Hudson Williams said he was ready for anything as he sat before a roomful of curious autistic and neurodivergent interviewers, who were invited by Canada's national English-language public broadcast television network to ask him about his roles in Heated Rivalry and Yaga.
"I'm strapped in," the actor said. "My knees are bent."
The show, broadcast Sunday night on CBC television, is called The Assembly and the rules are as follows: "No subjects are out of bounds. No questions are off the table, and all might happen."
Williams, whose own father is on the autism spectrum, of course rose to fame playing Shane Hollander, the world-class hockey player who is also on the spectrum and who falls head over heels for Connor Storrie's character, hockey rival Ilya Rozanov.
After being asked about the story behind his tattoos, Williams took a question from Nate — one of the fans invited to ask questions — about what the CBC figured many people in that room were wondering, but may have been too afraid to ask: "Did you ever feel something for Connor that was more than friendship?"
Oohs and aahs filled the room.
“No," said Williams in response. "Quickly, me and Connor realized we were, like, platonic soulmates, just completely in love with each other. I think that's what made our friendship so stable and beautiful, is that we realized we could be completely ourselves, be completely guard down."
But he made it clear those feelings will never become romantic. Never. Ever.
"So, I think the thing that made our relationship as rich as it was is, like, me and that man could cuddle for ten hours, and it just mean cuddling, just mean we just love each other dearly. but don't wanna beep each other's bop. That's not a thing.”
The room was filled with laughter, and then Williams repeated, "Not a thing," but then referenced one of the most re-watched scenes in the series, their first shower together.
"Who doesn't want Connor Storrie in their shower, you know?" said Williams. "Someone needs to get my back, you know? I wish Connor was just with me every day. I have a loofah, but I can't reach. If I had Connor with me every day, he could just come in there... scrubs down," and won some more laughs from the interviewers when he imitated Storrie's Ilya accent.
Another interviewer asked what it was like watching the most intimate scenes in Heated Rivalry with his friends and family.
Williams revealed he held a screening for the first episode to which he invited about a dozen friends — and his mom — with the expectation it would be "the best friends-screening ever."
But whenever a sex scene was about to be shown, Williams said he told his mother to cover her eyes. His friends all brought party horns, which they blew any time something provocative was happening on screen.
When the horns went silent, his mom knew it was safe to start watching again.
The episode of The Assembly ends with Williams sharing a message for the fans he hopes comes across most clearly: "You deserve the best love story and the best romance story in your life — no matter who you are."
Canadian viewers can view the full episode at this link. Although the video is not supposed to be available beyond that country, a crafty fan uploaded it to X for viewers outside Canada.
