Joe Locke teases ‘camp’ Coven of Chaos and Heartstopper season two: ‘It’s still gentle’
"Our show's never gonna be Euphoria."
Joe Locke has teased more info about Heartstopper season two and his upcoming Marvel series.
The 19-year-old actor is reprising his role as Charlie Spring in Heartstopper season 2. He’s also appearing in Agatha: Coven of Chaos, alongside Kathryn Hahn, Patti LuPone, and Aubrey Plaza.
Having previously cited a desire to play a queer Marvel superhero-type character, it seemed Joe was on track after he was announced to be joining the Disney+ series.
The actor told Entertainment Weekly (EW) recently, “I had never been that determined about anything before, which I think meant that I was putting my energy into it. But I also think I’ve just been one of the luckiest people in the world in the last two years.”
Joe also teased: “I think there’ll be some camp.”
Coven of Chaos follows on from WandaVision, which ended with the villainess, Agatha Harkness (Hahn) trapped as her alter ego ‘Agnes’ by Wanda Maxmimoff after trying to steal the latter’s magic.
On working with the rest of the cast Joe said he had learned a lot from his co-stars. “About how to act as a person, as a lead of a show, as an actor respecting the crew. I learned a lot about the actor that I want to be from these women.”
In April LuPone seemed to break form on openly discussing details of the show when she appeared on US talk show The View.
As well as explaining her own character (Lilia Calderu) LuPone spouted: “We are a coven of witches and the witches are: Kathryn Hahn, Aubrey Plaza, and the Familiar, if anybody knows Heartstopper, is Joe Locke.”
Joe was full of love for LuPone telling EW: “She didn’t have any filter because she’s Patti LuPone.” He also said: “She’s incredible and I love her so much, but I remember we were all on set watching the interview and we were like, ‘No! Patti, stop talking! Stop talking!’ It was like a ripple effect. Everyone was like, ‘Have you seen Patti’s interview?!'”
“I just want to bring a lot of edge to it”
The Heartstopper star also addressed the second season of the hit Netflix LGBTQ YA series. Season 2 is due to debut in August 2023.
Commenting on the slightly heavier tone and content of season 2 Joe said: “Our show’s never gonna be Euphoria. But I think that our show’s maturing with the characters. As they grow up, the show grows up. Season 2 is not just gentle, but it’s still gentle.”
Joe also voiced a desire to play a “dark role” after his roles in Heartstopper and Coven of Chaos.
“I just want to bring a lot of edge to it and show that I can do more than just sickly sweet,” he told EW.
Heartstopper season 2 airs on 3 August. Agatha: Coven of Chaos is expected to debut on Disney+ in 2024.