After the 18-year-old actor was forced out of the closet Keith Connor has turned the tables and is using his voice to better amplify his call for equal representation of the bisexual community on television and in films. During the Critics Choice Awards panel, the main cast member of popular coming-of-age drama Netflix heart blockstated that the bisexual community has “shockingly low representation”.
next to him heart block co-star Joe LockeConnor stressed the importance of bisexual people seeing themselves on television and in films. “I think the bisexual community is a community that really has a surprisingly low representation, especially bisexual male characters,” the actor said, adding, “It’s shocking because so much of the LGBTQIA+ community is made up of bisexuals. . It’s a huge community, but we’re really underrepresented.”
He also talked about what it’s like to play Nick Nelson on a hit series and be able to contribute to the bisexual representation that we have. “It was a real pleasure to portray this journey and this experience,” he continued. “Playing moments like that was like a major character arc, if that makes sense.” He added:
“It’s not so much a job to figure out if you’re a boy who likes another boy. [Nick] sort of previous thoughts about his sexuality are suddenly invalidated, or that’s something he still wants to acknowledge.”
Connor wasn’t the first artist to draw attention to the lack of LGBT people in the entertainment industry. His co-star in Heartstopper, Yasmine Finneypreviously confirmed that Doctor Who the character, Rose, is transgender, saying “I hope you see Doctor Whobecause I exist and I know that you know that I exist. We all exist, and we’re not going anywhere!” Most recently award-winning non-binary star Emma Corrin told BBC News that the show’s award categories “are not inclusive enough at the moment”.
Earlier this year, Connor claimed that online allegations of “queerbaiting” and rumors about his sexual orientation forced him to speak up on his Twitter account, saying, “I’ll be back in a minute. I think some of you missed the point of the show. Bye”. And despite the blatant harassment from the show’s fans, Conner’s voice on the subject has only grown stronger, making him the best bi-representative of this generation.
heart block An eight-part television series about rugby star Nick Nelson (Connor) who begins to question his sexuality. He quickly became friends with his openly gay classmate Charlie Spring (Locke) and their friendship soon grew into something more over time.
The first season of the popular series is available to watch on Netflix. Season 2 doesn’t have a scheduled release date yet, but filming is underway. In the meantime, you can watch the trailer for the first season below.
Source: Collider
