“Heated Rivals” star Hudson Williams said he has received messages from private professional athletes since the show became a huge hit.
The series acquired by HBO Max is based on the book series “Game Changers” by Rachel Reid. The film follows two private professional hockey players who secretly date for over a decade and develop feelings for each other, although they are rivals on the ice.
Williams appeared on “Andy Cohen Live” on Wednesday and revealed that, like his character Shane Hollander on the show, he has actually heard from professional athletes who have not yet come out.
Williams said he has heard from hockey players as well as football and basketball players.
“The people who contact me anonymously are definitely people who are like, ‘I’m still a professional player, I’m still in the closet,'” he says. “They reach out to our author, Rachel (Reed), who then relays this nice anonymous email to us.”
Williams, 24, said she also received personal DMs.
“Sometimes people reach out to me personally through Instagram, and those kind of things really hit home a little bit and say, ‘Oh, this is a fun show and it’s meant to be a celebration, but sometimes it gets on people’s nerves,'” he shared.
“Rivals,” starring Connor Story as Shane’s girlfriend Ilya Rozanov, has become a surprise hit since its release in November.
Fans remain keen on Williams and Story’s close friendship off-screen, and the actors spoke about their chemistry in an interview with Vanity Fair last month.
“Hudson and I didn’t get along well before we started acting,” Storey, 25, said.
Williams added, “We’ve gotten comfortable just inches away from each other’s faces and violating each other’s personal space. It’s an HR nightmare.”
Mr. Williams also said that his “fairly close bond” with Mr. Storey made him “comfortable to enter into more intimate territory with that person than other colleagues would be with that person.”
“Unless we’re sleeping together,” he joked.
