Been thinking about the whole “we need to know their sexuality debate” and the thoughts I’ve thunk are these…
We’ve lost the line between pretend and real, fiction and fact, even a truth and a lie has been fumbled and muddled up. This is a lot to do with social media (you know they’re still putting on a show for us in all those interviews and bts… ) but there are other things too making this weird; a strange desire for a definite right and wrong, one that can’t change , a perfection and moral purity that allows no opportunities for people to live and learn and change. An obsession with sharing everything with strangers online, expecting them to share everything back.
You don’t need to know the sexuality of that actor for it to be “realistic” “meaningful” “valid” - they’re pretending… acting, if you will, and the actor isn’t your beloved character.
It’s not a lie it’s a job.
Bisexual Ilya would be very different than another role Connor Storie might take where the character is also bi or gay or not. Maybe Ilya is good rep for you maybe he’s not. That has nothing to do with the actor.
You’re identifying with the character, the actor’s portrayal of whoever, not the actor. If the job they do is good enough and respectful and shows how it could be to live that story for real for anyone out there then what’s the problem with keeping their private life private.
Heartstoppers Nick is bisexual so is Ilya. Shane Hollander is a gay man in hiding for ten years, Antony Bridgeton is straight, his brother is bi or something like it. Buck is bi, Hen is a lesbian, Eddie thinks he’s straight. None of that has anything to do with the people pretending to be these things.
So if the portrayal of the character speaks to someone (and please let’s remember what doesn’t speak to you maybe does speak to someone else because ya know infinite diversity in infinite combinations) it really doesn’t matter if actor is this or that.
Shane Hollander is gay and it’s none of our business what Hudson Williams thinks about his own sexuality. He’s not lying to you, he’s acting doing his job and keeping his private life to himself just as he should.
