But it’s Joe Locke’s role that means a lot to Kizzy. They credit Charlie’s story as “sweet” and a great inspiration to young generations navigating their sexuality, relationships and coming out. “Being awkward, a not quite comfortable gay teenager… I’m not sure it’s something that we’ve seen a lot,” they said. “It’s not comfortable to be queer. You can’t just be bold the whole time. You can’t just be yourself the whole time. It’s hard.”
Social media remains a tough relationship for many members of the Heartstopper cast to navigate. Nick Nelson actor Kit Connor tweeted about feeling forced to come out as bisexual after overwhelming and aggressive fan speculation, and accusations of queerbaiting.
Recently, Kizzy moved away from using Twitter, and admits that dealing with social media remains tricky because they want to remain connected to the show’s fans, while protecting their own peace. “I do struggle with boundaries, putting them in place and saying I don’t want to be here because that’s that’s where everyone who knows the show is,” they say. “I want them to to know that they can reach me if they they want to, if there’s something they have to say to me, that’s where I connect with him the most – much more than in real life.
“Most of us have now have realised that for our own brain, we have to have a more limited social media presence than we thought. Yeah, we’ve all taken a little step back.”
Kizzy is quick to credit Kit as a great confidante when it comes to dealing with fame. “Kit especially has given me such good advice about how to navigate this world,” they say. “He’s been in it for a long time.”
That said, Kizzy is clear that therapy is another great means of navigating the heightened reality that comes with Netflix fame. “Having someone who isn’t involved in your life to talk to is invaluable,” they say. “No one understands anyone else’s life completely, but having a place to talk about your own life is really important.
They are quick to point out, though, the injustice of the fact that this privilege and resource isn’t easily available to everyone: “Therapy is really hard to access right now through through a healthcare system. And it sucks. It really sucks.”
Kizzy wanted to be a psychologist themselves (“I like knowing people, I like talking to people”), and was going to study psychology before being cast in Heartstopper. So where now, for Kizzy? They’re likely to be a huge part of the show’s upcoming seasons – we know we’re definitely getting a third one – which are unlikely to be stopping anytime soon. Writer Alice Oseman has confirmed that there will be six graphic novels in total, with the fifth being released at the end of this year.
They’d love to direct eventually, calling themselves a “cliché” for wanting to do so. But for now, it’s all about playing Darcy – and crocheting by the seaside whenever they can to stay grounded, and not let the responsibility of acting in one of Netflix’s most game-changing TV shows get to be too much.
“I do love to crochet. I think it’s so good – I go to the sea and I crochet and I’m like, ‘this is the perfect day’. Nothing could be better than that.”
Heartstopper’s second season airs on 3 August on Netflix.