Getting Ready With Will Gao
In another life, Heartstopper actor Will Gao could have been an opera singer. He was first introduced to music through a professional boys choir, travelling around the world performing, until the dreaded day arrived: his voice dropped. Music took a backseat. Until five years ago, when the 21-year-old decided to join forces with his sister, Olivia Hardy, and start their band, Wasia Project.
“I needed to find different outlets,” he says to me over the phone. “Because professionally, to become a tenor or a baritone, you need years and years to grow your voice. I really wanted to find a new outlet for that kind of [creative] expression, and theatre and pop music became part of that. It led me to where I am today.”
For Gao, ‘today’ is quite busy. He’s speaking to me just before a flight to Milan with his sister, where they will be sitting front row at the Prada AW25 show and explore the city for the first time.
Last year was also quite busy, too. Wasia Project released their EP, Isotope, and subsequently went on their first UK headline tour, as well as a European tour supporting singer-songwriter Tom Odell.
And, of course, he was working on the aforementioned show that propelled him into the public eye in the first place. In 2024, season three of queer coming-of-age Netflix hit, Heartstopper, aired on the small screen and ranked in the top 10 Netflix TV shows in 58 countries. His role as Charlie’s (Joe Locke) best friend, Tao Xu, has gained the 21-year-old a devoted fanbase: Gao currently has 2.1million Instagram followers.
“I mean, in hindsight, it's been a pretty crazy few years,” he says, sharing that he was offered the role on his 18th birthday.
Now, hungry internet fandoms have been wondering where the streaming show will go next, with the potential documentation of the character’s step-up to university making prime material for another season. Alice Oseman – the show’s creator, and writer of the graphic novels its based upon – hopes that “the show gets to have a proper ending!”, as well as Gao.
“The main thing is, even if it did finish at [season] three, it’s been a beautiful story,” he says. “I've learned so much about professional life and life in general.”
While acting and making music are two different creative mediums, for Gao, they have a lot of commonalities. Wasia Project’s first EP ‘how can I pretend’ and the first season of Heartstopper were released in 2022. He was writing their latest EP ‘Isotope’ while filming season two, where the band’s single ‘ur so pretty’ played as part of the show’s soundtrack. This kind of job-juggling overlap might be hard to handle for some, but not for Gao.
“It's like a yin and yang,” he says. “Creatively, when you're so down a rabbit hole of one project, this other part of your brain opens up and becomes more open to ideas. I think the pendulum swinging is really important for my work and my creativity.”
For this weekend’s work commitment, Gao is dressed in Prada’s take of a French workwear jacket, while the chunky loafers, wide-leg trousers and dark earthy tones reflect the pieces he likes to incorporate as part of his self-proclaimed “random and in-between” personal style.
Since stepping into the public eye, his grooming routine has also stepped up – likely induced by his Heartstopper character being renowned for the curls poking out under his beanie.
“My biggest advice came from a friend in his forties: moisturise, moisturise, moisturise!” he shares of the tips he’s learnt on the way, becoming particularly attached to Prada Beauty’s Augmented Skin. “Good skincare and looking after yourself is really important, especially in our line of work.”
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