kenworthy.

Italy will be Kenworthy’s fourth Olympics. He won silver at the Sochi Winter Olympics in 2014 and also competed in PyeongChang (2018) and Beijing (2022).

Away from the sport, Kenworthy’s made NSFW homemade jockstraps and launched an LGBTQ+ book club with Dylan Mulvaney. Kenworthy has also starred in the horror anthology series American Horror Story and appeared on RuPaul’s Drag Race All Stars.

Heated Rivalry is streaming now.

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