Heartstopper actor Joe Locke has spoken out about some of the aspects of his new-found fame that he’s still struggling with.
Joe and co-star Kit Connor shot to fame earlier this year when the Netflix teen drama became a runaway success, but admitted in a new interview with GQ he’s still getting to grips with everything that comes with it.
In particular, speculation about his romantic life is something he’s finding uncomfortable.
“The idea of a tabloid being interested in a teenager’s love life is really gross,” Joe told the magazine.
“Someone making money out of rumours about who I – an 18-year-old boy – might be liking or talking to, it’s really gross and perverted.”
He added: “I’m 18… I don’t know who I am yet.”
Around the time of Joe and Kit’s joint interview, the latter had recently left Twitter after facing unfair accusations of “queerbaiting” when he was pictured holding hands with a female co-star.
More recently, Kit came out as bisexual on Twitter, admitting it was something he felt he’d been “forced” into doing.
In their joint GQ interview, Kit admitted that Joe had been a “lifesaver in so many ways for me; as a support system and a friend to go through everything with”.
Joe then added: “I’ve tried to do the same for him. I don’t think Kit really understands what an incredible person he is.”
A second season of Heartstopper is currently being filmed, which will explore Nick’s coming out journey and Charlie’s struggles with an eating disorder.
“We grow up with the characters, but we’re also growing up,” Joe told GQ.
“Their views of the world are changing, and those changes happen quite quickly when you’re a teenager because of hormones and school being horrible.”
Read Joe Locke and Kit Connor’s GQ interview in full here.