“Heartstopper ”Star Joe Locke to Make Broadway Debut in “Sweeney Todd” Revival
The actor will begin his performances as Tobias on Jan. 31
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Joe Locke attends the Longchamp x Toiletpaper Pop Revolution launch partyJoe Locke is headed to Broadway!
The 20-year-old Heartstopper star will be joining the cast of Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street starting on Jan. 31, Deadline first reported.
For the Stephen Sondheim-Hugh Wheeler musical, Locke will play the role of Tobias Ragg, a character who was previously played by Stranger Things' Gaten Matarazzo and is currently played by Daniel Marconi.
Related: 'Heartstopper' 's Joe Locke Wants to Play the 'First Gay Disney Prince': 'That Would Be a Dream'
Josh Groban and Annaleigh Ashford's final performances in the musical's leading roles of Sweeney Todd and Mrs. Lovett will wrap on Jan. 14, as Aaron Tveit and Sutton Foster will debut in the musical on Feb. 9. The revival is directed by Thomas Kail and is adapted from Christopher Bond’s play.
As for Locke, the announcement of his latest role at the Lunt-Fontanne Theatre comes before he appears in the Disney+ miniseries Agatha: Darkhold Diaries, and as his star continues to rise from the hit Netflix series.
"He'll send the demons howling, dearie. The delectable @joelocke03 will be playing Tobais Ragg beginning January 31st," a post from the musical's Instagram account read on Thursday.
"See u on broadway 😭🥰 Jan 31st 🖤🔪," Locke wrote on Instagram after the announcement.
Multiple Heartstopper co-stars applauded Locke's latest achievement in the comment section of his post, including Robie Donovan and Bradley Riches. "U better slay boyyy," Riches wrote.
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Back in August, the actor opened up about his rising star, and how he has a “weird guilt” when his loved ones are impacted by his newfound fame. As he told Teen Vogue for the magazine's August cover, he felt as it "by association, their lives are affected by choices in my life."
“It's a mutual thing,” he said. “I need to learn my boundaries and people need to learn their boundaries. Most attention comes from a really good place, and I hope I always appreciate that.”
And the Heartstoppers star also has a few other dream roles on his radar. In May 2022, the actor told The Independent that he was looking to take on more projects that "mean something" to him.
"I would love to play the first gay Disney prince," Locke said. "That would be a dream."
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