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Nicholas Galitzine Explains Why He's Drawn To Gay Roles

8 March 2024, 14:27 | Updated: 2 May 2024, 22:27

By Sam Prance

From Red, White & Royal Blue to Mary & George, Nicholas Galitzine has played multiple queer roles on screen.

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Nicholas Galitzine has opened up about playing gay roles and why he's often been drawn to playing queer parts as an actor.

Over the past few years, Nicholas Galitzine has quickly established a name for himself as one of the most loved actors of his generation. From Purple Hearts to Bottoms, fans can't get enough of the British star. He's also about to win over a whole new legion of fans playing Hayes Campbell opposite Anne Hathaway in The Idea of You.

Nicholas has also taken on multiple queer roles in his career to date. He stars as a closeted gay rugby player in Handsome Devil and in Red, White & Royal Blue, he plays a gay prince. Nicholas has also played a bisexual character in The Craft: Legacy and is now starring as the queer titular character in Mary & George opposite Julianne Moore.

Now, Nicholas, who identifies as straight in real life, has spoken up about why he's played so many LGBTQ+ characters.

Read more: Nicholas Galitzine Explains How The Idea of You's Sex Scenes Are Different To Other Films

Watch Nicholas Galitzine in the Mary & George trailer

In an interview with The Huffington Post UK, Nicholas was asked about playing gay characters and what attracts him to roles rooted in queerness. He said: "There’s sort of a plethora of reasons for this. One, I have so many friends within the community, and I know so many of them didn’t feel like they had these stories growing up."

Referencing Red, White & Royal Blue, he added: "My gay friends were like 'Wow, to have something cheesy and broad and wholesome is like really, really important', and I think the resonance of that means a lot to me."

Discussing the queer roles he's played in general, he said: "I think with all of these characters the thing that I find really intriguing as an actor is that underbelly of vulnerability and having to hide oneself."

As for his current role of George in Mary & George, who is one of King James I's lovers, Henry explained: "I’m very interested in identity; George is very different in a ways because his sex and his sexuality is his power."

He ended by saying: "I think they’ve all just been really rich characters in of themselves. You know, you read that in the script it just becomes a bit of a no-brainer."