He took to his Instagram Story over the weekend to thank his supporters: “Humbled and overwhelmed by the positive reaction to Buck’s storyline,” he wrote, “I’ve read so many of your messages and I couldn’t be prouder.”

Stark then added: “If you are one of the smaller group of people commenting on my posts about how this has ruined the show. I would like you to know that I truly don’t care. This is a show about love and inclusion. It’s featured queer relationships from the very beginning including a beautiful Black lesbian marriage played out by two of the best actresses [Aisha Hinds and Tracie Thoms] I’ve ever watched.”

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Buck and Tommy’s kiss is likely to be the first of many explorations of Stark’s character’s sexuality, according to Collider. The show, which is currently in its seventh season, released its 100th episode last week, per The Hollywood Reporter.

So, what else do we know about the handsome actor?

Oliver Stark is British

Born in London, UK, Oliver Stark is a 32-year-old actor who got his start in the UK Film Council’s short film Follow, per his IMDB profile. According to his interview with Bello Mag, he moved to the US after feeling like he had “hit a ceiling” in the UK industry. “I wasn’t having many opportunities to audition back home and I felt like my career was coming to a halt,” he added, “So I came to the US to be a fresh face and start over.”

“It felt amazing to come here and start to be given the chance to audition for really great parts and really feel myself become invigorated by the possibilities in LA!” he noted in his interview.

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He has a strong social media presence

Stark has garnered a big fan base since moving to Hollywood. On Instagram, he now boasts 748,000 followers, and has seen a big boost in recent days thanks to the kiss.

He’s vegan

Stark has chosen to be vegan for ethical reasons, according to his interview with People. “It was for ethical reasons. I was a huge meat eater, but there came a turning point where I was like, actually I don’t think I want to do this any more. I’m a big animal-lover,” he told the publication, “And I just thought, let me give it a go. It wasn’t with health or anything in mind, and then I learned about health benefits afterwards.”

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Why did Oliver Stark change his name?

Oliver Stark’s original name is Oliver Leon Jones, but he changed his name when he joined the acting union in the UK. “Stark was my late grandmother’s maiden name,” he told Bello Mag, “When I joined the acting union in the UK ‘Oliver Jones’ was taken, so I had to come up with something else!”

Is Oliver Stark in a relationship?

According to a 2018 interview with People, Stark was in a relationship with actress Hannah Gottesman, though it’s unclear if he’s dating anyone now. He said he had been “stalking her for about an entire year, liking photos” on social media, before she sent him a message that said, “‘Are you going to like my photos or are you going to say hello?’”.