“Heated Rivalry” Star Francois Arnaud Was Almost Christian Grey But How Else Do We Know Him?
The Montreal-born actor has been working steadily in film and television for nearly two decades, but it’s his role as Scott Hunter, a closeted ice hockey player in the series Heated Rivalry, that has put him on the radar of a much wider audience. “I’ve been acting for a long time, but I’ve never had this level of attention on me,” Arnaud told The Kelly Clarkson Show earlier this year. “I’m still adapting.”
From Cesare Borgia to Scott Hunter
Arnaud’s career began in Canadian television before he landed his breakout role as Cesare Borgia in Showtime’s lush period drama The Borgias (2011–2013). The role required ambition, menace, and a lot of brooding intensity, and Arnaud delivered all three. He followed that up with Midnight, Texas (2017–2018) on NBC, playing psychic Manfred Bernardo in the supernatural drama based on Charlaine Harris’ book series. Fans of Schitt’s Creek will also recognise him as Sebastien Raine, David Rose’s sharp-tongued ex and the photographer who could never quite behave himself.
More recently, he appeared in the 2024 music video for Orville Peck and Noah Cyrus’s How Far Will We Take It? before stepping fully into the Heated Rivalry spotlight. In the series, his character Scott is not one of the two leads, but Episode 3 gives him his own storyline, including a quietly devastating romance with a barista named Kip. By Episode 5, Scott is done hiding. After winning a championship game, he kisses Kip on the ice in front of everyone.
The role that went to Jamie Dornan
In a recent episode of the podcast Shut Up Evan, Arnaud revealed he had auditioned for Fifty Shades Of Grey, the role that ultimately went to Jamie Dornan. “I tested for Fifty Shades Of Grey, for instance,” he told host Evan Ross Katz. “And I was like, ‘Oh, am I ready to sign my life away, in a sense?'”
He was not. And looking back, he’s fine with that. “I don’t think I would have been ready for that. I’m thankful that it didn’t happen to me. At that age? I’d probably be dead,” he said.
What he actually wanted was the freedom that kind of role might have opened up, not the attention that came with it. That distinction matters to Arnaud, who came out as bisexual on Instagram in November 2020 and has spoken openly about valuing real relationships over celebrity.
Watching out for the next generation
Now 40, Arnaud says watching his younger Heated Rivalry co-stars, Connor Storrie and Hudson Williams, both 25, along with Robbie G.K., handle overnight attention brings up something personal. “There’s a part of me that is a bit worried for them,” he said, though he added they are “so well equipped.”
