Scrumptious wowlebrity Nico Tortorella sat down with PrideSource to discuss, oh, just about everything under the sun. It’s a doozy of an interview – and you have to read it in full – but I’ve include a few choice excerpts below:
Your sexual identity has really evolved over the last year; In 2016, you revealed you were label-less and “emotionally fluid.” Then, you said you identify as bisexual.
I really like the term bisexual, and I fall somewhere under the umbrella that is bisexuality. I use the word bisexual because people have fought for so long for this word and the fact that it even exists in part of the LGBTI-etcetera is just a beautiful thing, and I’m not gonna be the person to take, like, fluidity or emotional fluidity or pansexual. I’m comfortable somewhere under the bisexual label, and I’m proud of it.
After you revealed that you’re open to dating men, did you hear from more gay male admirers?
I think it was actually more when I came into touch with my own sexuality – not in terms of who I prefer, but just me as a sexual being. I just became more aware of different energies.
When did you embrace your bisexuality?
Honestly, I think with the work that I’m doing on my podcast – really exploring sexuality as a human condition has educated me on many different people’s lives and the importance of labels and the unimportance of labels, for that matter. I’m in a really interesting place where I can talk about these things, but I’m really doing the work outside of myself on it.
Recently, on your Instagram, you posted a pic of you sporting a shirt that says, “The Future Is Non-Binary.” What’s the story behind that shirt?
I bought it when I was shooting the “Menendez” movie up in Vancouver at this little thrift store. And yes, the future is non-binary, but I am a hardcore believer that so is the past. It has been forever, but for whatever reason, during these past 300 years, we have – and it probably has to do with religion – created the binary. And listen, nothing else exists. But finally, over the last 50 years there’s been this amazing breakthrough and clearly now it is the zeitgeist. I’m just so fascinated by that whole story.
How do your views on sexuality influence the roles you choose as an actor? Are you looking for roles that challenge people’s views on sexuality?
Yeah, for sure. It’s a natural thing that happens once I put myself into the role, and those types of projects seem to be floating in my direction, which I’m all for. But I think as an actor it is my job to transform, and as obsessed as I am with the community and our stories and everything, I’m obsessed with people in all facets of life. It’s my job to become them. So, I really think that there’s always gonna be a whole slew of different characters I play.
Jacob Wells, your character on FOX’s serial-killer thriller “The Following,” enjoyed the company of both men and women. What was your read on his sexuality?
It’s funny – at that point in my life I had a boyfriend in L.A. and a girlfriend in N.Y. and it was pretty intensely life imitating art. Granted, we weren’t killing people (laughs), but I was living that and wasn’t comfortable with myself to the fullest extent probably because that was before I got sober. I was somewhat of a mess. But I was really navigating what that meant to have two lives, almost.
How have [the guests on your podcast] “The Love Bomb” enlightened you and your approach to your sexuality?
It really is an extension of who I am. My sexuality is a part of my story – it’s not all of my story – and to just normalize things that are deemed abnormal is really important. That’s my driving force at this point, so it affects everything that I do because it is me.
What was it like sitting down with Courtney Love for “The Love Bomb”?
I love her so much, and I’m just gonna open with that. The second we locked eyes and had, like, an exchange, it was magical. We’re kindred souls, and we spent a lot of time in Vancouver (shooting “Menendez” together). We went to a native-led sweat lodge and were just in interesting parts of our lives at the time and really opened up to each other. So, when it was time to sit down with a microphone – I mean, I felt like we were having the “Love Bomb” conversation for months before we even had the real conversation in the studio. It was amazing. We had gotten so close by that point that there wasn’t a wall, and she has such an incredible story. I mean, she’s an icon, she’s royalty. People are really gonna see a softer, human side to her that I think is just so lovely.
Did she go thrift shopping with you?
We did! We went shopping together a couple of times. She’s kind of like a gay man just in general, and I think she stands by that. I love that about her.
Read the whole interview here.
All photos via Instagram.
