‘What the f**k is wrong with wearing something that looks gay?’: Fra Fee on growing up queer in Northern Ireland (EXCLUSIVE)
The star talks to Attitude on his upcoming Netfix project and the journey that led him to become a proudly out actor
By Aaron Sugg & Nick Levine
Actor and singer Fra Fee, the latest star to land on the cover of Attitude, has spoken to Attitude about his upcoming projects and the importance of being out and visible for younger generations.
From the Marvel series Hawkeye, the space-opera film Rebel Moon, and the BBC’s Lost Boys and Fairies, Fee’s next project is an enigmatic but integral role in a new psychological thriller series premiering on Netflix in March 2026.
The show marks his next big acting moment, with Fee playing Sam, an escaped convict who disrupts a conservative religious cult.
Fee stars alongside actress Molly Windsor, who plays Rosie, a cult member living within a strict commune, whose life changes upon meeting Sam.
“I really sort of fall in love with him, to be honest” – Fra Fee on his upcoming role
“I more than understand Sam. I really sort of fall in love with him, to be honest,” Fee says in his Attitude exclusive cover interview. “He’s desperately trying to do good and fix the situation. He just wants to be happy.”
The 38-year-old actor, who is gay, has played both queer and straight roles and recently took on a prominent LGBTQ+ part as Andy in the 2024 BBC drama Lost Boys & Fairies, which picked up an Attitude Award in 2024.
He vows to continue using his platform to empower the next generation, reflecting on his own experiences growing up queer in Northern Ireland and how he comes to be comfortable in his own skin despite a difficult upbringing.
“They deserve to be treated like everybody else” – Fee on growing up gay in Northern Ireland
“Just because you have decriminalisation, it doesn’t mean that people suddenly think, ‘Oh, well, it’s perfectly acceptable. They deserve to be treated like everybody else,’” he says.
“Ireland, in many senses, is still a church-governed state, but it certainly was back then. You are taught that homosexuality is wrong, abortion is wrong, divorce is wrong. And I, along with so many other people, unfortunately, am born into that,” says the actor.
Fee attended an all-boys Catholic grammar school, which had its challenges, with the star recalling a moment when he was instructed to write an essay explaining why homosexuality is inherently wrong. He says the incident left a scar and took “a lifetime of work” to overcome the homophobic ideologies imposed on him in his youth.
“What the fuck is wrong with wearing something that looks gay?” – Fee on internalised homophobia
“Sometimes you put something on and think, ‘That’s a little too expressive, a little too gay,’ and then you’re like, ‘What the fuck is wrong with wearing something that looks gay?’ That’s such a simple example, but I think it’s actually huge,” he says.
Critical of his own thinking, he adds: “Why are you worried that something will make you look a little too gay? Ultimately, it’s because there’s still a fear there, on some level, that people will sort of ‘sniff you out’.”
Fee realised early on that he wanted to leave Northern Ireland, partly because he looked up to “two older fellas at school” who vowed to make it as actors in London.
His drive took him to Manchester University at 18, where he earned his music degree, taking away far more than just knowledge, but a better understanding of himself.
“There was just no way I would ever have come out back at home” – Fee on coming out after moving to Manchester for university
“There was just no way I would ever have come out back at home,” he says frankly. “Going to Manchester was so important: just to get away from Northern Ireland, to get away from home and school.”
After Fee’s first year in a different city, he came out to family and friends at 19. “It took me a full year of being in the closet in Manchester to pluck up the courage,” he admits. “I was consumed with fear [about coming out], but I just couldn’t go back to uni for the second year without having done it.”
On Manchester’s celebrated LGBTQ+ community, he admits it is not an escape as people might think: “There’s a big Irish community in Manchester, so I was scared that I might hook up with someone or whatever and people would find out,” he says.
“If word had got back home before I’d told my family, that would have destroyed me, so I had to do it on my terms,” which he does successfully.
Get more from Attitude
Read the full interview in the Attitude March/April 2026 issue, available on digital platforms and print from Friday 13th February 2026.
