Kit Sebastian Connor is a British actor whose film and television performances have earned critical acclaim and established him as a rising star in the entertainment industry.
Born in 2004 and raised in London, England, Connor discovered his passion for acting at a young age, beginning with school plays and local theater productions. He landed his first professional role in 2013 at eight years old, a bit part in the British sitcom Chickens. From there, he began building his résumé with appearances in shows and films such as Casualty, Mr. Holmes, The Frankenstein Chronicles, Rocket’s Island, War & Peace, Grantchester, and SS-GB. In 2018, he earned his first starring role in the play Fanny & Alexander. Connor was establishing a solid foothold as a young actor, but it would be a few more years before he became a star.
In 2022, Connor gained widespread recognition for his portrayal of Nick Nelson in the Netflix series Heartstopper, based on the graphic novel by Alice Oseman. The show revolves around the tender and heartwarming love story between two teenage boys, Nick and Charlie. Check out our Bi Media entry on the show here. Connor’s portrayal of Nick, a bi character, has been broadly celebrated for its authenticity and resonance. Connor later reprised his role in the Netflix film Heartstopper Forever.
Connor also impressed audiences as a young Elton John in Rocketman and as Eli Ramsay in The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society. Other notable films and shows he has appeared in include Ready Player One, His Dark Materials, The Wild Robot, Warfare, and A Long Winter. He has also been cast as Cyclops in an upcoming Marvel Studios X-Men film. In addition, he starred in a Broadway rendition of Romeo and Juliet, playing Romeo. Connor already has over 28 film/television credits to his name, as well as three theater roles and four video game voice acting roles. He also narrated the 2022 audiobook version of Oliver Twist. His work has earned him a Children’s and Family Emmy Award, two Queerty Awards, and a Royal Television Society Programme Award, as well as a number of additional nominations.
Kit Connor’s performance in Heartstopper was particularly significant due to his own personal journey. Once the show became a cultural phenomenon and propelled Connor to stardom and teenage-heartthrob status, fans and the press alike began digging into his personal life. Given the skill and authenticity of his performance as a queer character, fans assumed that Connor was gay. But when Kit expressed hesitance to discuss his sexuality publicly, and when Connor was photographed holding hands with actress Maia Reficco, it caused enormous controversy, with some fans accusing the young actor of being a straight man pretending to be queer for some reason. After a few months, Connor laid the speculation to rest by coming out as bi on Twitter:
I’m bi. Congrats for forcing an 18-year-old to out himself. I think some of you missed the point of the show.
In a later interview with Interview Magazine, Connor shared more of his thoughts about the Heartstopper controversy:
I found it very disappointing, especially given my age — although I don’t think that it should be something that is speculated on at any age […] I really wanted to have that boundary. It was my private information and my personal life that I wanted to keep to myself. So I was kind of frustrated with myself that I gave in to it. What I learned from that experience is that there are certain things I want to keep private in my life. I’ve also learned that people are always going to have something to say. Even with me coming out, people will still have something to say — whether they believe me or not, whether they suddenly think, ‘Oh, now can he play straight roles?’ But whatever they say, they’re going to say something.
Connor has since been more forthright in discussing his sexual orientation and the importance of LGBT representation in the industry. In 2023, he opened up to British Vogue:
[Bisexuality is] the experience of maybe you’re too straight to be gay, and you’re too gay to be straight. So it’s like, ‘Where do I sit?’ But I feel much more secure in myself now. […] I just felt like it wasn’t something I was ready to talk about. […] I wasn’t angry. I was just slightly disappointed by this reaction. […] I would say that I would have preferred to [come out] another way. I also don’t know if I would have ever done it. But at the end of the day, I don’t regret it. In many ways, it was really empowering.