How does the proud grandmother of a small-town boy get through watching her grandson in explicit gay sex scenes on a popular TV show?
For Gayle Scarborough it’s simple. Pick up a box of Kleenex and stare at it, reading every word rather than let your eyes stray back to the small screen.
‘I’d listen until they started talking and I knew it was over,’ Gayle, who lives in Odessa, Texas, told the Daily Mail about grandson Connor Storrie’s racy scenes in the smash hit HBO hockey romance Heated Rivalry.Â
‘In case anybody’s ever holding you hostage and they want to know, Kleenexes are 8.2 inches by 8.4 inches.
‘That’s what I’d do. I pick up the Kleenex box and look at it and read it.’
It’s an understandable reaction for any mother or grandmother suddenly confronted with her 25-year-old progeny’s overnight transformation into a sex symbol as smoldering Russian hunk Ilya Rozanov.
Connor Storrie made his biggest red carpet appearance yet at the Golden Globes Sunday night, after shooting to fame playing smoldering Russian ice hockey star Ilya Rozanov in HBO’s Heated Rivalry
The Daily Mail can reveal that Storrie is really an all-American guy from west Texas who was ‘raised country’Â Â
And on Sunday, Connor Storrie made another spotlight-stealing appearance, this time at the Golden Globes, alongside co-star Hudson Williams, 24 – with the pair playing up the chemistry that made their on-screen romance such a hit.Â
But the Daily Mail can reveal that Storrie is really an all-American guy from west Texas who was ‘raised country’ and showed an early aptitude for acting after picking up a British accent from Harry Potter movies at the tender age of two.
Born in Colorado and raised in Odessa, Storrie is the first breakout star of 2026 – thanks to his lead role in the steamy HBO ice hockey drama.
His Tinseltown life couldn’t be further from his humble roots – he grew up in a town whose main claims to fame are vast quantities of oil and replicas of British landmarks Stonehenge and Shakespeare’s Globe Theatre.
‘I’m just so proud of him,’ said mom Linda, 57, speaking about her son’s newfound success for the first time.Â
‘I always knew he would make it as an actor. When he was four, he’d watch the Wizard of Oz – he knew every word and would act it out.’
Storrie and Heated Rivalry co-star Hudson Williams were seen together at the Golden Globes afterparty, reigniting fan speculation about their off-screen bond
The dynamic in the show hasn’t been seen in the NHL – which has never had an active or former player come out
Scarborough, 74, his equally proud grandmother told the Daily Mail: ‘We’re all shocked it happened this fast but we’re happy for him.
‘He’s worked really hard for this, and he’s really good at what he does. I’m so proud of him.’
She added: ‘I mean, it’s amazing. He’s gone in six weeks from unknown to suddenly everyone knows who he is.’
Heated Rivalry is a risqué romance that has become a huge hit, controversial for the X-rated sex scenes between Storrie and his Canadian co-star Williams, rivals on the fictional teams the Boston Raiders and the Montreal Metros.
Linda, the director of a senior living facility, raised Connor and his sister Tayler, 28, in Odessa largely as a single mom after divorcing her mortgage broker husband Shawn, 61, in 2008.
His grandmother Gayle shared photos with the Daily Mail from Storrie’s childhood and described him as the ‘loveliest kid’
The series’ steamy sex scenes have contributed to its attention
Divorce records seen by the Daily Mail show the pair split citing irreconcilable differences and endured a bitter fight over child support, with Tayler and Connor going to live with their mother.
Home was a modest $180,000 ranch-style property in the Odessa suburbs not far from the city’s main thoroughfare – a lonely stretch lined with convenience stores and fast-food outlets.
Despite his parents’ marital travails, charming childhood photos obtained exclusively by the Daily Mail show a happy boy with a broad smile – something he was rarely without according to devoted gran Gayle.
‘He’s just the sweetest thing,’ she told the Daily Mail. ‘He’s always been the happiest kid. I’ve been proud of him since he could walk. I mean, well, before he could walk, but he’s just the loveliest kid.’
According to his grandmother, Storrie, who moved to Odessa from Aurora, Colorado, when he was three, was ‘raised country’ – a background he shares with his co-star Williams, who grew up in the small town of Kamloops, British Colombia with his British dad and Korean mom.
Storrie’s was a classic outdoorsy Texas childhood, although his grandmother says his parents – recognizing their son’s talent early on – sent him to a primary school that emphasized drama and singing lessons.
Growing up, Storrie was his sister Tayler’s biggest source of pride, as she marveled at his ability to master nearly any talent. That belief carried them to Los Angeles when he was just 12, as they set out to chase his acting dreams
‘That boy, he always loved song and dance,’ added Gayle, although according to her, Tayler was less than impressed with his efforts.
‘His sister said to me, “You know, Nana, Connor can do anything. He can act, he can do gymnastics, he can skate, he can do anything he puts his mind to, but he can’t sing”.
‘I’m like, ‘Well, I don’t know if he can sing or not. I thought I heard him singing in this show though.’
When Storrie was 12, Linda moved her children to Los Angeles in the hopes of giving him a better shot at fame, with both the now 25-year-old and Tayler going on to study at Westlake High – a school whose alumni include Jamie Lee Curtis, Maggie and Jake Gyllenhaal, Lily Collins and Candice Bergen.
Unsurprisingly, Storrie threw himself into the school’s panoply of theatrical opportunities, starring in plays and joining a band called Sir, Please with the sons of REO Speedwagon legend Kevin Cronin.
Nonetheless, in true Hollywood style, Storrie was eking out a living as a waiter, bussing tables at the swank South Beverly Grill when Heated Rivalry director Jacob Tierney came calling.
Connor Storrie and Hudson Williams at the premiere of ‘Heated Rivalry’ November 24, in Toronto, Ontario
The series, based on a novel by Rachel Reid and written and directed by Jacob Tierney, features – as its title implies – graphic sex scenes
Since then, the instant fame that the show’s success brought has turned his life upside down: instead of waiting tables, Storrie is now at Tinseltown’s top table making hotly anticipated red carpet appearances.
But it has also come with downsides – not least the gossip surrounding his relationship with Williams which has come under scrutiny due to the pair’s undeniable onscreen chemistry.
Neither has been forthcoming about their love lives, with Storrie keen to put distance between his own life and those of the characters he plays, while Williams reacted angrily to a post on tattle account DeuxMoi that claimed he had a secret girlfriend.
Nevertheless, the pair haven’t been shy about the close friendship they struck up during filming, with Storrie and Williams hanging out together in LA over Thanksgiving and ringing in the New Year in Vancouver.
While Gayle says Storrie is enjoying each moment as it comes, she says she is concerned about the impact it might all have on his life while Linda says she watches all of her son’s interviews and speaks with him every few days.
‘I like to check in with him to make sure he’s ok but he’s excited to be where he is and he isn’t taking a second of it for granted,’ Linda told the Daily Mail.
‘He’s got real talent and now doors are opening for him. We’re grateful for everything.’
Gayle, meanwhile, hopes Odessa will remain a refuge for her now-famous grandson and a place for him to come and relax where he won’t be recognized – although given that even the staff at the nearby Texas Burrito Barn had heard of the show, that might prove a vain hope.
She says she would now like to meet Williams, adding that Storrie’s sister Tayler already has and is a big fan of the Canadian.
‘I’d love to meet Hudson – he’s a lovely boy,’ Gayle told the Daily Mail. ‘Tayler already met him at Connor’s apartment, so I hope we get to meet him too.’
But when it comes to who is the bigger star, for Gayle, there’s only one answer.Â
‘I’m not taking away from Hudson. Hudson did a good job on the show too. But of course, I’m partial to Connor.’
