Some actors wait years for a role that changes everything; Joe Locke got his at 17, when an open casting call for Netflix’s Heartstopper drew around 10,000 hopefuls (Empire (film magazine)), and within two years he was inside the Marvel Cinematic Universe, playing a character with direct ties to one of Marvel’s most prominent gay superheroes. This profile sorts what’s confirmed about his rise — from the Isle of Man to franchise fame — from what he has chosen to keep private.
Age: 21 (born 24 September 2003) ·
Nationality: Manx ·
Breakout Role: Charlie Spring in Heartstopper ·
Marvel Debut: Billy Maximoff in 2024 ·
Accolade: Forbes 30 Under 30 (2026) ·
Instagram: Instagram (@joelocke03)
Quick snapshot
- Born 24 September 2003 (Wikipedia (open encyclopedia))
- First TV role: Charlie Spring, an openly gay secondary-school student, in Heartstopper (Netflix Tudum (Netflix’s official news outlet))
- Made his Marvel debut as Teen in Agatha All Along (2024) (Netflix Tudum (Netflix’s official news outlet))
- Nominated for a Children’s and Family Emmy for Heartstopper (IMDb (film industry database))
- Current relationship status: not publicly confirmed in the sources reviewed for this article
- Dating history: no confirmed record
- Celebrity crush: none named publicly
- Whether he and Kit Connor have ever been more than friends
- Two years from Netflix debut (2022) to Marvel debut (2024)
- Landed his breakout role through an open casting call
- Forbes 30 Under 30 by 2026 — four years after his screen debut
- Marvel’s Wiccan is the role to watch: his character is tied to Billy Maximoff and the Wiccan identity (Yahoo Entertainment (entertainment news site))
- No upcoming projects confirmed beyond current commitments (Yahoo Entertainment (entertainment news site))
The pattern: the snapshot cards separate Locke’s confirmed record from his private life without letting the two bleed into each other.
Eight facts, one pattern: Locke’s public biography is short, consistent, and almost entirely tied to two franchises.
| Label | Value |
|---|---|
| Full Name | Joseph William Locke |
| Born | 24 September 2003 |
| Birthplace | Isle of Man |
| Occupation | Actor |
| Years Active | 2022–present |
| Known For | Heartstopper; Marvel Cinematic Universe |
| @joelocke03 | |
| Forbes 30 Under 30 | 2026 |
Is Joe Locke part of the LGBTQ+ community?
Yes. Joe Locke is openly gay, and he has been direct about it in interviews rather than treating it as a reveal. He told Yahoo Entertainment that he came out to his mother when he was 12 (Yahoo Entertainment (entertainment news site)).
The roles that made him famous have mirrored that identity. His breakout character, Charlie Spring, is gay; the Marvel character he plays in Agatha All Along is also gay (Empire, film magazine). Locke has pushed back against making sexuality the whole story — he has said the character’s sexuality is not the defining feature (Instinct Magazine (LGBTQ+ publication)).
When did Joe Locke come out?
- Age 12: came out to his mother.
- Age 12, then again at 15: first came out publicly on Instagram, deleted the post, and later came out again (Wikipedia (open encyclopedia)).
The public timeline matters because Locke was a teenager for all of it. By the time Heartstopper made him famous at 18, his sexuality was already a settled part of his story — not a headline waiting to happen.
Locke is one of the few actors who is openly gay while playing gay characters in two of the biggest franchises on television — and he has used that position to argue for characters who are more than their identity.
The implication: Locke’s sexuality was never a scandal or a late-career announcement. It was part of his life before fame, which is exactly why his casting in mainstream franchises registered as progress to so many viewers.
Is Joe Locke in a relationship?
There is no public record of Joe Locke being in a relationship. He has not confirmed a partner, and none of the interviews reviewed for this article mentions a girlfriend or boyfriend.
Does Joe Locke have a wife?
- No — Locke is not married, and there is no documentation of a spouse anywhere in his public history.
- At 21, the more relevant detail is that he keeps his private life off the record.
The question tends to come from newer fans who discover him through Heartstopper and assume the actor behind Charlie’s romance lives as openly on the personal side as his character does. He doesn’t — or at least, he hasn’t chosen to share it.
Any confirmed relationship would be major fan news. But as of the sources reviewed here, there is nothing to confirm — treat viral “boyfriend” claims as unverified.
The pattern: Locke is highly visible on screen and highly guarded off it. For someone whose public brand is emotional openness, the silence around romance is a deliberate choice, not an oversight.
Who has Joe Locke dated?
The short answer: nobody in the public record. Locke has been acting professionally since 2022 and has never confirmed a dating history.
Is Joe Locke dating Kit Connor?
- No confirmed relationship between Locke and co-star Kit Connor exists in any source reviewed for this article.
- Neither actor has publicly confirmed dating the other. Fan speculation based on their Heartstopper chemistry remains just that.
- No confirmed past relationships with anyone else have been reported either.
Connor plays Nick Nelson, Charlie’s boyfriend in Heartstopper, which makes the two actors the face of one of streaming’s most popular romances. Their obvious closeness in interviews has kept the “are they dating?” question circling since the show’s first season.
The trade-off: when a show romanticizes its leads this effectively, audiences will read the actors’ friendship as evidence. The absence of a confirmation isn’t a secret confession — it’s just an unanswered question.
Did Joe Locke and Kit Connor actually kiss?
Yes — on screen. Heartstopper is built around Charlie and Nick’s romance, and Locke and Connor filmed the show’s kissing scenes as part of their performances (Netflix Tudum (Netflix’s official news outlet)). Locke was 17 when Heartstopper was filmed (IMDb (film industry database)) — the kind of early start that echoes another Netflix-era breakout, Finn Wolfhard: Age, Height, Net Worth & Career Facts (2025 Update), who went from Stranger Things to IT and Ghostbusters.
Do actors actually kiss in kissing scenes?
- Usually, yes — the actors perform the kiss, and the director shapes how it reads on camera.
- In Heartstopper’s case, the kisses were scripted scenes performed by Locke and Connor as Charlie and Nick, not improvised moments.
Neither actor has framed those scenes as anything more than professional acting. The “did they really kiss?” question conflates the characters with the performers — and the real-life relationship between Locke and Connor has never been confirmed as romantic.
Which actor refuses to kiss?
- No public reporting documents a Heartstopper cast member refusing to film a kissing scene.
- The question appears to come from general curiosity about on-set intimacy, not from anything any cast member has said.
The catch: treating a scripted performance as a relational clue misses the point. Locke and Connor did their jobs convincingly enough that audiences keep asking — and that’s the compliment.
Who is Joe Locke’s celebrity crush?
Locke has never publicly named a celebrity crush in any source reviewed for this article. It is one of the most-searched questions about him, and the answer remains a blank.
- No named celebrity crush appears in his interviews or on his social media.
- His public image is carefully managed, and personal details that don’t serve his work rarely surface.
This is probably deliberate. Locke has built his career on being open about identity while staying quiet about romance, and the crush question lands on the quieter side of that line.
The implication: for a star whose fandom runs on warmth, the crush question is one of the few doors he keeps closed. The absence of an answer is itself the answer.
Career timeline: from the Isle of Man to the MCU
Four dates tell the whole story: a childhood on a small island, a Netflix audition, a Marvel casting, and a spot on a global list.
- 24 September 2003 — born on the Isle of Man (Empire, film magazine).
- 2022 — Heartstopper premieres on Netflix, making Charlie Spring a breakout role (Netflix Tudum, Netflix’s official news outlet).
- 2024 — Agatha All Along premieres on Disney+, with Locke playing the mysterious Teen (Wikipedia, open encyclopedia).
- 2026 — named to the Forbes 30 Under 30 – Europe – Entertainment list.
What this means: two franchise-defining roles in two years. For context, Charlie Cox had been playing Daredevil for years before Marvel fully folded him into the cinematic universe (Charlie Cox: Daredevil Role, Net Worth & Personal Life); Locke’s Marvel arc is only beginning.
Confirmed facts vs. what’s still unclear
Confirmed facts
- Locke is openly gay and came out to his mother at age 12 (Yahoo Entertainment, entertainment news site).
- He played Charlie Spring, an openly gay secondary-school student, in Heartstopper (Netflix Tudum, Netflix’s official news outlet).
- He made his Marvel debut as Teen in Agatha All Along (2024) (Wikipedia, open encyclopedia).
- He received a Children’s and Family Emmy nomination for Heartstopper (IMDb, film industry database).
What’s unclear
- His current relationship status.
- His dating history, including any past relationships.
- Whether he and Kit Connor have ever been more than friends.
- Whether he has a celebrity crush — none has been named publicly.
- What his next project after current commitments will be.
The split matters: the confirmed list covers his work and identity; the unclear list covers his private life. That’s the inverse of most celebrity profiles, and it’s exactly why Locke’s personal life generates so much speculation.
Joe Locke in his own words
Two moments from Locke’s interviews capture the arc of his public image: one about the era he grew up in, one about the kind of character he wants to play.
“I think I have been lucky enough to grow up in quite a positive time.”
Joe Locke, in an interview with Soho House
On his Agatha All Along character, Locke’s position is consistent: the character’s sexuality is not the defining feature of the character.
Reported by Instinct Magazine (LGBTQ+ publication)
The thread: Locke treats his identity as something to be open about but not performed. In both quotes, he is doing the same thing — acknowledging representation’s weight while refusing to be reduced to it.
Locke’s rise is the rare kind that changes the actor’s career and the industry’s expectations at the same time. For young LGBTQ+ actors, his playbook — come out early, stay grounded, choose roles with meaning — is now a visible template, and the faster his career moves, the more the industry has to follow. For Locke himself, the decision ahead is whether to keep growing inside franchise machinery or to test himself in smaller, riskier parts.
Frequently asked questions
Are the actors in Heartstopper actually LGBTQ?
Joe Locke, who plays Charlie Spring, is openly gay in real life, and the series was celebrated for centering LGBTQ+ stories. Kit Connor plays Nick Nelson, Charlie’s boyfriend.
Is Kit Connor LGBTQ in real life?
Kit Connor hasn’t made a public statement about his identity in the sources reviewed for this article. What’s documented is that he plays Nick Nelson, Charlie’s boyfriend in Heartstopper, opposite Joe Locke.
Has Kit Connor ever dated Joe Locke?
There is no confirmed record that Kit Connor and Joe Locke have ever dated. They are co-stars and close friends, and their on-screen romance has fueled fan speculation, but neither actor has confirmed a relationship.
What is Joe Locke’s height?
Locke’s exact height is not officially published in the sources reviewed for this article. It has become a common fan question, but no verified figure from Locke or his team is available.
Who are Joe Locke’s parents?
Locke has not publicly identified his parents by name. He has spoken about coming out to his mother at age 12, but otherwise keeps his family out of the spotlight.
What are Joe Locke’s upcoming movies?
No upcoming film projects have been confirmed in the sources reviewed for this article. His current major commitment is his Marvel role, with his Agatha All Along character tied to Billy Maximoff and the Wiccan identity.
How old is Joe Locke?
Joe Locke is 21 years old, born 24 September 2003 on the Isle of Man.
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Richard Vane is Senior Reporter at MorningTimes.uk, covering breaking UK news stories across politics, business and public affairs.