Heated Rivalry star Hudson Williams spent years working restaurant shifts and facing rejection before his breakout role as Shane Hollander, with his journey from waiter to overnight sensation defining his relatable rise to fame.
The 24-year-old actor’s life changed dramatically when the hockey romance series became a viral hit, but his path there was built on persistence, side jobs, and a deep belief in a character he felt destined to play.
The Grind Before the Goal: Waiting Tables and Chasing Auditions
For years, Hudson Williams’ acting career was balanced precariously alongside a more reliable job. To pay his rent in Vancouver, a city he describes as “more expensive than Los Angeles,” he worked as a waiter at The Old Spaghetti Factory in New Westminster. He recalls this period as living “paycheck to paycheck,” juggling long restaurant shifts with auditions whenever he got the chance.
In a candid interview, Williams reflected on the mental challenge of that time. “Walking through that door every day though, through the server’s entrance, is a little bit like… I’m not better than this, but I do feel I’m good enough at acting that I should be reaping some reward for it,” he said. He noted that while the financial struggle was real, in many ways, that life felt simpler than his current reality of sudden fame.
Landing the Role of a Lifetime: Chemistry, Casting, and a Provocative Quote
Williams’s big break came with Heated Rivalry, a series adapted from Rachel Reid’s novels. The casting process for the leads, Shane Hollander and his rival Ilya Rozanov (played by Connor Storrie), was intensely focused on finding an authentic pair. Showrunner Jacob Tierney has said the show “lives and dies with them,” so the search was for two actors who created undeniable chemistry together.
That chemistry was apparent the moment Williams and Storrie met. After his audition with Storrie, Williams told Tierney something that has since become a famous part of the show’s lore. Tierney recounted the quote: “Hudson told me, ‘The other guy was good, but Connor felt like he was going to pin me down and f*ck me.’”. That raw, instantaneous connection sealed the deal for both actors getting the parts.
For Williams, connecting with Shane Hollander was immediate and profound. “I fell in love with Shane immediately,” he said. After reading the scripts, he was so moved he cried, and felt a powerful sense of ownership: “I felt like no one else was allowed to play him. I needed to play him”.
Navigating Sudden Fame and Public Scrutiny
The success of Heated Rivalry was rapid and overwhelming. Originally produced for the Canadian streamer Crave, the show was acquired by HBO Max just before its November 2025 premiere, thrusting it—and its previously unknown stars—into a global spotlight. Williams admitted the fervor took him by surprise, saying he initially thought his social media algorithm was mistakenly convincing him the show was a hit.
With fame came intense public curiosity about the actors’ personal lives, particularly their real-life sexualities due to their on-screen romance. Both Williams and Storrie have chosen to keep their private lives private. Williams has acknowledged this scrutiny as part of “the nature of celebrity,” emphasizing his desire to maintain a level of privacy. He has also pushed back directly against gossip, famously commenting on a since-deleted social media post from gossip account Deuxmoi with, “You know what, I’ve grown quite unfond of you deuxmoi”.
The speculation often extends to the actors’ close off-screen friendship. Storrie has spoken about how their genuine comfort with each other, forged through a shared intense experience, is often misinterpreted. “It’s really interesting to watch people sexualize our very amicable signs of affection,” Storrie said, highlighting the cultural tendency to view deep male friendship through a romantic lens.
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A Foundation Built on Heritage and Hard Work
Williams’s background played a significant role in his connection to the character of Shane Hollander. He is of mixed heritage, with a Korean mother and a father of British and Dutch descent. He shared that his mother initially worried his ethnicity would make breaking into acting more difficult. Instead, for Heated Rivalry, his mixed heritage was a specific asset that aligned with the character.
Before this breakout TV role, Williams was already building a career as a multi-hyphenate creator. Alongside small TV roles in series like Tracker, he wrote, directed, and acted in several short films, including Rancid and Soakers. This behind-the-camera experience gave him a well-rounded understanding of filmmaking that he brought to the set of Heated Rivalry.
The actor’s rapid ascent was officially recognized in December 2025 when he signed with the powerhouse talent agency Creative Artists Agency (CAA), a major step in navigating his burgeoning Hollywood career.
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