- 2 months ago
'Heated Rivalry' stars Hudson Williams and Connor Storie open up about the storytelling behind those eye-catching, steamy scenes. From the show’s shift from pure sex to something resembling love and what their characters’ dom/sub dynamic reveals about their lives outside the bedroom to how they feel about being objectified on the internet and why they think women have gravitated so strongly to this male-on-male romance material, Hudson and Connor share their authentic thoughts.
Courtesy of Crave/HBO Max
Courtesy of Crave/HBO Max
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LifestyleTranscript
00:00There was a little bit of nerves going up to that, being like,
00:02oh, we're gonna have to kiss, we haven't kissed, you know what I mean?
00:05Like, we're good friends, and now we have to kiss.
00:09I think it's, um, what I find interesting about it is,
00:16especially the speed, right?
00:17And you kind of see that with the edit, too.
00:19I think we felt that even before knowing the edit.
00:22These moments felt very different, you know?
00:25So, I mean, it's just, it's about reminding ourselves,
00:28even though we had been filming for, like, a month and a half
00:31by the time we started filming those segments.
00:34Just reminding ourselves who, what, when, where, you know?
00:38Like, this is the first time you're doing something like this.
00:40This is the first time you're having this person over to your house.
00:44And, yeah, that was, it was just fun to discover a new side of them, too,
00:49because up until that point, we hadn't done that.
00:52Did your mom buy all these pillows?
00:54No.
00:56I hired someone, a designer.
00:58You think there is enough?
01:02Such an asshole.
01:03Also, with the structure of shooting, you know, other people get that shift
01:07and, you know, a linear progression is how it was written.
01:10Our show was, like, kind of unusually block shot.
01:14So, it was, like, shot like a giant movie, which means, you know,
01:17we're shooting parts of episode five in the beginning,
01:19parts of, you know, episode four, you know, early on.
01:22So, it was all sort of, the shooting was unassembled.
01:26And so, we had to sort of compartmentalize know every little moment.
01:30We're jumping in.
01:31In the same day, we're going from multiple scripts.
01:33So, I think, for us, we didn't really get the benefit of going linearly.
01:40You know, we had to hold the entire story and then go in on command
01:46to these different points that these characters are at.
01:48Yeah.
01:49I think that what really anchors them is not the sex itself,
01:54but what's going on in their life outside of that
01:56and how that affects the sex.
01:58Like, for me and Ilya's journey, it was like,
02:01okay, so this is this part of the story when this happens with this family
02:05and then this is the part of this where you lose this game, you know,
02:08and we see that going, referencing episode two,
02:11you see that shift after, you know, after the Olympics
02:16and then after winning the cup, like, you see how that affects their dynamic
02:21and how that affects the sex for that moment and then, you know,
02:25in turn, how that affects them after the sex like that.
02:28So, I think it's really about, I think it's kind of the reverse,
02:31which is mapping their lives outside of that
02:35and then how do they show up sexually and romantically
02:37because of this, this, and this.
02:40For Ilya, at least.
02:41I don't know if he feels the same for Shane.
02:44Yeah.
02:44I felt like the approach was, you know,
02:47I always knew where I stood on that sort of debate.
02:49I always felt, you know, handled the right way.
02:51Sex does have a huge place in storytelling.
02:54And with this show, we got the benefit of the sex scenes being treated
02:59as, you know, deliberately as the conversation scenes,
03:02almost more because we had rehearsal for them.
03:05We had conversation about the conversation that's happening within them.
03:10And, you know, I, hopefully this show kind of proves how, you know, if you, if you skip the sex scenes
03:17or you kind of go, oh, this is for the people who just want to see some raunchy, like, sex or lust, you know, you miss the story.
03:24Come here.
03:25No, you come here.
03:26No, you come here.
03:27No, you come here.
03:28Episode one is, what is it?
03:31I think it's like 29%.
03:33I spat all over.
03:3429% like intimate scenes.
03:38And, you know, some people could be like, oh, so, you know, that means 71% story, but that's not true.
03:46It's most of the story is in that 29%.
03:50I mean, after our first, we, we had a rehearsal day where for a half day, we literally just walked through every intimate scene in the script.
03:58Um, and I mean, let's be honest, there was a little bit of nerves going up to that being like, oh, we're going to have to kiss.
04:04We haven't kissed.
04:05You know what I mean?
04:06Like we're good friends and now we have to kiss.
04:08Um, but the moment we started doing that, you're kind of like, oh, I can do it.
04:13You know, it's kind of like with acting, it's with any part of acting.
04:16Honestly, I think I was more, I think I was more nervous for our first speaking scene than I was for our first, you know, intimate scene.
04:25Uh, because that's also super vulnerable and you feel really naked, you know, um, just doing, just putting yourself out there and being like, well, this is how this character shows up.
04:35You know, this is what the character is, you know?
04:38Um, so yeah.
04:40Right.
04:41We spoke to that even when, before we started shooting, I think Connor was telling me how sometimes, you know,
04:46when you're acting and someone starts doing a character in front of you, it's, it's hard to take in and it, you know, your brain can't quite handle the, the difference.
04:56But I found the sort of departure, the mutual shift of, of both of us playing things.
05:02You know, I would speak about things of Ilya that I related with, that I understood, um, that you were like, mm, I'm not sure I like this about Ilya or this feels weird.
05:10And then this vice versa with Shane, I would be like, oh, what, what does this mean?
05:14And Connor's like, oh no, this is what I love about Shane.
05:17So I think, I think it helped us, you know, there, there's curiosity that kind of led the ship, which was really nice.
05:24I feel pretty aligned with the fans because we want the same thing.
05:28And at this point, it's my job to take that personally.
05:31Yeah.
05:32Ilya?
05:36What'd he say?
05:38I stayed with my Ilya accent, like whenever we were filming, if we had a filming date, I was in that from the time I showed up to my trailer in the morning until I, until we called cut on the last shot.
05:51And I think that helped a little bit, like keep not only us in a space.
05:57I mean, our energy would go crazy.
05:58We would do, we would do something, you know, a very, uh, uh, serious or dramatic or whatever.
06:04And then two seconds later, it'd be kind of laughing and clowning around.
06:07But, um, yeah, speaking to your point, I have a really hard time acting with people that I'm very close with that I know because my brain does this like backflip where I'm like, that's not.
06:20Like, why are you lying to me right now?
06:22For whatever reason, I never had that with Hudson, um, which I think is a testament to his really good acting.
06:28But also I think both of our abilities to like click into these characters and, and be like, not only do I get where I'm coming from, but I understand why you're doing what you're doing.
06:37And it just makes it feel 10 times better.
06:39I think Shane loves control, you know, and, and like outside of his life, he likes steering the thing.
06:46He likes, um, you know, dominating to a degree in his sport.
06:50He likes to do everything, uh, to be able to continue to do that in his sport.
06:54And, and I think that's his whole life up to this point.
06:58So I think with Ilya, there's an element of, of control.
07:03He can give up and, you know, he's, uh, he's reinforced that he's, he's doing a good job.
07:09And I think at the end of the day, Shane loves to do a good job and make people happy and, and perform.
07:17Um, and I think with, uh, Ilya, it's, it's both his sexual urges are, are, are that of, of, you know, more, yeah, it's, it's more submissive, but also it's for him.
07:28It's, that's the joy of, of how we can perform, you know?
07:32You know, I think that if you take like Shane's character, for example, he is so in control and he is so domineering and so is at the, you know, controlling so many elements of his life.
07:43You know, the, the pressure to be the performer, the hunter, the, the man, so to, you know, for lack of a better term.
07:50Um, and so, yeah, I think sometimes sexually people seek out the opposite of the energy that they want in their real life.
07:58It's kind of like, you know, these high, these highfalutin businessmen who, um, you know, love to be dominated and you hear them like they have a dominatrix and they want to be treated like a little sissy, you know?
08:09Um, and I kind of think again, it's, it's kind of the same thing with Ilya.
08:13I mean, if I look at his emotional journey secularly from the, the, our arc and the love story in the show, I mean, he is, he is totally out of control in terms of what he's allowed to be in his country.
08:25He is totally out of control in, um, how everything goes down with his mother.
08:29He is so out of control with his father.
08:31I mean, I, I've said it, uh, he, I don't really think that Ilya gives a shit about hockey and, you know, it just so happens to be something he's good at.
08:39And so he's thrust into this thing.
08:41And what's the opposite of that, you know, is being, is, is being in control.
08:46What a fucking day, huh?
08:47Yeah, totally.
08:48Is everything you dreamed of?
08:49Almost.
08:50I'm sorry.
08:51No, you're not.
08:52Yeah.
08:53I mean, um, I live in West Hollywood, so I feel like I'm in the body central.
09:10I mean, I was telling Hudson he's visiting obviously for this and I was like, yeah, I mean, we live, we're in a place where West Hollywood, you know, men's beauty is, is, is a huge topic of conversation.
09:24Um, I feel really blessed though, because even though there is, you know, a lot of attention on our bodies, I feel like for the most part, people are being really nice.
09:33You know, I mean, let's be honest, people can be really cruel online, like horrible, horrible, horrible.
09:40And people have been really nice and not only nice to us, but also protective of us.
09:46Um, so I just feel blessed, honestly, could have, could have gone really bad.
09:50People are, people are evil sometimes and I haven't been experiencing that.
09:55So it feels good.
09:56Keep it, keep it coming.
09:58Yeah.
09:59We, we've talked about this a lot, both with Jacob, with between ourselves.
10:03Um, and yeah, I think on the surface, it's, uh, you know, confusing that, you know, make possibly like, why would straight women like this?
10:10But also, you know, Jacob has said it.
10:12There's so little care into that thought, you know, the fact that this show is, is going like, why would straight women like this?
10:18And both, I think, uh, I, I was talking to you about this.
10:22I think there's both a, a chances element or like a statistic element of like in a straight relationship.
10:29If you're a straight woman, you, you're, you don't fancy the gent in, in the story, or maybe you're not attracted to him.
10:35I think in our relationship, if I'm like, or like, oh, that the Shane guy is not doing it for me, but that Russian, God damn.
10:41Right.
10:42Or, or vice versa.
10:43There just might be, you know, a double chance that, you know, there, there's an attraction there.
10:47There, but also I think there's an element of, you know, possibly women who, you know, have a, maybe a desire to give up control.
10:55Um, that is scary.
10:57And there's a lot of fear there.
10:58There's a fear of violence, you know, and, and men are big and, and, and they're scary.
11:03But with, when they, if they can live vicariously through the Shane character, um, they know there's inherent safety, you know, there, there's, and I think that's possible.
11:13You know, I'm, I'm a little bit, I'm, I also think theorizing.
11:17Yeah.
11:18I also think that the, um, I was talking to Hannah, our costume designer, um, and I, cause we were talking about that exact thing.
11:27I was like, I was like, wow, it's, it's predominantly women from the book.
11:30And obviously I think the, um, the gay men demographic has gone up because of the show, um, just cause of the visibility, not knowing of the book beforehand.
11:38Um, and she was like, well, I think that there's something about this type of story and this type of love and this type of sex that has a lot to do with this almost like prolonged foreplay and yearning, which kind of differs from this more pornographic idea of sex.
11:55Um, and she's like, I think that's what, what the, the female audiences are really drawn to.
12:01And I think it's, she was like, I think it's more so geared towards a feminine gaze, um, which is super interesting.
12:08Cause it's true. I mean, that's why we like romance, you know, it's not just the, the sex or whatever.
12:13It's the, it's the moments in between where you see desire and this pull towards vulnerability and connection, you know?
12:21I would also want to add, like, it made me think, you know, like in a, in a straight hetero normal, um, romance, you know, it's usually you fall into trouble.
12:30It's usually you fall into tropes and stereotypes where the women, the woman is, is, you know, the communicator and the guys, you know, the closed off, you know, that that's usually the archetype we see.
12:40So I think that it's two minutes, well, someone has to do the talk, like communication needs to happen.
12:46So like which one of you is going to do it is sort of enticing.
12:50Cause they're like, ah, so men are capable of having communication.
12:54They can get somewhere.
12:55They're not completely incompetent.
12:58I saw something online that was really interesting.
13:00And it was, she said that, um, it was a, it was an influencer or like a book talk personality talking about this.
13:06And she was like, the reason why, uh, women are so into stories that involve gay men is because they are so, um, exhausted by the idea of straight men that like, this is the only way that they get to see a form of masculinity that feels accessible and interesting to them, which I think is a cool point, you know?
13:28Cause it does turn the normal idea of masculinity on its head in a lot of different ways.
13:33But when you feel like that with the idea of getting to the audience that you're watching, you know?
13:35Is there anything more going on?
13:36Are there anything more going on?
13:37Well, if you're going to get to the audience, you'll get to it.
13:39Well, that's a good point.
13:41After that, you've got to go.
13:42All right.
13:43You'll get to that.
13:44That's a good point.
13:46But before you stop it, you know?
13:47What's it doing?
13:48And I'll just let it come out.
13:49Yeah, I'll just let you just place it in a little bit more when you end up.
13:50But I did get to it later.
13:51I've got to go like what I was going on.
13:52And you can start it in a little bit of a little bit different in the middle.
13:53And so I was going to change it during that.
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