Hudson Williams is now an award-winning actor. Williams, who played Shane Hollander in the breakout hit Heated Rivalry, has won Best Lead Performer (Drama Series) at the 2026 Canadian Screen Awards. And we’re here to say he deserves it, 100%.
Williams wasn’t the only Heated Rivalry star nominated in the category. François Arnaud was also nominated for his role as Scott Hunter. Connor Storrie, who plays Ilya Rozanov, the other lead in the show, wasn’t, because these are the Canadian Screen Awards. Williams, however, was clear in his speech: if he could split the award in half, he would. Storrie deserves half the credit.
This is both a testament to their friendship and to the fact that the show begins and ends with both of them. Connor Storrie also deserves awards for his work as Ilya Rozanov. He just can’t get them because of a technicality. So it’s great to see Williams recognize how good Storrie also is, and celebrate him.
But we have to take this moment to talk about Williams and about what he achieved with Shane Hollander.
I read Heated Rivalry during the worst of the pandemic, not that long after the book originally came out. Back then, I never imagined seeing it adapted, but I always had this sense that Shane would be a really hard character to bring to life. So much of what makes you relate to him in the book, what makes you love him, is internal monologue. Even in my imagination, Shane only worked because I knew what he was thinking.
So, imagine my surprise when I saw the first promo footage of the show, and this actor I had never heard of seemed to be nailing such a hard role. But even so, I was cautious. Making Shane believable in a few scenes where it was mostly a back and forth between him and Ilya seemed way easier than nailing his internal conflict in the moments when he didn’t have anyone else to act with.
Perhaps the moment I knew Williams had Shane down pat was the moment in Episode 1, in the locker room, just before Ilya walks up to him. You know, when Shane is just there, casually pretending he’s not waiting, and then awkwardly trying to convince Ilya that he doesn’t desperately want him. Ilya could see through him. But, even better, so could we. He didn’t need to say all that much. It was all written on his face.
He got better at it, too. At being Shane. At showing us who Shane was, even when Shane didn’t have the words. In fact, he became so good at it that sometimes we understood what Shane wanted and needed even when Shane himself wasn’t sure. And that was only Season 1 Shane! Can you imagine what he might do with the more meaty material of The Long Game? I can, and I’m honestly very excited.
So yes, Hudson Williams deservedly won an award for his role as Shane Hollander. It felt like a foregone conclusion, but not because the show was big. Not because we all fell in love with the story. No, Hudson Williams won an award because he was very, very good at playing Shane Hollander. Simple as that.
Heated Rivalry is available to stream on HBO Max in the US.
