When it came to embodying the character of Ilya Rozanov in "Heated Rivalry," Connor Storrie, a Texas native and seasoned actor, had a well-thought-out game plan. The star, who shared the screen with Hudson Williams and François Arnaud in the Rachel Reid adaptation, has left fans in awe with his flawless Russian accent and speaking abilities.
In an interview released on Jan. 5 by "Behind the Blinds," Connor revealed that it was all about consistency and practice. "From the moment I stepped out of the car on set, I started speaking with the accent to all the PAs, ADs, hair, makeup, and wardrobe people. I stayed in it until the last cut of the day. It wasn't because I was 'in character,' but because it gave me an hour and a half to warm up," he explained.
Despite initially feeling "ridiculous" about his accent, Connor persevered. "You think, 'I don't sound like that,'" he continued. "Of course you don't. But if you normalize it—for yourself and for the people around you—it starts to feel real. I think that's why people convince themselves they're bad at accents. They don't give themselves permission to sound wrong at first."
Even Connor was surprised by his ability to make "Heated Rivalry" fans believe he was born and raised in Russia. "Anyone who's heard me talk about this knows that when I read this, I was like, 'It's not going to be me,'" he recalled in an interview with "Much Music" alongside Hudson, referring to the difficulty of a Russian accent. "I pulled it off, baby."
Of course, Connor isn't the only star who has changed their speaking voice for a role. Austin Butler and Ariana Grande both made headlines for how their dialects permanently changed after performing their roles in "Elvis" and "Wicked," respectively. For Ariana, it came down to the register she needed to sing in as Glinda the Good.
"I'll change my vocal placement to kind of preserve," she explained on the "Smartless" podcast last February. "But that is just something that's healthy for the voice. It's basically just pitching your voice up a tiny bit."
While Ariana's permanent vocal placement change is intentional, Austin admitted he had to take extra measures to stop sounding like The King.
"I had a dialect coach just to help me not sound like Elvis," Austin said during a 2024 appearance on "The Late Show with Stephen Colbert." "It was a whole thing."
