Going from starving artists to A-listers basically overnight might be tough for some fledgling stars, but for Heated Rivalry actors Hudson Williams and Connor Storrie, the surreal experience seems to have turned the costars into besties.
Storrie and Williams — dubbed HudCon by fans — were thrust into the limelight after the gay hockey show that was made for pennies in Canada became an unexpected hit. This is the kind of opportunity actors often wait a lifetime for, but the fame also comes with heightened scrutiny.
The intense onscreen chemistry between Williams and Storrie has led some fans to speculate that the two must be dating in real life — neither star has come out as queer, and Williams has a long-term girlfriend — when in actuality they seem like close friends who have bonded over an experience few others could relate to.
“Hudson is my best friend, and I literally can’t fathom doing this without him,” Storrie told W Magazine in December, admitting that the experience of creating the show and the opportunities that came with it are ”10 times sweeter” because he’s shared them with Williams.
Interviews and on-set photos and videos show their budding friendship taking off, and since then, they have not only shown their bond off to the world, but have worked hard to protect their close friendship from the prying eyes of eagle-eyed fans and paparazzi.
“It’s been really nice, because Connor and I are aligned,” Williams said in an interview with Wonderland Magazine. “We want to be different artists. We don’t want to be the Olsen twins. We want to be Connor and Hudson, with different filmographies and different deals. As much as we love each other, our friendship doesn’t need to be public.”
Storrie and Williams may be trying to keep their friendship intact while seeming to reach new levels of fame every day, but luckily there are still plenty of moments that prove this duo is likely to be friends for life.
Friendship hike
Amidst the media firestorm sparked by the show’s wild success, Storrie and Williams both cleaned up their social media accounts by removing more personal posts. However, their bromance was clear as day when they were filming, like in these photos of the two posing during a hike.
Hugging on set
This early video of Storrie and Williams hugging while filming the series gave fans who were early adopters of the series a glimpse at the sweet bromance between the two stars.
Sexy wrestling
This wild video of Williams and Storrie wrestling and seemingly practicing some of their Heated Rivalry sex positions gave fans a taste of the chemistry between the two leads before the show ever aired.
Matching tattoos
After filming wrapped on the first season of Heated Rivalry, the stars got matching “sex sells” tattoos to commemorate the spicy gay show before they turned into A-Listers.
“We settled on 'sex sells' because I think it was just kind of like a tongue-in-cheek, kind of winky view of being a part of something like this," Storrie told People.
Physically affectionate
On an episode of Andy Cohen’s SiriusXM show Radio Andy, Williams opened up about being frustrated that people seem to perceive physical touch between friends as sexual, but said it won’t stop from being touchy-feely with Storrie.
”And especially with Connor [Storrie], who I love dearly, it was something I was always kind of adamant that no matter what people think or want to infer, like, I’m always going to just physically express my love. And, yeah, definitely healthy parents, acting class,” he said. “I feel like if you’re still biased or jaded or uncomfortable with expressing physical love for people in 2025, you got to f*cking, just, you know, get over yourself.”
Bathroom selfie
After skyrocketing to fame in the wake of Heated Rivalry's unexpected success, Storrie and Williams got coveted invites to the 2026 Met Gala. The two young actors not only made a splash on the red carpet, but had paparazzi following them around as they partied the night away. Are you really besties if you haven’t taken a late-night bathroom selfie together in a club?
Vanity Fair Oscars Party
While fans were sad that Williams was the only half of the duo invited to the 2026 Academy Awards, the two BFFs met up on the red carpet at the Vanity Fair Oscars Party later that night, where they posed together in semi-matching see-through shirts.
The Golden Globes
In one of the pair’s first big celebrity moments that made it clear their lives had forever been changed by the success of the show, Williams and Storrie presented an award at their first-ever Golden Globes. Fans of the show were especially charmed by this moment, as it was almost a reenactment of a scene in which Shane and Ilya are presenters at an awards show shortly before the show's infamous bathroom scene.
'Saturday Night Live'
When Storrie was asked to host Saturday Night Live mere months after going from restaurant server to Hollywood star, fans were dying to know if Williams would somehow be included. The besties not only reunited for an ice-skating skit, but when Storrie got emotional at the end of the show, Williams gave him a big hug.
Emmy nomination reaction
After Storrie was nominated for an Emmy Award for his guest-hosting role on SNL, some fans told Williams about it while he was signing autographs, and his genuine pleasure at hearing the news was adorable.
