Hudson Williams knows his life looks different now, even if it hasn’t fully sunk in yet.
The 24-year-old actor, who stars in Crave’s Heated Rivalry, addressed his rapid rise during a recent appearance on Evan Ross Katz’s Shut Up Evan podcast, describing the whiplash that followed the series’ explosive debut. The hockey romance, centered on two rival players hiding a secret relationship, quickly became a fan obsession after landing on HBO Max late last year.
“It doesn’t feel like anything you could prepare for,” Williams said of the attention. “It’s a different existence now, not based on worth or whatever quality of human. But it’s a different life.”
When Celebrity Stops Feeling Human
Williams compared his current experience to watching global pop phenomena from the outside, until he suddenly found himself inside that same machine.
“And when you see these people, like when you see the Beatles, when you see BTS, there’s an element of ‘that’s not another human that’s a celebrity,’ which exists in this weird definition that is very abstract,” he said. “I thought I could empathize with it, but I couldn’t fully feel what they were going through until now. And now it’s just brought this wave of sympathy because it’s not easy.”
That shift has been especially jarring given how recently Williams was still working service jobs. The Canadian actor has been open about waiting tables at an Old Spaghetti Factory shortly before landing Heated Rivalry, making the contrast between then and now feel especially stark.
A Viral Moment That Changed Everything
Williams and co-star Connor Storrie became near-instant heartthrobs as the show’s popularity snowballed online. The response moved quickly: viral clips, nonstop fan edits, a swift season two renewal, and packed public appearances.
That frenzy reached a new peak when Williams made his late-night debut on The Tonight Show on Jan. 7. Fans lined up overnight, prompting host Jimmy Fallon to take notice.
Fame Comes With Logistics, and Limits
While grateful, Williams admitted the attention comes with an exhausting learning curve.
“Although it feels good that people admire your work, it’s, we can go to pockets of places I never thought we would be found and we’re still pulled aside for a photo,” he said. “You have to look nice because you can’t just roll out in sweatpants, which I used to always do, and just look awful. There’s all these things that are just sort of exhausting.”
More challenging, he explained, is finding a balance between accessibility and boundaries.
“I can’t possibly sign everyone’s thing, talk to everyone, and I can’t steal away ’cause then also there’s an element of selfishness,” Williams said, noting that his team includes security, publicists, and agents with their own responsibilities.
“If I were to stay and sign everything, the security, they have other jobs to do,” he continued. “My publicist needs to get somewhere. My agents need to get somewhere. It can become a selfish act, not a generous one, to [try] and meet everyone.”
Gratitude Amid the Chaos
Despite the strain, Williams remains grounded by where he came from.
“It’s hard to complain about because for a long time I’ve been a cliché of an actor, you know, struggling server, paycheck to paycheck, just desperate for any role,” he said. “Connor and I have had to learn what a lot of actors get in 5 years in like 30 days.”
Other cast members have echoed similar sentiments. François Arnaud, who plays hockey star Scott Hunter, previously shared that the attention pushed him to step away from social media.
“I’m struggling to sleep, actually. It’s a lot,” Arnaud said. “I have to like delete my Instagram. It’s just too much for me.”
Series creator Jacob Tierney expressed similar caution, saying he’s tried to keep some distance from the noise.
“I don’t know what I expected, but it was not this,” Tierney told EW. “I’m very grateful and I’m very thrilled.”
For Williams, the moment is still unfolding, exhilarating, overwhelming, and impossible to ignore. Fame may have arrived fast, but learning how to live with it is proving to be its own full-time role.
