Femme’s Nathan Stewart-Jarrett wants to ‘build on’ Culprits Black and queer representation
"We can’t just have another one of those in 10 years time"
The lead of Disney+’ Culprits, Nathan Stewart-Jarrett, has said the entertainment industry should “build on” the series’ Black and queer representation.
In the series, the Misfits actor plays Joe Petrus, who has tried to move on from a life of crime to become a family man. However, his past catches up with him and endangers his new life with his fiancé and step-kids.
Opposite Stewart-Jarrett is Kevin Vidal who plays his fiancé, Jules. Both characters are Black queer men.
In a recent interview with The Independent, Stewart-Jarrett touched on the sad reality that a show led by a queer Black character is still a rarity. He also told the outlet that he wants to get to a point where that’s not such a big deal.
“We can’t just have another one of those in 10 years time. We’ve got to build on it now so it’s normalised.”
Drawing a line between Culprits and his new film, Femme, he also said that Black and queer representation does exist elsewhere. “We just don’t connect the dots. If we make the links between what we’re making now and what came before, we can continue to build on it all,” he added.
“I don’t think we should be strong all the time”
In Femme, Stewart-Jarrett plays a drag queen who is assaulted by a gang. Out of drag the character, Jules, then sees Preston, one of his assailants (George Mackay) in a gay sauna. Jules begins an affair with Preston as he plans out his revenge.
“The script pummelled me. In the thriller space, queer characters are usually sent up or killed,” said Stewart-Jarrett. “That’s a trope. It’s the same with Black characters or the ‘femme fatale’. [Femme] subverts all of that.”
After his assault, Jules is told that his trauma is letting his attackers win. The need to be strong in the face of such adversity, Stewart-Jarrett says, is “something that any minority will attest to.”
He continued: “Especially from what I’ve seen in the gay community, to just dust yourself off and try again. But I don’t think we should be strong all the time. It’s not great, and it’s not being kind to ourselves.”
Culprits is streaming now. Femme is in UK cinemas now.