Kit Connor is a British actor who started his career at a young age. He gained great popularity, especially among young people, for his role in the series "Heartstopper" about the love between two young people. He is also remembered for his role in the series "His Dark Materials" - he voiced one of the main characters, the daemon Pantalaimon.
Actor Kit Connor
Childhood
Kit Sebastian Connor was born in 2004 in the south of London, in the borough of Croydon. His parents, Richard and Carolyn, are involved in the advertising business. It is known that the actor's father works for the large advertising agency AMV BBDO. Kit has a brother named Ned.
At first, Kit Connor studied at Hayes Primary School in Kenley, and then transferred to Whitgift School in South Croydon. He was one of the first students in the school drama club, and also excelled in history and English literature classes.
Kit Connor as a child
Kit Connor has stated that his entire childhood was spent on film sets. Due to his busy schedule, he didn't always attend school regularly. Kit has mentioned feeling like he missed out on a normal childhood and adolescence, as many childhood joys such as school days, field trips, and socializing with peers passed him by.
Despite this, he had a very happy childhood full of experiences and encounters with amazing people. He stumbled upon acting by chance, but has never regretted his decision.
Acting career
Kit Connor's first experiences on the set were in commercials. His first ad was for the Xbox game console.
At the age of eight, he appeared in his first television series, "Chickens," on the Sky One channel. At nine, he played Tom Anderson in the feature film "Get Santa."
Kit Connor in the film Get Santa
It was not a challenging job for Kit when he was a child actor, as he mostly just had to stay cute in front of the camera. He found the filming to be a pleasant and enjoyable pastime, while watching and observing how experienced colleagues behaved on set, picking up on the subtleties of professional play.
He also looked up to other famous actors who became famous in their early youth, such as Asa Butterfield, Will Poulter, and Tom Holland. According to Kit, all of this helped him progress in acting and learn the basics on the job.
Over the next few years, he landed small roles in TV shows and movies. In 2015, he appeared as a boy in the film "Mr. Holmes," in which the lead role of the famous retired detective was played by Ian McKellen. That same year, viewers could see the young talent in the TV series "The Frankenstein Chronicles" (Joey).
Kit Connor in the series The Frankenstein Chronicles
The following year, Kit appeared in three episodes of the TV series "War and Peace" as the young Petya Rostov.
Kit Connor in the series War and Peace
In 2018, Connor had the opportunity to expand his acting experience by working in the horror genre, starring in the comedy slasher film about a massacre at a private British school, "Slaughterhouse Rulez."
Kit Connor in the film Slaughterhouse Rulez
Kit Connor's career became much more noticeable with his work in the film "Rocketman," where he played the famous singer and composer Elton John in his youth. The film was released in 2019. Taron Egerton played the adult version of the musician.
Kit Connor in the film Rocketman
As Kit admitted, filming in "Rocketman" elevated his career to a new level. The teenager met a lot of wonderful people and attended the film's premiere at the Cannes Film Festival.
Kit Connor with the actors of theRocketman at the Cannes Festival
Kit Connor found his experience voicing the daemon Pantalaimon in the TV series "His Dark Materials" to be interesting. He was the voice of the main character Lyra's daemon, played by Dafne Keen. As the fantasy series progressed (and as the actor's voice changed with age), he found it curious that his character's voice became progressively lower and lower.
Daemon of Lyra in His Dark Materials
In his career, Kit Connor also performed on the theater stage. In 2016, he played the role of the Little Boy in the production "Welcome Home, Captain Fox!", and in 2018, Alexander Ekdal in the play "Fanny and Alexander".
Rocketman All Kit Connor Scenes
Kit's real breakthrough came in 2022 when the Netflix series "Heartstopper" was released, based on the graphic novels by Alice Oseman. The series told a touching story about the relationships and problems of young people with non-traditional sexual orientation. Kit Connor played one of the central roles - the star of the school rugby team, Nick Nelson.
Kit Connor in the series Heartstopper
Initially, the actor auditioned for the role of Charlie Spring, but he didn't look like him even in appearance, while he fit perfectly into the image of "the golden retriever" (as Nick was called in the film). The role of Charlie eventually went to the homosexual actor Joe Locke, with whom Kit formed a brilliant tandem. During filming, the guys became good friends.
To play his role convincingly, the actor, despite being familiar with sports in real life and going to the gym 5-6 times a week, had to bulk up and practice playing rugby with a coach. During the four-month-long filming, this helped him "pretend" to be a skilled player.
During the filming of the movie, Connor had the opportunity to collaborate with Oscar and Emmy winner Olivia Colman, who played Nick's mother. Kit Connor regretted that their work on set only lasted for two days.
Heartstopper - ALL Nick & Charlie Kissing Scenes
The actor also mentioned that he would happily return to the role of Nick Nelson in the sequel of the series and is very proud of his involvement in the project:
It's a beautiful and extremely optimistic story about friendship and love, self-love, self-discovery and acceptance. It's a story about a whole array of amazing and different characters, truly inclusive, and I think a very important series.
Kit Connor’s Personal Life
As for his personal life, in the series "Heartstopper," Kit so naturally transformed into a young man who harbors tender feelings for another young man that many viewers projected his character's sexual preferences onto the actor himself.
Heartstopper's Kit Connor: «I'm comfortable in my sexuality & don't need to label myself publicly»
Kit neither confirmed nor denied these rumors, stating that he believes his personal life should remain private: "I believe I'm not obligated to publicly speak about my orientation." On social media, he uses the pronouns "he/him."
Kit Connor with fans
Later he said:
Some of you, in my opinion, missed the show’s main purpose. bye.” return for a moment. I’m bi. Kudos for getting an 18-year-old to come out of the closet. Some of you, in my opinion, missed the show’s main purpose. Bye.
According to Kit, working out in the gym has become his passion. He sees sports not only as the easiest way to stay in shape, but also as an opportunity to clear his mind and charge himself with positive emotions.
In addition, Connor is a big fan of basketball, music, and theater, especially inspired by the culture of the 60s and 70s.
Kit Connor Now
For his role as Nick in the series "Heartstopper," Kit was nominated for the National Television Award. The warm and optimistic series was so well received by viewers that it was soon renewed for its second and third seasons.
