Does Kit Connor Speak French? — All You Need to Know

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The show Heartstopper has been the talk of many fans across the world recently, especially with the recent renewal announcement for season 3.  

The actor Kit Connor who plays the main character from the show is once again in the spotlight as fans buckle down and prepare for another season full of laughter and tears.  

Since the release of season 2, a common question people ask when discussing the young heartthrob is one that he addressed specifically during multiple interviews.

 

Does Kit Connor Speak French?

Kit Connor, the lead actor in the hit TV show Heartstopper does not speak French. Although his character Nick Nelson speaks French in the series, the actor himself is not fluent in the language. He knows a few words of French, but is not at the level of being conversational. 

[Minor spoiler warnings for Heartstopper season 2 ahead!]

Of course, Kit looks and sounds good when speaking French during the series. His character’s father is French and lives in Paris, though the two are estranged.

Nick winds up traveling to Paris to finally meet his father and introduce his partner, and speaks a bit of French throughout the journey. 

Seeing these scenes, you would assume that Kit speaks French himself- but this is not the case. How on earth was he able to do those lines then?

 

Kit Connor Took French Classes in School

Kit told producers of the show that he had spoken French “here and there” during his initial audition for the character. 

When it came time to filming, however, the reality of it was that he could only speak a few words of the language. His learning had covered only the basics while he was in school.

Kit admitted to having nightmares about not being able to speak well enough, and fretted immensely over the scenes even after the filming was completed.

 

Kit Connor had a French Teacher for Heartstopper

While season 1 did not have any sweet “je t’aime’s” or “I love you’s”, season 2 involved multiple scenes where Kit spoke the language.

Prior to the filming of season 2, the producers enrolled Kit in French language and pronunciation classes to prepare for filming.

When describing the classes, Kit told HITC in an interview “We focused on trying to make me sound like I knew how to speak French as much as possible.

Just seeing how far we could go with that.”

Though he describes his teacher as being “really lovely, but also a bit scary”, it seems that she was able to coach him well enough to make the scenes effective.

“I think French people will see it and be like, “Aw, he’s trying” Kit says, speaking of his French speaking scenes from season 2.

But what did French fans actually think of Kit Connor’s accent? Luckily, we know the answer thanks to a few fans who gave their opinions online.

 

Kit Connor’s French is Believable to Native French Speakers

In a Reddit thread regarding French speaker’s thoughts on Kit Connor’s performance, the general consensus was that he spoke very well, but did not sound like a native speaker.

This is perfect for his character Nick, as Nick is supposed to be a half-French child with very thin ties to his French father. 

His father was not involved in his life much growing up, so it makes sense that Nick’s French wouldn’t be perfect. 

Imperfection doesn’t stop Nick’s boyfriend Charlie from thinking his accent is beautiful and romantic, however. 

As is true for many non-speakers of French, hearing the language somehow makes him weak at the knees and just a little bit infatuated.

So thankfully, Kit has survived his ordeals with season 2’s French speaking scenes. But what will await him in the recently announced season 3?

 

 

Kit Connor will Likely Speak French in Season 3

Most fans know that Heartstopper was based on a graphic novel by Alice Oseman. 

The TV series generally follows the events of the novel. If Heartstopper doesn’t stray too far from the original story, we can expect there to be additional French-speaking scenes during season 3.

Some of the scenes in question get a bit emotional, so it’s presumed that Kit is continuing his French lessons in preparation for them (though this has yet to be officially confirmed). 

Hopefully sometime in 2024, Kit will be a bit more fluent in the language and be able to handle the filming with less stress and anxiety. 

Until season 3 is released, we’ll just have to wait and see. “Until then”, or shall we say, “jusque-là!”