Gay&Night-ZiZo Februari 2015

203
/ INTERVIEW
Interview / Frankie J. Alvarez
“The boring thing is going to go away;
we had to set up the world this show takes place in”
strong reactions to my character Agustín, that was
tough at rst. But I’ve come to embrace it. First of
all, the boring thing is going to go away; we had
to set up the world this show takes place in. But
the pace at which the stories go from the second
half of the rst season, that kind of relentless pace
continues in season two. I think people are going
to be really pleased with that. And in terms of the
haters with Agustín, I think… This is a real guy!
He’s out there! I’m friends with him – I’m sure you
have friends who are like him. He’s a re ection of
a real guy who is out there in the community. I like
that he provokes a strong reaction and debate.
He’s a fascinating, complex guy. It’s a great skin to
put on. Hopefully we get a season three, I’m dying
to go back.”
The reactions from the gay community
have also been mixed, from people who
are happy to nally see an accurate
portrayal of ‘gay life’ in a TV show, to
LGBT’s who say they don’t recognize
themselves in the show at all. What kind
of response have you been getting from
the gay community?
“When we were lming season two in San
Francisco, we kind of felt like local celebrities. It
was kind of fun! There would be takes where we’d
be doing a walk-and-talk on the street, and we’d get
interrupted in the middle of a take. People would
yell out our names, and we’d have to stop and
reset. It’s been mostly positive, especially in San
Francisco. They feel like they own the show, they
feel like it’s very personal, and that it’s re ecting
modern San Francisco culture. And it’s impossible
to please the entire LGBT community, because it’s
so diverse and so eclectic. What we’re trying to
do, is focus on these speci c guys and gal, and
expand the universe as the seasons progress. We
tell these specic stories, and tell them as fully and
as three-dimensionally as possible. And hopefully
the specicity of those individual stories brings out
a kind of universality, where you can see yourself
in these characters, regardless of race or sexual
orientation.”
A lot of straight people will watch this
show as well, and hopefully it will broaden
their horizons a little. Is that something
you’re actively aware of when you’re on
set?
“I’m very conscious of it. I went to an all-boy
Jesuit conservative 6-12 grade school in Miami,
which is in a Cuban-American community, more
Cuban than American. And I’m rst generation,
so that environment was formative for me. But I
had a lot of gay friends growing up. I did theater
since I was ve or six, my mom is a dancer, two of
my three sisters are dancers, so I’ve been around
the arts community, and I’ve had a lot of lesbian
friends growing up. So for me, my point of view
was already open at a young age. But for some of
my extended family it wasn’t, for some of the guys
I went to high school with it wasn’t. In defending
some of the guys who got bullied, and tortured and
made fun of because of their sexual orientation, I
would also get bullied, tortured and made fun of.
So for me, it’s extremely personal. I don’t wanna
say that I’ve experienced the same hardships that
closeted gay men have experienced in Miami, but
I got a taste of some of it, and it was awful, horrible
and hateful. So I feel a tremendous responsibility.
Not only to the LGBT community, but to future
Latinos growing up in a community where their dad
is repressive, and won’t allow their son or daughter
to be who they really are. Hopefully they’ll watch a
show like Looking, and see characters like Agustín
or Richie, see themselves reected, and feel the
courage and condence to be who they are. That’s
huge. I feel extremely proud to be a part of that.
This is a show that has been pretty embraced
internationally, which is awesome. I’m glad that
we’re having a global reach.”
The show is also shown on HBO in
Hungary, which is still a pretty homophobic
country. Do you think Looking could help
in the acceptance of LGBT’s in those
kinds of countries?
“Unfortunately, America hasn’t progressed that
much yet either. Sure, there have been some
advances in gay marriage, but it’s still having trouble
trickling into Middle America from the coasts. I
mean, it was 1998 when Matthew Shepard got
killed, so that wasn’t too long ago. Hopefully, we’re
on the forefront of changing that conversation, and
opening people’s point of view. I mentioned those
guys I went to high school with: some of them were
excited that I was cast on the show: ‘HBO bro, I
can’t wait! I’m gonna check it out!’. They watched
the pilot, said they thought it was beautiful, really
well shot, the writing is amazing, but ‘it’s too hard
for me to see two men together, so I can’t watch
the rest of the show’. And I said ‘well, you tried.
I respect that’. What has been amazing is those
conservative, close-minded, straight friends –
lawyers and doctors – who have not only stuck
with the pilot, but watched the entire rst season.
And I get texts and calls, like ‘Bro, I love the show,
I’m so excited, that Richie guy is adorable, when
you move in with your boyfriend and you can tell
it’s weird, that’s totally what happened with me and
my girlfriend’. I think that is a coup in itself. That
regardless of sexual preference, people are seeing
themselves in these characters. Hopefully, one day
a show like Looking isn’t labeled as ‘the gay show’,
so viewers won’t automatically think: oh, that show
is not for me. Hopefully, we’re taking those labels
away and we’re just telling stories about people,
and viewers can see themselves in these stories.”
What about your plans for the future?
“Hopefully season three of Looking, and four,
ve, six, seven, right? It’s a dream job and I would
love to keep doing it. I have older actor friends in
their 40s, 50s, 60s that I’ve done plays with, and
they consider being on an HBO to be a ‘career
topper’, something you work towards. But to get
to do this in my rst couple of years, to get this big
break, I do not take it for granted. It’s an extreme
blessing. I’m a writer on the side. Me and my best
WIN:
bud, and a couple of friends of ours, we’ve been
developing this musical that we’ve all co-written,
about an indie rock band that kind of made it big,
and the lead singer disappears. So the rst act is
about an NPR guy, who I play, kind of like the MC
of the night, who brings the band together for a
reunion concert. It’s all improved. All the songs are
written, but the structure of the play is completely
improvised. It’s part play, part documentary, part
rock musical. So that’s something we’re working
on. And then a buddy of mine and me are in the
very preliminary stages of writing this movie about
Cuban baseball players, coming into America and
playing in the major leagues. It’s really fascinating
and very topical right now. And I haven’t done a
lm yet, so I want to pop that cherry between now
and season three of Looking. I don’t care about
the size of the role or whatever, I would just love to
have that experience.”
And what can we expect from the new
season?
“Season two continues to explore the love
triangle between Patrick, Kevin and Richie. One of
the things I love about the show is that there are
things that make sense about Patrick and Kevin
being together, and conversely there are things
that make sense about Patrick and Richie being
together. It doesn’t feel like the show is arguing for
one guy over the other, it kind of goes back and
forth. I like that it feels 50/50, we don’t know who
the guy for Patrick is going to be for the long term.
Doris gets a new love interest. Of course the Dom
and Lynn relationship continues to get explored,
but a lot of the season explores the co-dependent
dynamic that can happen between a gay man and
his straight female best friend. It’s emotional and
beautiful; the two of them are dynamite together. I
think a lot of people will respond to the arc of that
storyline. Agustín loses everything at the end of
season one, with a lot of drugs, pushing real life
away; he still hasn’t gotten a job. In season two,
he’s very much at a loss, and kind of aimless in his
life. He meets Eddie, a fun, HIV-positive bear. This
friendship develops, the chemistry develops, and
it’s a long arc that occurs throughout the season. It
opens Agustín up in different ways. I think people
who really hated him the rst season might see
a new side of him in the second season. The
dynamic of their relationship and dating an HIVpositive
person is going to touch on some social
issues that are very 2015. I think people are going
to be very excited about it.”
And you seem really excited as well!
“Ah! I saw the rst ve episodes, and I think it’s
just fucking stunning from beginning to end. It’s so
well-acted, the writing is so good, it’s funnier and
brighter, but the dramatic moments really hit. I was
weeping through episode four, I can’t wait for you
guys to see it.”
Looking season 2 airs on HBO every
Monday at 21.30h.
Gay&Night raf es off ve box sets of Looking season 1.
Want to win a copy? Send an e-mail with your name and
address to win@outmedia.nl. NL and BE citizens only.
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