Heartstopper star Joe Locke has spilt the tea on his upcoming Broadway debut.
Back in December, the 20-year-old talent announced that he would be starring in the hit musical Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street.
“See you on Broadway, Jan 31st,” he wrote on Instagram, alongside a crying emoji.
In addition to Locke’s heartwarming post, the musical’s social media pages confirmed that he would be playing the young apprentice Tobias Ragg.
Since that fateful day, the emerging talent has put all his energy toward preparing for his highly anticipated debut.
Fortunately for fans, Locke shared new details about joining the popular musical and his character during an interview with The New York Times.
When reflecting on his journey to Broadway, the young talent revealed that watching Next to Normal on the West End prompted him to ask his agent for a musical role.
“I was like, ‘I want to do a musical so bad,'” he told the publication.
He added that shortly after submitting his inquiry, his agent was sent an email from the Sweeney Todd team about the Tobias Ragg role.
Elsewhere in his interview, Locke gave insight into how he gets into character, stating: “The easiest way to play him is that he’s a bit simple – he’s not a full egg, as the Irish would say.
“But I think he’s a very street-smart character who’s survived in a world where people like him shouldn’t survive.”
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Lastly, the beloved performer expressed his love for Stephen Sondheim, who wrote the music and lyrics for Sweeney Todd.
“In one of the songs that my character in Sweeney Todd sings, Sondheim rhymes the word “buy” with three different spellings – buying something, saying goodbye and “by,” like b-y,” he explains.
“It’s in the same harmony, but [a bunch of] people singing different parts, using the same word but meaning different things. I don’t think anyone else would ever think to do that.”
Aside from his Broadway debut, 2024 is looking to be a busy year for Locke.
In September, his highly anticipated Marvel series, Agatha: Darkhold Diaries, is set to premiere on Disney+.
The show will follow the adventures of spellcaster Agatha Harkness (Kathryn Hahn) – who was last seen trapped in Westview after the events of 2021’s WandaVision.
The ensemble cast also includes Aubrey Plaza, Patti LuPone, David Payton, Asif Ali, Amos Glick, Kate Forbes, Brian Brightman, Ali Ahn, Maria Dizzia, Sasheer Zamata, Miles Gutierrez-Riley and Okwui Okpokwasili.
In an interview with Hunger Magazine, Locke described the series as a “very important show” that steps away from the usual superhero mould.
“Agatha is a very special and different Marvel project. I’m very proud of it, and I think it’s going to be really f**king good,” he said.
Lastly, Locke is set to reprise his role as the lovable Charlie Spring in Heartstopper season three, which wrapped up production in December 2023.
As of this writing, a release date has yet to be confirmed, but if it follows the same pattern as season two, which launched in August 2023, fans should be treated to new episodes later this year.
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