Following the raging success of Russell T Davies’ It’s a Sin, star Olly Alexander is ready to make his next move count.
Speaking to The Official Big Top 40’s Will Manning on Sunday, the “Starstruck” singer explained that while it’s going to be hard to top the fun he had while making the critically acclaimed and record breaking It’s a Sin, he’s definitely open to more acting roles.
“I still want to have magic powers in something,” he said, “or play like, a really messed-up gay superhero.”
The actor — whose offscreen death in It’s a Sin broke our hearts a million times over — has definitely put in his time in Hollywood in between producing chart-topping hits with his band Years & Years.
Alexander’s acting career took off all the way back in 2009, when he played Tom Keats, the brother of the famous poet John Keats, in the film Bright Star. John was played by Ben Whishaw, another out, gay actor.
Beginning in 2013, he took on supporting roles in Skins and Penny Dreadful before landing the choice role of Ritchie Tozier in It’s a Sin last year.
An out, gay superhero might not be a far-off goal for Alexander. At least, it’s a lot easier to pitch than it was, say, five years ago. This January, actor Haaz Sleiman revealed that he’ll be part of the Marvel Cinematic Universe’s first gay couple in the forthcoming Eternals movie. Last year, it was announced that the bisexual, Black actress Javicia Leslie would be playing Batwoman in the new CW show, making her the second gay, Black superhero on TV, after Nafessa Williams’ trailblazing turn in Black Lightning.
While none of these examples have been given the “messed-up” treatment (usually that’s reserved for villains), it’s possible that Hollywood is getting a lot more comfortable with the idea of a queer superhero onscreen. Perhaps Alexander will end up taking a tip from Gotham’s Robin Lord Taylor and give us a brooding, Dark Knight style antihero to root for.
In terms of what’s next for Alexander, however, it’s hard to say. With Years & Years now having become a solo project and their recent hit track “Starstruck” having gone viral on TikTok, the multi-hyphenate has plenty of options. Perhaps we’ll even get that Troye Sivan/Ariana Grande/BTS collab he’s been promising.
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