How To Get Away With Murder: Hidden Details About Oliver Hampton That Everyone Missed

The hit ABC series How To Get Away With Murder had a remarkable ensemble, led by the stunning Viola Davis. Oliver Hampton, played by Conrad Ricamora, was a shy, self-conscious tech wizard who was in a relationship with Connor Walsh and got drawn into the heart-stopping murders and cover-ups that Annalise Keating and the Keating Five got embroiled in.

However, by the end of the series, Oliver, too, had taken a turn for the dark. His character went through a significant change throughout the series, from introverted to more confident and even slightly twisted. Here are a few details about him the audience might have missed.

10 Oliver Was To Appear Only In The Pilot

Oliver Hampton was initially meant to be a one-time gig, with the character appearing only as a one night stand for the ambitious Conor Walsh, who wooed him for information.

However, actor Conrad Ricamora was so endearing as Oliver that the showrunner, Pete Nowalk, decided to write him into the series, and later even promoted him into series regular.

9 Ricamora Had Auditioned For Wes’s Role

Interestingly, Ricamora had apparently auditioned for the role of Wes Gibbins, at first. Wes, as fans know, was one of the lead protagonists of the show, who instantly became a fan-favorite and died a shocking death in the series’ third season.

However, Oliver was no less a favorite with the fans, and Ricamora did a fine job imbuing his role with a sort of quiet charm and sincerity.

8 One Of The Few HIV Positive TV Characters

Fans of HTGAWM know that Oliver contracted HIV when he slept around after a rift with Connor. This extremely serious plot twist was handled remarkably well by the writers and made Oliver one of the very few HIV positive characters on popular television.

There is very little representation of HIV positive people on television and to have an Asian American actor play the role in one of the leading ABC dramas, produced by none other than Shonda Rhimes, was a landmark moment, indeed.

7 The Actor Shared Some Similarities With His Character

The actor shared a few things with his screen role. Like Oliver, Ricamora is from the Philippines. He is also openly gay, again like Oliver Hampton.

Ricamora, thus, shattered several barriers with his role on HTGAWM, by playing an Asian American gay man who happens to be diagnosed with HIV. The writers did a great job by not focusing solely on or stereotyping these aspects of Oliver’s personality. Oliver quickly becomes one of the main characters, in effect, replacing Wes himself, and neither his nationality, his sexuality, nor his health issues are the defining thing about him. What is defining is that he is a sane, sensible, and adorable young man who tried to keep the rest of the brood together.

6 Simon Drake Had Expressed Feelings For Oliver

Remember Simon Drake from seasons 3 and 4? He was the annoying law student who was almost as ambitious as Connor or Michaela had been once upon a time, before they practically became fugitives on the loose.

Simon had expressed his feelings for Oliver, right before the senseless drama took place inside the big-time law firm Caplan & Gold. In fact, this was one of the reasons Oliver felt so guilty after Simon was shot accidentally with the gun that Laurel had brought to the party, and even more so when Michaela decided to tip the ICE (Immigration and Customs Enforcement) that Simon was an illegal immigrant.

5 Oliver Informed His Mom About His Diagnosis Before The Wedding

In fact, Oliver’s diagnosis was so heavily relegated to the background in time that he did not even inform his family about the drastic news that hit him as early as in the season 1 finale.

It was only in season 5, right before his wedding, that he finally told his mother that he had tested positive for HIV. His mother was visiting for the wedding and the two had clearly not been very close in the past years, one of the reasons being Oliver’s diagnosis, which he had kept from her.

4 Ricamora Is An Amazing Singer

Another thing that the actor shares with his character is that he is an amazing singer. On the night of his wedding to Connor in season 5, Oliver sings for him as a grand gesture, a most beautiful rendition of John Legend’s “All of You.”

Fans might not be aware that it was Ricamora himself who sang here. In fact, the actor is quite the singer and has been known to sing in stage productions and musicals, as well.

3 Ricamora Was Taken Aback By Finale Plotlines

The HTGAWM finale was replete with shocking twists and turns, true to the show’s slippery nature, but it found a mixed reception among fans worldwide, whose expectations it failed to meet.

Ricamora has himself stated that he was taken aback by some of the plot points and storylines in the final season, and also that he didn’t expect everybody to be equally satisfied by the ending.

2 Happy To Be Representative

Oliver Hampton was indeed a pathbreaking character on mainstream television, in more senses than one. Conrad Ricamora has stated that he was proud to be able to represent the LBGTQ+ community, as well as the Asian American and HIV positive community, on popular television.

Ricamora also said that the gay sex scenes, for which the series was well-known, should not be censored, just as the straight sex scenes weren’t.

1 Oliver Didn’t Get Away With Murder

HTGAWM was dark and seductive, with an unbelievably high body count. Apart from Annalise Keating, who never really murdered anyone at all or even plotted to kill anyone, almost everyone else was implicit in one murder or another, and multiple cover-ups.

Oliver was the only person besides Annalise who never got his hands dirty, as such. Although he gradually became aware of all the dark secrets Connor and the others were harboring, he was the only one not involved in any murder, per se.

About The Author