Who is Connor Jessup? 8 facts you (probably) didn't know about the Locke & Key star

Netflix’s creepy new series Locke & Key will introduce viewers to the talents of Connor Jessup - but the actor has actually been performing on screen since he was 11.

Jessup plays Tyler in the supernatural series, which is based on a series of comics by Joe Hill, son of famed horror author Stephen King.

The Netflix series revolves around a family who move to their ancestral home in Massachusetts following the murder of their father - only to find the house has magical keys, which they must use against a sinister creature that wants their powers.

How well do you know Connor Jessup? Here are eight things you probably didn’t know…

1. He’s Canadian

While he often plays Americans on screen, Jessup was born and raised in Toronto, Canada.

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It’s the last day of filming on LOCKE & KEY. It’s been a wildly moving five months. I can’t wait for you to join us in Keyhouse next year! 🔐💕

A post shared by Connor Jessup (@connorwjessup) on Jul 5, 2019 at 11:51am PDT

He started out acting in Canadian films and TV shows, and won critical acclaim for his roles in the independent features Blackbird and Closet Monster.

2. He’s actually 25

While he plays a high schooler in Locke & Key, Jessup is actually 25, born June 23, 1994.

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here’s looking at you

A post shared by Connor Jessup (@connorwjessup) on Jul 9, 2019 at 10:50am PDT

3. He came out publicly last year

While he revealed he has been out to his family and friends for years, Connor Jessup came out publicly via Instagram last year.

He said he knew he was gay at the age of 13, but decided to address his sexuality because he didn’t want to be “complicit, even peripherally, in the idea that being gay is a problem to be solved or hushed.”

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I knew I was gay when I was thirteen, but I hid it for years. I folded it and slipped it under the rest of my emotional clutter. Not worth the hassle. No one will care anyway. If I can just keep making it smaller, smaller, smaller.... My shame took the form of a shrug, but it was shame. I’m a white, cis man from an upper-middle class liberal family. Acceptance was never a question. But still, suspended in all this privilege, I balked. It took me years. It’s ongoing. I’m saying this now because I have conspicuously not said it before. I’ve been out for years in my private life, but never quite publicly. I’ve played that tedious game. Most painfully, I’ve talked about the gay characters I’ve played from a neutral, almost anthropological distance, as if they were separate from me. These evasions are bizarre and embarrassing to me now, but at the time they were natural. Discretion was default, and it seemed benign. It would be presumptuous to assume anyone would care, yeah? And anyway, why should I have to say anything? What right do strangers have to the intimate details of my life? These and other background whispers––new, softer forms of the same voices from when I was thirteen, fourteen, fifteen.... Shame can come heavy and loud, but it can come quiet too; it can take cover behind comfort and convenience. But it’s always violent. For me, this discretion has become airless. I don’t want to censor––consciously or not––the ways I talk, sit, laugh, or dress, the stories I tell, the jokes I make, my points of reference and connection. I don’t want to be complicit, even peripherally, in the idea that being gay is a problem to be solved or hushed. I’m grateful to be gay. Queerness is a solution. It’s a promise against cliche and solipsism and blandness; it’s a tilted head and an open window. I value more everyday the people, movies, books, and music that open me to it. If you’re gay, bi, trans, two-spirit or questioning, if you’re confused, if you’re in pain or you feel you’re alone, if you aren’t or you don’t: You make the world more surprising and bearable. To all the queers, deviants, misfits, and lovers in my life: I love you. I love you. Happy Pride!

A post shared by Connor Jessup (@connorwjessup) on Jun 23, 2019 at 8:01pm PDT

4. He directs as well as acts

Jessup has written and directed a number of short films, and has expressed in interviews his desire to work behind the camera as well as in front.

His shorts have premiered at the Toronto International Film Festival, and he has contributed films to projects for independent film bodies such as Criterion Collection and Strand Releasing.

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my documentary AW, about the great thai filmmaker Apichatpong Weerasethakul, is now on the heavenly Criterion Channel. (And it’s available in Canada for the first time!) Via @criterioncollection ・・・ For our latest MEET THE FILMMAKERS documentary, A.W. A PORTRAIT OF APICHATPONG WEERASETHAKUL, @connorwjessup traveled to the Colombian jungle to craft an intimate, rare, and disarmingly lyrical profile of one of contemporary cinema’s most beguiling artists 🎥🦀🌊 Weerasethakul infuses the mundane with otherworldly mystery, exploring the slippery nature of time and consciousness in surreal films like TROPICAL MALADY, CEMETERY OF SPLENDOR, and UNCLE BOONMEE WHO CAN RECALL HIS PAST LIVES. Watch these and more alongside the documentary now on the Criterion Channel!

A post shared by Connor Jessup (@connorwjessup) on Jun 3, 2019 at 11:15am PDT

5. And he’s a major film buff

Jessup made a short documentary about acclaimed independent Thai filmmaker Apichatpong Weerasethakul, and regularly shares his love for new independent cinema.

He recently raved about Greta Gerwig’s Little Women, saying it was made with “outrageous, overpowering skill and grace“.

6. He’s a regular on TV

Jessup’s first major role outside of Canada was on the Stephen Spielberg-produced sci fi series Falling Skies, which he was on for five seasons.

He won acclaim for his performances on the anthology series American Crime, in which he starred alongside Felicity Huffman, Regina King and Timothy Hutton.

7. He loves his dogs

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warmest new years wishes from my wife and me ✨

A post shared by Connor Jessup (@connorwjessup) on Jan 1, 2020 at 3:33pm PST

And so do we. Jessup frequently shares adorable photos of his tiny pups on his Instagram profile.

8. He's dating 13 Reasons Why star Miles Heizer

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I’m late but I love you, you’re good, you make me better, happy v+1 day 💚

A post shared by Connor Jessup (@connorwjessup) on Feb 15, 2020 at 4:21pm PST

Jessup confirmed he is dating 13 Reasons Why star Miles Heizer in a belated Valentine's Day post on his Instagram profile.

"I’m late but I love you, you’re good, you make me better, happy v+1 day," he wrote.

The first season of Locke & Key is available to stream on Netflix now.