Brandon Flynn: The Exception that Confirms the Rule
If we asked you for the name of a gay Hollywood actor, what would you answer? It is likely that this question has put you in crisis, and for a very simple reason: openly declared actors, despite the messages of inclusion spread everywhere, struggle to work unless they play characters in line with what they are in reality, as if the task of the actor were not to transform themselves to give life to shades very different from those of those who interpret them. In this, Brandon Flynn is the exception that confirms the rule.
The Role of Justin Foley
If his name doesn’t mean anything to you, we suggest you strain your brains and remember the Netflix series that made the most talk in 2017, Thirteen, the teen-drama that told the story of Hannah Baker’s suicide and the audio cassettes she recorded and sent to all the boys and girls she held responsible for her act. Among them was Justin Foley, the most courted boy in school and captain of the football team, played by Brandon Flynn himself. Beyond the negative criticism that rained down on the series, we must recognize that if there is an actor who has been able to give life to a character grown from season to season, it is Brandon Flynn. Throughout the seasons, in fact, Justin changes. We see him first as a bully and an insensitive person and then redeem himself and face a very tough battle to get out of the drug tunnel, ready to do anything to clean up and take back his life. In the last season, completely focused on him, the unthinkable happens: Justin discovers he has contracted AIDS through a needle exchange and prostitution to which he was forced to give in to survive until he dies – he had several brain and lung infections – to the dismay of fans, shocked both by the ending and by Flynn’s interpretation, who to prepare for the role, watched several movies and read several books centered on the stigma of the disease.
Brandon Flynn’s Career and Legacy
“I think Justin was a huge gift. As well as on a personal level,” Brandon Flynn once said, “this was an important role for my career. I don’t know if I have the words to express what all this meant, but I think I will never forget Justin Foley.” From there, in fact, his star has never gone out, since Flynn has appeared in highly acclaimed series such as the third season of True Detective alongside Oscar winner Mahershala Ali and Ratched, the miniseries by Ryan Murphy in which he lent his face to Sharon Stone’s psychopathic son. Brandon Flynn’s career is important for a particular reason: he is perhaps, together with Luke Evans, the only openly gay Hollywood actor to whom roles as heterosexual are assigned.
