'Heated Rivalry' Star Connor Storrie in Talks for Marvel's 'Ghost Rider' Villain Role Opposite Ryan Gosling

Connor Storrie's rapid rise from restaurant waiter to Heated Rivalry breakout star could now take another dramatic turn. The 26-year-old actor is reportedly in talks to play a villain opposite Ryan Gosling in Marvel Studios' Ghost Rider.

Storrie shot to fame as Russian hockey player Ilya Rozanov in the HBO Max romantic sports drama, which became one of 2025's breakout hits and has a second season on the way. The reported Marvel talks would mark another major step for Storrie, whose breakout performance in Heated Rivalry has quickly propelled him from television newcomer to one of Hollywood's rising young stars.

Connor Storrie Eyes Ghost Rider Villain Role

Storrie's potential Marvel role is being kept under wraps, and the identity of the character has not been revealed. According to entertainment media coverage, the undisclosed role is described as a villain opposite Gosling, who was announced as the star of Marvel's Ghost Rider earlier this year.

The project is being directed by Shawn Levy, who previously helmed Deadpool & Wolverine for Marvel, with Jonathan Tropper writing the screenplay. Gosling and Levy are also collaborating on Star Wars: Starfighter, adding another major project to their working relationship.

Ghost Rider is scheduled to arrive in cinemas on 28 July 2028. Production is expected to begin in New York in 2027. Dune: Part Three cinematographer Linus Sandgren is also reportedly attached to shoot the film on 35mm.

From Waiter to Stardom

Storrie's possible leap into the Marvel Cinematic Universe comes less than a year after he was still working in restaurants. In an interview with the TODAY Show in January 2026, Storrie said he had spent eight years working in restaurants before landing the role of Ilya. He said he almost lost his job on the same day he learned he had been cast in Heated Rivalry, after receiving a poor customer review and being given a 'last warning' at work.

'I was working at a restaurant, I worked at restaurants for eight years,' Storrie shared. He said he looked at his phone during a break and discovered he had received a missed call telling him he had landed the part.

'The day that I found out that I had booked Heated Rivalry, I actually almost got fired from my restaurant,' he said.

The casting opportunity transformed his career. He also appeared in Joker: Folie à Deux and is set to feature in Sarah Polley's adaptation of The Bell Jar.

A Marvel role would mark a move from his television breakthrough into a major studio franchise.

Ryan Gosling Leads Marvel's Ghost Rider

Gosling was announced as the star of Marvel's Ghost Rider earlier this year, with Levy attached to direct. The film will centre on Johnny Blaze, the character most closely associated with the Ghost Rider identity in Marvel Comics.

Marvel has not publicly identified Storrie's character, and the studio has not confirmed the reported casting. The actor's potential involvement nevertheless places him opposite one of Hollywood's biggest stars in one of Marvel's most anticipated supernatural projects.

For Storrie, the reported Ghost Rider talks mark another striking step in a career that has accelerated rapidly since Heated Rivalry introduced him to a global audience.