CONTENT WARNING: This page discusses self-harm, suicide, depression, eating disorders, obsessive compulsive disorder, and hospitalisation for mental health issues.
- “I don't just fall for any boy who's nice to me.”
- ―Charlie, to Tao Xu
Charles "Charlie" Francis Spring, portrayed by Joe Locke, is one of the two main protagonists in Heartstopper, This Winter, and Nick and Charlie, a supporting character in Solitaire, and has a cameo in Radio Silence. He is the younger brother of Tori Spring, the boyfriend of Nick Nelson, and is best friends with Elle Argent, Aled Last, Isaac Henderson, Tara Jones, Darcy Olsson, Tao Xu, Imogen Heaney, and Sahar Zahid.
Appearance
Charlie is tall, standing at 5'11", and has a slim, lanky build. Charlie is white and multi-ethnic; his mother, Jane, is from the United Kingdom, and his father, Julio, descents from Spain, therefore giving him and the rest of his siblings a light tan pigment. He's inherited Jane's blue eyes, while inheriting Julio's black hair, though he's the only Spring family member to have naturally curly hair. He gets his hair cut early on in the comics, though he soon lets it grow out to a thick mop of curls, wearing a headband in bed. Charlie notably has signature dimples, appearing whenever he's excited or happy. Charlie's attire usually consists of plaid button up shirts, ripped skinny jeans, sweaters, and white Converse sneakers. With Nick, he's often seen "borrowing" his boyfriend's oversized jumpers or jackets. His wear of oversized clothing also stems from always feeling cold and feeling the need to hide his slim appearance.
In the television series, Charlie's height is shortened to about 5'9", and his face is more well-shaped. His attire remains the same, though he's revealed to have an extensive collection of Converse sneakers.
Personality
Charlie is high-strung and tends to overthink things. He is sensitive, and has a tendency to apologize a lot, something Nick takes notice of instantly. Charlie has a habit of masking how he feels in order to keep others happy. Charlie is incredibly empathetic, crying when Nick breaks down to him simply because "seeing [Nick] cry makes [him] cry". Most people, including himself, refer to him as a "gay nerd", loving to read[3], dogs, and playing the drums. Charlie also appreciates the arts, loving Ancient Greek classical literature (having The Iliad and Brideshead Revisited posters) and Keith Haring's work. Tori describes him as being nice, a characteristic she believes is underrated and can be taken advantage of.
Health
As a result of bullying, being outed, and the toxic relationship with Ben Hope, Charlie suffers from a plethora of mental illnesses. Although a group of kids older than him had stopped the teasing, the damage had already been done. Charlie mentioned how he used to self harm to deal with the pain, though he had eventually stopped. However, Nick starts to notice how little Charlie eats in public, and gets concerned when Charlie faints from exhaustion while they explore the Louvre Museum. He reveals that his anorexia stems from wanting the need to control something in his life, and it often flares up when he is stressed or upset. Though Nick attempts to adapt to Charlie's dilemma by bringing him in private to eat, his anorexia only gets worse. Nick tries to encourage Charlie to talk to his parents, Charlie has a tense relationship with his mother and causes him to be afraid that she wouldn't believe him. Eventually, Nick helps Charlie tell his parents his problem. But due to Charlie being placed on a waiting list to be seen by a doctor, Charlie eventually relapses into self-harm. Charlie is then taken to a psychiatric hospital for people struggling with anorexia, and is soon taken to see a therapist named Geoffrey. There, he is diagnosed with anxiety, depression, anorexia, and obsessive compulsive disorder. Charlie himself doesn't process all of the trauma he had endured until going to therapy with Geoffrey. Though he eventually gets his anorexia under control, he currently suffers from body dysmorphia, wearing bulky clothes to hide his body and staring at himself in the mirror in disgust. His body dysmorphia also affects his desire to be intimate with Nick, having trouble taking his clothes off and fearing Nick being disgusted by his size and scars.
In the unrevised edition of Solitaire, Charlie is mentioned to have attempted suicide, though neither the revised edition of Solitaire or Heartstopper explicitly state this.
Trivia
- Charlie is left-handed.
- Originally, Oseman had said that his Hogwarts house would be Ravenclaw, however this was later changed to Slytherin as she believed it to be a better fit.
- His MBTI is ISTP/The Crafter, but like most characters, he's mistyped and is actually ISFP.[3]
- Charlie has a crush on the boys from The Ark, specifically Rowan Omondi.[4]
- He is the only person allowed to call his sister 'Victoria' rather than 'Tori', and is the only person to do so occasionally (not counting Lucas and Michael.)
- He started playing the drums when he was 9 years old.
- He is always cold.[3]
- His favourite film is Moonlight.[5]
- His Instagram handle, as shown in the comics, is @cfspring and in the television series, is @charlie_spr1.
- His blood type is O-negative.[6]
- His favourite bands include Muse, The Strokes, and Best Coast. He is also a fan of the music of Mac DeMarco even though according to Nick, he " thinks that he's a dickhead" .
- He is a fan of Classics and Greek mythology. He has a poster of Homer's Iliad on his bedroom wall.
Gallery
References
- ↑ As stated on the Timeline page, Volume Two of the comic, which is the one Charlie turns 15 in, takes place in April of 2010, which puts Charlie's birth year to 1995.
- ↑ In "Meet", the date is 4th January 2022 (the year season one came out), and if you calculate the dates, you get 2007.
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 Heartstopper Character Profiles
- ↑ Mini Comic: Boyband Crush
- ↑ Heartstopper 2020 Q&A, Part 2
- ↑ Mini-Comic: The Ethics of Infatuation Dynamics