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By Dan Heching, celebrity.land<\/p>\n
(celebrity.land) \u2014 <\/b>Connor Storrie\u2019s meteoric rise has left endless possibilities open for the Texas-born star of \u201cHeated Rivalry<\/a>,\u201d whose name is surely being uttered in many a Hollywood casting room these days.<\/p>\n A sign of what\u2019s next for the actor could come this weekend, as Storrie makes his hosting debut on \u201cSaturday Night Live.\u201d<\/p>\n It\u2019s far from the first time \u201cSNL\u201d has put a newly buzzy star in the hosting seat \u2014 Sabrina Carpenter and Josh O\u2019Connor are two recent examples.<\/p>\n And judging from the promos released on Instagram<\/a> this week, Storrie is bringing a lot to the table at the famed NBC sketch show, including his ability to deliver a good accent. Fans of \u201cRivalry\u201d \u2014 the romantic hockey-set series<\/a> that has turned Storrie and costar Hudson Williams into the hottest male screen sirens of the moment \u2014 already know this about him, of course. The actor, who portrays surly Russian hockey captain Ilya Rozanov in the show, is in no way, shape or form Russian, and learned to speak the language rather flawlessly in just three weeks before filming.<\/a> (This tweet<\/a> sums up just how much of a quick study he is.)<\/p>\n \u201cSelfishly, I just love Russian language. I love any opportunity to do an accent, learn a new skill, and this had all of it,\u201d he told Out<\/a> in November of the role.<\/p>\n Storrie\u2019s appearance on \u201cSNL\u201d might be akin to a decisive slap shot on the ice. The star is hosting days after the US men\u2019s hockey team won gold<\/a> at the Milan-Cortina Winter Olympic Games and then went on to draw ire for partying with FBI director Kash Patel and laughing at a joke<\/a> made by President Trump at the expense of the women\u2019s Olympic hockey team (also gold medalists this year<\/a>). It\u2019s fair to say the likelihood is high that this chain of events, coupled with Storrie\u2019s hockey player role on \u201cRivalry,\u201d could come up this weekend.<\/p>\n A mere nine months ago<\/a>, Storrie was working as a server at a Culver City, Los Angeles restaurant<\/a>, and almost got fired the day he found out he landed one of the leads in \u201cHeated Rivalry.\u201d<\/p>\n Weeks later, the actor started filming the sleeper hit series, which aired on Crave in Canada before becoming a bona fide hit on HBO Max. Now it looks like his star is far from fading anytime soon. (HBO Max, like celebrity.land, is owned by Warner Bros. Discovery.)<\/p>\n Aside from blowing the lid off of what was previously thought of as permissible with what can be shown onscreen when it comes to gay sex, \u201cRivalry\u201d has changed the cultural conversation in relation to portrayals of masculinity, consent and the potential for the romance genre in the streaming age.<\/p>\n Before \u201cHeated Rivalry,\u201d which (of course) has been renewed for a second season, Storrie was probably best known for a small but pivotal role in 2024\u2019s \u201cJoker: Folie a Deux.\u201d<\/p>\n Along with Williams and their \u201cHeated\u201d costar Fran\u00e7ois Arnaud, he has been just about everywhere recently, from the Grammys<\/a> to announcing the Actor Award nominations<\/a> to Paris Fashion Week<\/a> to hobnobbing with acclaimed Hollywood directors<\/a>. And no one is tired yet.<\/p>\n Mumford & Sons are the musical guest on host Storrie\u2019s episode of \u201cSNL\u201d this weekend.<\/p>\n The-celebrity.land-Wire
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