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Hudson Williams<\/strong><\/a> definitely felt the heat with Connor Storrie<\/strong><\/a> in real life.<\/p>\n The 24-year-old and 25-year-old stars of the hot new HBO Max<\/strong><\/a> series Heated Rivalry<\/strong><\/a><\/em> also had great chemistry during their audition.<\/p>\n Showrunner Jacob Tierney<\/strong> and the actors recently spoke out about how it all went down.<\/p>\n Keep reading to find out more\u2026<\/em><\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n \u201cHudson<\/strong> was the third actor that I read with. The first two I was like, \u2018Okay, this is cool,\u2019 and then Hudson<\/strong> came on. Jacob<\/strong> [showrunner] actually texted me directly and was like, \u2018What do you think?\u2019 And I was like, \u2018Yeah, Hudson<\/strong>, for sure.\u2019 Instantly,\u201d Connor<\/strong> said to Out<\/a>.<\/p>\n \u201cI read with one other possible Ilya, and it was good. But something about Connor<\/strong>\u2026 There was an inexplicable X-factor that just felt realer than what I thought it could possibly be. And that was something. I had a quote I told Jacob<\/strong>, at one point, about my read with Connor<\/strong> in particular. [To Jacob<\/strong>] Do you know it?\u201d Hudson<\/strong> went on to say.<\/p>\n The showrunner added: \u201cI do, but are we going to say it out loud?\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cI don\u2019t remember the exact quote. Can you say it for me?\u201d Hudson<\/strong> went on to reply.<\/p>\n \u201cHudson<\/strong> told me, \u2018The other guy was good, but Connor<\/strong> felt like he was going to pin me down and f\u2013k me,\u2019\u201d the showrunner confirmed.<\/p>\n \u201cDamn! Is that what it is?!\u201d Connor<\/strong> exclaimed.<\/p>\n \u201cThat is literally what he said. And I was like, \u2018Well, I think I cast this right,\u2019\u201d the showrunner responded.<\/p>\n \u201cThey were essentially cast at the same time. It was very clear to us that we needed to find Shane and Ilya together. This show lives and dies with them, so we needed to make sure that this worked together. There are terrific actors who are in, you know\u2026 They\u2019re just in different shows. You need to find the people who are going to be together in the same show, and that\u2019s what the two of them had quite instantly.\u201d<\/p>\n The gay romance series, based on the \u201cGame Changers\u201d book series, chronicles the story of rival hockey players Shane and Ilya. Shane Hollander (Williams<\/strong>) and Ilya Rozanov (Storrie<\/strong>) are two of the biggest stars in Major League Hockey, bound by ambition, rivalry, and a magnetic pull neither of them fully understands. What begins as a secret fling between two fresh-faced rookies evolves into a years-long journey of love, denial, and self-discovery.<\/p>\n Heated Rivalry<\/em> is airing on HBO Max in the U.S. and on Crave in Canada.<\/p>\n See the full episode guide<\/a>, and check out every steamy photo released thus far!<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n