Connor Storrie Circling Craig Zobel Thriller ‘Turpentine’

Published: Apr 23 2026

Recently, a leaked casting notice hinted that Connor Storrie would star alongside Melissa McCarthy in a new film titled Turpentine. Now, we can confirm that he's in talks to lead the thriller from The Penguin's Craig Zobel. While no details have been revealed about the role to be played by the Heated Rivalry star, the news of his involvement follows our story yesterday about McCarthy circling the project.

Based on a script by Justin Varava that made the 2024 Black List, Turpentine follows a deadbeat son who hires friends to rob his own parents to pay off a bookie, with disastrous results. Rian Johnson and Ram Bergman's T-Street is set to produce alongside Shivani Rawat's ShivHans Pictures.

Connor Storrie Circling Craig Zobel Thriller ‘Turpentine’ 1

Storrie has emerged as one of the most sought-after names in show business following the breakout success of Heated Rivalry, the queer hockey romance from Crave/HBO Max where he stars opposite Hudson Williams. He's thus had his pick of projects and made the most of the moment, most recently entering talks to join the A24 comedy Peaked from Molly Gordon and Allie Levitan, as we first reported.

Storrie's Heated Rivalry, an adaptation of the novels by Rachel Reid, centers on two fiercely competitive NHL superstars - Canadian Shane Hollander (Williams) and Russian Ilya Rozanov (Storrie) - who begin a secret, years-long enemies-with-benefits affair that slowly evolves into an all-consuming love neither of them is prepared to face. Created, written, and directed by Jacob Tierney, the show averaged over 10.6 million U.S. viewers on HBO Max in its first season, breaking ground as the platform's most-watched acquired scripted series, and is heading into its second season.

Prior to starring in Heated Rivalry, Storrie appeared in smaller roles in projects like Tiny Beautiful Things and Joker: Folie à Deux. He recently made his debut as host of Saturday Night Live and is represented by CAA, Atlas Artists, and Yorn, Levine, Barnes.

View all