Johnny Sibilly, star of Peacock’s ‘Queer as Folk’, vividly recalls seeing the wonderfully explicit show that the series is based on for the first time as a teen - ‘When it initially came out, I was pretty young, so I definitely had this feeling of fascination about it,’ says the American actor. ‘I remember thinking, “I can’t believe this exists, I feel like I’m gonna get in trouble just for knowing it exists.”’
For Sibilly, also known for his roles on the revered series ‘Pose’ and comedic masterpiece ‘Hacks’, the new iteration of ‘Queer as Folk’ has that same quality of fearless storytelling that made its predecessor a classic of LGBTQ+ representation. ‘I think our version is doing exactly what the original did by showing unabashed queer stories without teaching the ABCs to our cis-heterosexual counterparts while they’re watching it,’ explains Sibilly. ‘It’s kind of like, “If you don’t know what this means, you have to Google it.” And I’m really excited about that because I think we deserve to have our stories told in this way.’
Prior to the show’s big premiere, we spoke to Johnny (who, by the way, is hilarious!) about the similarities between him and his character Noah, nights out in New Orleans, and how ‘The Real World’ helped him embrace his queerness growing up.
The new ‘Queer as Folk’ is based on a classic show from the late 90s. Were you a fan of the original series?
I feel like there was no choice for me but to be a fan because that was the first entry point into what queer life could be like, so I gravitated towards it. When it initially came out, I was pretty young, so I definitely had this feeling of fascination about it and I remember thinking, ‘I can’t believe this exists, I feel like I’m gonna get in trouble just for knowing it exists.’ But I was definitely a fan of ‘QAF’ from the moment I saw two men kissing on screen.
What was the most shocking scene you remember seeing as a teen?
I remember that while watching the American version on Showtime, I saw Brian going down on Justin – he was eating him out from the back. I was like, ‘Waaaait a second!’ [laughs] I was very young so I didn’t even think about how gay men had sex, I just knew that I thought boys were attractive – seeing that was a little too much for me at that age, so I remember being floored at what I was watching. I actually didn’t think it was a TV show, I thought it was pornography when I first saw it. [laughs]
Aside from ‘QAF’, were there any other shows or films that you remember watching growing up that helped you with embracing your queerness?
I always think back to ‘The Real World’. People like Pedro Zamora and Danny Roberts were my first understanding of what gay people looked like in real life – watching their lives on TV made me think that I could also possibly find someone to call my own one day. At the time, we were being vilified in the media for being ourselves, so turning on the TV and seeing what good people they were was a real turning point for me as a kid.
How would you say the new ‘Queer as Folk’ differs from the original series?
It’s different because it’s not on an island by itself. The original ‘QAF’ was leading the charge, whereas now we have a lot more representation - not as much as we should - but we have a lot of good representation [in the media] when it comes to queer characters and storylines. That said, we didn’t have an explicitly queer show like ‘QAF’. I think the new version is doing exactly what the original did by showing unabashed queer stories without teaching the ABCs to our cis-heterosexual counterparts while they’re watching it - it’s kind of like, ‘If you don’t know what this means, you have to Google it.’ And I’m really excited about that because I think we deserve to have our stories told in this way. Another thing is that the cast is more diverse this time and we’re telling nuanced stories of non-binary, Black and Latinx characters. The new ‘QAF’ feels very current, but it’s still falling in line with what the old one meant to so many people [back in the day].
What do you like the most about your character, Noah? And what are some things that you think he definitely needs to work on?
One of my favourite traits of Noah is that he’s a pretty selfless person – I feel that he puts others’ needs before his own a lot of the time. I also like that he’s a lover of love and gravitates toward the romantic. That said, the things I love about Noah are also the things that drive me crazy about him! For example, his selflessness – when you put other people’s feelings before yours, you negate whatever’s going on in your own personal life. He also does things to feel good in the moment that he doesn’t realize he might regret later on, which feels like a very relatable response to a lot of things that go on in our lives. We reach out to the feel-good feeling because we don’t want to have to deal with the bad feeling. So yeah, Noah’s escapism is definitely something I would like to change about him.
When the original ‘QAF’ first came out, I definitely had this feeling of fascination and I remember thinking, ‘I can’t believe this exists, I feel like I’m gonna get in trouble just for knowing it exists.’
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Which one of Noah’s traits would you say you relate to the most?
Letting men walk all over me is something that I’ve definitely done before! [laughs] I would say the tendency to romanticize other people in your life: failing to see the red flags and falling in love quickly is something that gets us both in trouble.
You shot the series in New Orleans, a city known for its nightlife. What’s the best place to go out there?
There’s this area called The Fruit Loop where all the gay bars are – they were really great! I feel like the New Orleans people really welcomed us with open arms: we got to meet a lot of the locals, flirt with a lot of the locals… [laughs] We had times during shooting where we didn’t do anything and times when we did a little too much, but that’s part of the journey down there in New Orleans.
Throughout the course of the series, Noah falls in love with Julian, played by the brilliant Ryan O’Connell. What was it like to work with him?
Ryan’s like my favourite person ever - whenever I’m around him, I’m always smiling and laughing. We filmed a lot of the scenes together, so we became each other’s security blanket – it was just like being with a lifelong friend, creating and having a good time. It’s funny because our relationship on screen is so different from our relationship in real life: on screen, we’re so lovey-dovey, and when the cameras are not rolling, we’re always making fun of each other. Also, I admire how hard he works. He was finishing his book and working on a few other projects while shooting, being a co-executive producer and writer on ‘QAF’. I’m such a Ryan O’Connell fan! [laughs]
My last question has nothing to do with the show. What’s one thing that you’re good at that people don’t know about?
This is going to sound so boring and so Virgo of me, but I am so good at cleaning and it brings me so much joy! It’s like a puzzle or Tetris – making sure that everything’s clean is my go-to ever since I was a kid. My grandma used to be a cleaning lady and I remember going with her to clean the mansions and being like, ‘One day, I’m gonna live here, but for now, we are gonna make sure this is Windexed!’ So I can confidently say that I would clean the shit out of anyone’s house! [laughs]
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Interview by Martin Onufrowicz
Photographe by JJ Geiger
Fashion by Jensen Edmondson
Grooming by Annette Chaisson
