Heartstopper's Kit Connor on dynamic between Nick and "homophobe" brother
The actor spoke about the importance of interrogating prejudice.
All of the Heartstopper characters face their respective challenges in season 2 and for Nick, that arrives in the form of his older brother David.
The university student, who is played by Jack Barton (Netflix's The Letter for the King), isn't a fan of his relationship with Charlie – and he has no qualms about making that known.
Speaking about the show's handling of David's prejudice, Kit Connor emphasised the importance of unpacking David's homophobia.
"He's a bully to Nick and especially when the question of Nick's sexuality comes into play, that's the fuel to the fire of his bullying," he explained. "We wanted to take that and go, 'Yeah, but why is he like that?'
"David is homophobic, but the idea he was just born a homophobe or something is just not true. I felt like it would be a bit boring and a bit lazy for us to go, 'Well, David's just a homophobe and that's why he reacts in the way that he does.
"They're competitive siblings and they had a father who wasn't very loving, who wasn't really there for them. You look at that and look into the background of their upbringing. That was really important for us, to find the dynamic between the characters."
The show's creator Alice Oseman previously teased "more tension and drama" in the TV show compared with the source material.
"Everything happens so fast in the graphic novels but in the show, we want to lengthen the storylines, therefore more obstacles have to cross our characters' paths," she said.
"This season, Nick wants to come out to the world, but faced with his nasty brother, his mostly absent father, and his laddy mates, he soon finds that it's not as easy as he initially thought."
She added: "But no matter the challenges ahead for the Heartstopper gang, we all know that they'll be okay in the end."
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Heartstopper season 2 is streaming now on Netflix – sign up for Netflix from £4.99 a month. Netflix is also available on Sky Glass and Virgin Media Stream.
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Authors
Abby Robinson is the Drama Editor for Radio Times, covering TV drama and comedy titles. She previously worked at Digital Spy as a TV writer, and as a content writer at Mumsnet. She possesses a postgraduate diploma and a degree in English Studies.
