10 things about 'Heartstopper' star Joe Locke

A romance is brewing, and it's catching everyone's attention. There is a romantic spark that has caught the attention of many. "Heartstopper," a screen adaptation of Alice Oseman's graphic novel, premiered in April 2022. Joe Locke's portrayal of Charlie Spring was truly exceptional.

Get to know Locke better with these ten facts about him.

Joe Locke is literally above other people with his height

Locke only has a few full-body shots on his Instagram, and his physique might deceive you for his height. The actor stands tall with a height of 5 ft 9 inches! He is a few inches shorter than his Heartstopper co-star, Kit Connor, who is 5 ft 11 inches.

Maybe the stars aligned themselves in a well-balanced manner because Locke’s star sign is a Libra.

Born on Sept. 24, 2003, the actor fell under the Libra category. He is in his last year of 'teen' at his age.

He got the role through an open casting call.

Locke got the role of Spring by attending an open casting call. It was challenging as he had to compete with other 10,000 teens wanting to play the part. Locke shared, "When I first heard about the audition, I read the comics, and I just saw so much of myself in Charlie and so much of what my school experience was like. I really wanted to be a part of the project because I felt like there are not many shows out there that depict the positives of growing up as a queer person," during an interview with Behind the Blinds.

He was six years old when he realized he wanted to pursue acting

As early as six years old, Locke had his eyes set on the career he wanted to pursue. When he was six, the actor first started auditioning for amateur productions in his local theater. Locke shared how his place of origin, the Isle of Man, intimidated him since it took a lot of work to break the industry from there. The Isle of Man is a small island off the coast of England, and it is not considered part of the United Kingdom since it is an internally self-governing dependency of the British Crown

Locke described himself back then as a 'Marvel kid', and it seemed that he manifested his role

The actor said that his first love was theater. At 10, Locke considered the stage as his second home. Playing the role of Lord Farquaad's father in Shrek the Musical has been a memorable role for him, even though he had only one line in the show. That time, he described himself as a "Marvel kid," years later, he manifested it into reality as he landed a role in the upcoming “WandaVision spin-off Agatha: Coven of Chaos.”

He is signed under the same agency housing actors such as Theo James and Lily-Rose Depp

Locke is under the talent agency of Markham Froggatt & Irwin, wherein some of its clients include Lily-Rose Depp, Dominic Cooper, Chiwetel Ejiofor, Theo James, and Ruth Negga.

'Heartstopper' was Locke’s television debut

His role as Charlie Spring is Locke's first big role to date. Spring is portrayed as high-strung and tends to overthink things with a tendency to apologize not once or twice but a lot. Locke portrayed Charlie almost perfectly, and the fact that people enjoy it sure says a lot about it!

He celebrated getting his big role in quarantine

Celebrating your wins comes in many forms, and as for Locke, it was ordering takeout and being with his dog! Locke shared that he found out he got the role during the height of the lockdown, and Locke had to isolate himself for two weeks when he returned to the Isle of Man from London. After he got the call from his agent informing him he got the role, he FaceTimed his mom and had takeaway food!

His dream role? To be Disney's first gray prince

Back in May 2022, Locke shared how he would love to play the first gay Disney prince, during an interview with The Independent.

Just this month, Locke officially opened up about his sexuality

Locke came out publicly recently and acknowledged his sexuality as gay. In an interview with Teen Vogue, Locke shared how he has been openly gay since he was 12. While people have assumed and even wrote about it, he didn’t feel the need to correct anyone until now. “It’s a weird guilt I sometimes feel that, by association, their [Locke's family’s] lives are affected by choices in my life…It’s a mutual thing. I need to learn my boundaries and people need to learn theirs. Most attention comes from a really good place, and I hope I always appreciate that." (Kyla Mari Paulo/OJT/UST)