The day they get cast in a role is a huge deal for any actor. It is not only a means of entering the industry, but also a way for them to start pursuing their dream. For Joe Locke, the day he got closer to his dream was when he got cast in Heartstopper. The British actor has recently been talking about his casting experience and how he reacted to it.

Let us see what the 18-year-old actor had to say.

Joe Locke on getting his role in Heartstopper

He let out a high-pitched cry when he learned he had been chosen out of 10,000 teens to portray schoolboy Charlie Spring in Netflix‘s new blockbuster drama, Heartstopper.

The actor says that the excitement of getting the role was so intense that “I just screamed.” Joe recalls the time when he got the fortunate call from his casting agent. His agent told him to sit down, and that’s when he knew he got it.

“I knew he wouldn’t have asked if I was sitting down if I hadn’t got it,” says the actor.

Locke, who grew up on the Isle of Man as the son of a schoolteacher mother and a newsagent father, avoids thinking about how he beat off 10,000 other candidates for the part “because that seems really scary.”

The actor shares his experience of being from a small town such as the Isle of Man. He says he hasn’t been in any professional acting job before Heartstopper. So for him to beat 10,000 others that too from the UK was an extraordinary experience.

“Being from the Isle of Man, it’s even harder when you don’t have access to the same sort of generic route lots of young actors would have in the UK,” says the actor about having dream of being an actor while as a young boy in the Isle of Man.

Alice Oseman’s strict casting policy

The actor then talked about how Alice, who is a writer in the show as well was adamant about giving the program a realistic feel. Thus, each casting call was limited to the characters’ actual sexual identity and ethnicity from her online comic.

Heartstopper is currently streaming on Netflix and doing very well. Let us know if you have seen the show and liked it in the comments below.