‘Heartstopper’ Star Joe Locke on His Gloriously Gritty Broadway Debut in ‘Sweeney Todd’

As a young boy, Joe Locke performed at school and in amateur plays, but he never imagined he’d one day be singing in front of 1,500 people a night on Broadway. It was through theater that he met most of his friends, and where he says he found himself. One of his favorite roles growing up was Oliver, which, if you’ve met him—he’s rakish and shy—makes perfect sense. He laughs about it, mocking himself for being typecast as a Victorian orphan child, “But that was a long time ago.”

Known for his breakout role as Charlie Spring in the hit Netflix show Heartstopper, Locke has now returned to his theatrical roots: He arrived in New York in early January to begin rehearsals for his Broadway debut in Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street, Stephen Sondheim and Hugh Wheeler’s Grand Guignol–style classic. Locke plays Tobias Ragg, the young apprentice to a phony barber, who is eventually taken in by the owner of a local pie shop, Mrs. Lovett, and involved in a grisly plot. Sweeney Todd is a show far grimmer than the heartwarming, feel-good teen drama that Locke found success in—but so far, he’s enjoying the change of pace.

The 20-year-old stars alongside Broadway legends Aaron Tveit and Sutton Foster, and is loving his new life in New York; he describes it as “a grittier and more-alive London.” Walking around, he likes to imagine stories for all the passerby he encounters—and, after a long day of performing, he’ll often order from one of New York’s finest: Chipotle.

After completing his first week of shows, Locke sat down with Vogue to talk about pre-show jitters, his upcoming Marvel series, and breaking out of his Heartstopper mold.

Vogue: You’ve been doing these shows for just over a week now. How does it feel?

Joe Locke: I’m starting to enjoy it now. I didn’t enjoy it at first—the first week was like, I don’t know what I’m doing. Am I in the right place? What am I supposed to do now? Where am I going now? I was terrified, and now I am less terrified. But I’m starting to know what I’m doing now and getting a bit cocky with it. The other day I was like, Oh, I’ve got ages, I don’t need to put my wig on…until I’m like, Oh, shit, shit, I need to be on stage in two minutes, and I’m rushing around. It’s fun. And everyone is so great. Film and TV is great, but this is always what I’ve loved since I was a kid.