Actor Joe Locke has shared that he’s worried about always being cast in the same kind of parts – a skinny gay twink.
The star of Heartstopper and Agatha All Along shared his thoughts on a podcast alongside actor Charlie Cox. Talking on Variety’s Actors-on-Actors podcast their shared their thoughts about typecasting.
Cox says he was able to break out of the mold when he was cast in Daredevil, a role that is very different to his real life persona.
“As you work more and more, the industry allows you to try more things,” Cox said. “And you want to do different characters and play parts that you wouldn’t necessarily have been cast in early on. Daredevil is a really good example of that for me. He’s so different from who I am.”
Joe Locke said the parts he is being offered are “the same skinny twinks.”
“Which is great,” he said. “And I’m really good at playing that, because I am a skinny gay twink. I’m struggling now. I want to do the opposite of that.
“I’ve been trying to put on weight recently. I just can’t do it. I know it’s like, “Oh, my metabolism’s too fast …” In 10 years, I’m sure I’ll be like, “God, I wish!”
“I’m really grateful that I’ve been able to play loads of great queer characters, but I don’t want that to define my career.” Locke continued.
He cited actors Coleman Domingo and Jonathan Bailey as inspirations, noting that they’d both been able to play a wide variety of roles.
“I look at Colman Domingo. He is an incredible openly queer person, but his casting is so diverse and so different, which is so great. He plays the abusive husband in “The Color Purple,” then plays an amazing character in other things. Or Jonathan Bailey.” Locke said.
Locke will return to playing Charlie on Heartstopper one last time, production on the a film that concludes the love story of Charlie and Nick has just got underway.
