He’s 19, liv at home wh his mum and dad – and is a megastar thanks to Netflix’s take on the teen gay love story. The actor talks about accatns of ‘queerbag’, beg outed at 18, and his pal Elton John
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THIS GAY NETFLIX TEEN DRAMA IS JT WHAT WE NEED
Isaac’s sexualy is never stated onscreen, but as Tao claims he is the “token straight iend” and Charlie says his iends “aren’t gay”. Charlie and Nick - played by newer Joe Locke and Rocketman actor K Connor - are subjected to homophobic bullyg by Nick's so-lled (Yasm Fney), a transgenr teen, has recently moved om the boys' grammar school where all her iends are, to the girls' equivalent, after also sufferg cel, who has a built up a big followg on TikTok, postg about her experienc of beg a young, black transgenr woman the UK, endured difficulti at school source, NetflixImage ptn, Elle fds hard to make iends at her new school at first"For me, school was the same.
"The bate about thentic stg is still ongog - should gay rol only be played by gay actors, for example? Both the graphic novel and the book have been praised the way picts LGBTQ+ reprentatn, primarily featurg a gay character (Charlie), a bisexual character (Nick), a trans character named Elle (Yasm Fney), and a lbian uple – Tara (Corna Brown) and Darcy (Kizzy Edgell). The charmg same-sex romance, which began (and ntu) life as a thrice-monthly web ic, follows openly gay Nick and gby player Charlie as they bee unlikely iends and, eventually, disver they have feelgs for one another.
Based on a webic turned graphic novel by Alice Oseman, who also wrote the seri, centers on Charlie (Joe Locke), a sweet young teen who was outed the prev year but is now fdg his way as the only openly gay kid at an English all-boys high school. (If this all don’t sound queer enough, Osr-wng gay in Olivia Colman shows up a small, secret meo as Nick’s mother, which ma me thk I was havg a gay fever dream.
THIS GAY NETFLIX TEEN DRAMA IS JT WHAT WE NEED
The show is ls terted s characters feelg gay feelgs for one another than is them feelg feelgs at kids are about 15; they’re still gettg picked up by their parents om parti at night, but they’re startg to form relatnships based on genue love for one another. He n barely brg himself to type the words “Am I gay? Both Tara and Charlie suffer at the hands of bulli, even if the aggrsors seem to wce at beg lled homophobic.
I had hoped we were past d language about “groomers” and misplaced fears that showsg queer people pop culture would turn straight kids gay.
“When I was at school, I thought that hidg om all was safer, easier, ” Charlie’s art teacher and gay adult role mol Mr.