After Miley Cyrus said she would like to score the second season of Heat Rivalry, one of the show’s stars, Connor Story, has a confession to make.
Story, who plays Russian hockey player Ilya in the queer romance series, said she was only 13 when she dressed up as Cyrus for Halloween.
Like Hannah Montana?
No, it was Cyrus in her highly controversial performance with Robin Thicke at the MTV VMAs in 2013. “I don’t want to reveal myself a little bit, but … it was a big cultural moment at the time,” Storey told me Wednesday morning in Los Angeles after announcing this year’s SAG/Actor Award nominations along with him and Janelle James from “Abbott Elementary.” “Me and my best friend. For Halloween, I was Miley Cyrus and he was Robin Thicke.”
“I was in middle school,” he continued. “I don’t think those photos exist anymore. I’d love to plant a seed for people to find them, but I don’t think they will.”
During her appearance at the VMAs, Cyrus was not only criticized for swearing at Chic during her set, but she was also accused of cultural appropriation.
Unlike Storey’s YouTube videos from that time, which have become extremely popular these days, Storey believes that no footage of herself as Cyrus exists. As James said, “That’s probably a good thing.”
Story said to the camera, “So Miley Cyrus, please know that I was you at the MTV Movie Awards.”
It’s been a meteoric rise for Story and “Heated Rivals” co-star Hudson Williams since HBO Max premiered the show’s first two episodes over Thanksgiving weekend. HBO Max acquired the series from Canadian streamer Crave.
Memes and GIFs of the show’s most explicit sex scenes and other moments from the episodes quickly went viral.
In mid-December, Story told me he had decided to audition for a self-tape shirtless. “I thought, ‘What if I did a show that had a lot to do with sex?'” he said. “So I took my shirt off, even though it wasn’t written that way. I was like, ‘If I’m going to do that, you guys have to see what these people look like naked,’ so I kept taking my shirt off.”
Story has signed with the huge talent agency CAA. He and Hudson are scheduled to present at the Golden Globes on Sunday. Story will make his late night talk show debut on “Late Night with Seth Meyers” on January 12th.
Unfortunately, Rivals is an entirely Canadian-financed production, so it will not be eligible for Emmy Awards or acting awards.
“Do you think it’s great to get that kind of recognition for this show?” Storey asked. “Yes, 100%. Do you think this show has the level of quality that it deserves to be recognized? 100%. But awards are like a bonus, they just allow you to do what you want. We all make things to be seen, so just getting that reinforcement of being seen is enough. Especially something like this, where there were very few promises.”
James said he watched “Heated Rivals” about three weeks ago at the urging of his assistant. When I hinted at his racy sex scenes, she said, “What do I think about his amazing Russian accent?” “I’m thinking about how to portray his character. I think he’s adorable and kind of a leading man. I can’t wait to see where he goes next.”
Additional reporting by Kennedy French.
