JOIN OUR WHATSAPP CHANNEL
‘Really Liberating’: Fellow Travelers Stars Matt Bomer And Jonathan Bailey Discuss Their Intimate Scenes
Matt Bomer & Jonathan Bailey discussed authentic portrayal of repressed sexuality in closeted men and revealed how creators encouraged them to "push" those scenes further!
Matt Bomer and Jonathan Bailey’s intimate scenes in Fellow Travelers created quite a buzz on social media during the limited series' run on Showtime. However, the powerful portrayal was not just for sensationalism but served a bigger purpose in the tale of two closeted men. The actors authentically represent the repressed sexuality through their performances which was made possible by the creators who were open to “push” those scenes!
During a chat with Entertainment Weekly’s Awardist podcast, Bomer credits the network and production company Fremantle for rendering their support. "From the beginning, [they] were giving us notes that weren't constricting at all. They were actually really liberating," he added.
The actor revealed that they encouraged him and Bailey to go further and push as much as they could in the sexual scenes without worrying about embarrassment. “And that kind of permission, I felt, even bled into the acting work on set because it came from the people who were in power who could make those decisions," he added.
In Fellow Travelers Bomer's State Department official Hawk Fuller and Bailey's congressional staffer Tim Laughlin are two closeted men in the position of power, bringing a unique play of power dynamics both internally and on the surface.
The Bridgerton actor told the outlet that he’s grateful to have gotten a homosexual character, especially in today’s time when the portrayal can be experimented with. "Had this been made five, 10 years ago, I completely believe that I would have been able to play a straight lead before I would have been able to play gay. And that's kind of wild," he added.
However, that doesn't mean he’s belittling the straight actors who have dared to “mix” it up and play homosexual characters. "I would never for a second wish that I hadn't seen Brokeback Mountain or Gus Van Sant's Milk and Cate Blanchett playing Carol," he added. Bailey noted that those characters are equally “rich” and “complicated” and exactly the type of story the world needed.
The Wicked actor revealed that he dreaded playing his last scene in which *spoiler alert* his character dies from complications of AIDS. To get into that mindset reminded Bailey of the horror that queer people suffer from even today. "It was really overwhelming and upsetting," he recalled.
Fellow Travelers season 1 is streaming on Amazon Prime Video.
Latest Articles
