Connor Jessup doesn’t believe coming out as gay will affect his career
“The truth is, no one is going to cast me as Spider-Man [anyway]."
By Will Stroude
Words: Tim Heap
Connor Jessup says he doesn’t believe that coming out as gay will impact his career.
The star of Netflix’s Locke & Key, 25, doesn’t think think his sexuality will affect the types the roles he’s offered in the future, though the Canadian says he’s “hyper-aware” of the challenges openly LGBTQ actors haved faced in the past.
As he appears on the cover of Attitude’s April Style issue – out now to download and to order globally – Jessup reflects on his decision to come out publicly in an Instagram post last summer, shared to coincide with Pride month in the US.
Connor Jessup, shot by Taylor Miller exclusively for Attitude’s April Style issue, out now
“I was in the middle of shooting Locke & Key when I made my post, and everyone was so supportive, openly and genuinely”, says Connor, who believes “the realities of [the] industry are changing” for openly LGBTQ actors.
“I don’t know how much it matters any more,” he muses. “Unless maybe at the highest budget level, if it’s some super-hero movie.
“The truth is, no one is going to cast me as Spider-Man [anyway], and I don’t think that it matters for the parts that I’m probably right for and interested in.”
Jessup, who recently made his relationship with 13 Reasons Why star Miles Heizer ‘Instagram official’ after 18 months of dating – receiving an outpouring of support from fans in the process – adds that he’s keen to explore queer stories and characters as his career progresses.
Photography: Taylor Miller
“I played a handful of gay characters before I was out publicly and found them to be the most interesting roles, partly because they are queer and they’re dealing with their queerness in dramatic and fascinating ways.”
He adds: “I’m grateful that I’m starting my career at the time that I am,” he says. “But that’s a very different reality than it was even recently.
“I’m hyper-aware of that.”
Read the full interview with Connor Jessup in Attitude’s April Style issue, out now to download and to order globally.
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