When Heated Rivalry debuted this season, the very first question that fans asked was: who is the actor playing Shane Hollander? Hudson Williams was living a pretty normal life before all the fame. Hudson was auditioning whenever he had the chance, and side-by-side, he was working as a waiter. Things did not come easily to the actor. Hudson was not a famous online persona at that time.In his interview with The Hollywood Reporter, Hudson speaks candidly about that experience. He had to balance between his auditions and long shifts, all in an effort to keep his acting dream alive. It was not easy, but he never gave up. To Hudson, success did not come overnight. It took years of toil, dedication, and perseverance, not to mention his healthy sense of humor, and a few mismatched aprons that finally took his career in a new direction.Hudson Williams before Heated RivalryHudson was serving at the restaurant long before his name and face appeared in fan edits and TikTok virals, balancing plates of pasta with his big dreams. The actor who is now receiving admiration from fans for his performance in Heated Rivalry, used to juggle between customer orders and audition time in the past, not knowing which would come first: a breakthrough role or a dinner rush.According to The Hollywood Reporter, it only took Hudson to leave his waiter job when Heated Rivalry presented itself to him not because he was certain of its success, but because it was a good opportunity to build a brighter future he had been striving towards all these years. It was a bold step, a step that demanded actual courage. In retrospect, that jump changed everything and Hudson is still enjoying all of it.Hudson Williams told The Hollywood Reporter:“I was serving at The Old Spaghetti Factory [in] New Westminster. It’s like y’all’s version of an Olive Garden. I would argue less swanky, but I loved it there. Walking through that door every day though, through the server’s entrance, is a little bit like… I’m not better than this, but I do feel I’m good enough at acting that I should be reaping some reward for it. But I loved it. That was how I paid my rent. It was paycheck to paycheck. Vancouver is more expensive than Los Angeles, so it was very hard. I had a great outlook. In a lot of ways, it was a lot easier than what it’s like now.”Why his success feels so earned View this post on Instagram Instagram PostHudson’s life before Heated Rivalry is no average struggling-actor story, but rather a realistic story that has many people relate to it, making his success actually feel deserved. He was employed in the hospitality industry, where he learnt about being patient, handling pressure, and staying warm and professional with everyone he encountered before being placed in the spotlight in Heated Rivalry. His usual everyday skills proved to be quite handy when it came to playing the lead in a successful series.During his interview with The Hollywood Reporter, Hudson revealed that serving food to being featured on television were not only a change in profession but also a change in perspective. He has learned to celebrate the small victories, not give up when faced with rejection, and to believe in the gradual process towards an even larger goal. Fans may be praising him for his noteworthy acting in Heated Rivalry but he laid the groundwork for his success long before the cameras turned on, through a regular job, real-life lessons and perseverance.For more such insights on Heated Rivalry, keep following SoapCentral.