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Heated Rivalry <\/em>creator Jacob Tierney is shutting down speculation over whether his lead actors, Hudson Williams and Connor Storrie, are queer like the characters they play.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/li>\n “You can’t ask questions like that when you’re casting, right? It’s actually against the law. So what you have to gauge is somebody’s enthusiasm and willingness to do the work,” he said.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/li>\n The Canadian romantic drama set in the world of professional hockey has gone viral since its Nov. 28 release.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n Heated Rivalry <\/em>series creator Jacob Tierney doesn’t think the sexual identities of his stars are anyone’s business but their own.<\/p>\n The steamy Canadian romantic drama set in the world of professional hockey premiered only a handful of days ago. But it’s already set the internet ablaze with gobsmacked reactions to particularly racy scenes, theories over what’ll become of the budding romance between the titular rivals Shane Hollander (Hudson Williams) and Ilya Rozanov (Connor Storrie), and the potential realities behind their daring performances.<\/p>\n Needless to say, some fans have already run wild with speculation over whether the relatively unknown young stars are queer, like their characters. But Tierney displayed no interest in such lines of inquiry in a recent interview with the LGBTQ+ publication Xtra<\/a>.<\/p>\n “I don’t think there’s any reason to get into that stuff,” he said. “I’ll tell you something about the casting of both of these roles. You can’t ask questions like that when you’re casting, right? It’s actually against the law. So what you have to gauge is somebody’s enthusiasm and willingness to do the work.”<\/p>\n