Kit Connor admits he feels ‘watched’ since finding fame
After shooting to fame in Netflix’s ‘Heartstopper’, actor Kit Connor says he feels more “watched” and says he hates it when his family’s privacy is invaded by fans.
Kit Connor feels “watched” since becoming famous.
The 19-year-old ‘Heartstopper’ actor, who revealed his bisexuality to the world towards the end of last year following intense speculation about it on social media, added one of the positives about being in the spotlight was feeling as if your work had made a difference in someone’s life.
He told British Vogue about his and his family’s privacy: “You feel a bit watched. I’m still in my formative years, so things I wouldn’t want to be watched doing are.”
He added it feels invasive when fans dig into the lives of his family by looking them up on social media, saying: “They didn’t sign up for it.”
Despite opening up about his love of privacy, Kit added about life in the public eye: “I haven’t had a huge problem. I think I’ve still been pretty lucky in a lot of ways.”
He added despite being ultra-aware of being a famous face, he no longer cares what his body looks like.
Kit said: “I used to be super, super self-conscious about my body. But for now, at the moment, I’m pretty comfortable in myself, in the sense I don’t really care about how it looks anymore.”
The actor also said in the chat even though he “does not regret” coming out, he is not sure he would have made the announcement at all had there not been the online pressure to do so.
He added: “I think there’s almost a feeling that because I’d been in the industry for a little while, there was almost this understanding that it’s like, ‘Oh, well, he can take it.’
“I think ‘forced’ isn’t the right word I would use, but I would say that I would have preferred to do it 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.”
Kit took to social media to accuse fans on Twitter of “forcing” him to disclose his sexuality.
He tweeted: “Back for a minute. I’m bi. congrats for forcing an 18 year old to out himself.”
The Emmy Award-winner plays Nick Nelson on popular Netflix comedy-drama ‘Heartstopper; and even though he will be seen starring in the show's second series – which premieres on the streaming giant in August – he said he wanted to be seen as an actor who can do a variety of “different” roles.
Read the full interview in the August issue of British Vogue, available via digital download and on newsstands from Tuesday 18 July.
