'Love, Victor's Michael Cimino Talks Queer Latinx Rep & Kissing Guys

Love, Victor, the long-awaited sequel TV series to 2018's beloved queer, coming-of-age rom-com Love, Simon, has finally arrived on Hulu, and like its predecessor, the show offers a bright, refreshing take on what it's like to come out in a modern high school setting—this time, though, people of color (specifically the Latinx community) are the ones that get to shine. 

"I felt like it's really important to tell the story of a gay man through a different lens," Michael Cimino, the actor who plays the show's lead character, Victor Salazar, told PRIDE when asked about what it was like being in a show that brings queer Latinx representation to the forefront. Where Love, Simon shined a light on a progressive, upper-class, white family, the Salazars in Love, Victor are a middle class, conservative, religious Latinx family from Texas who just moved to suburban Atlanta.

"I feel like right now we're in a time where stories about queer white men have been told," he continued. "Not to take away from that, but I feel like telling the story through a different lens is very important and I feel like it adds a little bit more perspective."

While many LGBTQ+ viewers will surely be flocking to their screens to watch Love, Victor, especially considering the popularity of Love, Simon, the show isn't just for queer people. Through Victor's family, especially his caring but conservative father and mother, the series offers lessons for straight parents out there who may not realize what kind of an impact (both positive and negative) saying or doing small things can have on their closeted children.

"Straight parents who have a queer child, I feel like they should be watching this show because it offers perspective," Cimino said. "Like, 'Oh man, I might be doing that to my kid. I might be inhibiting them from being the person that they need to be.' And so I think that in particular, straight parents will learn a lot from this, parents in general if their children might be queer."

And speaking on whether or not he felt any nervousness when booking Love, Victor, especially since he was going to be doing a lot of kissing (with both guys and girls), Cimino said, "Honestly, I was really excited to sign onto this project. It was great for me and I felt like I could really make an impact on other people's lives. I was nervous to kiss George (Sear) because...it's just like when you first kiss someone. I never kissed George so I was nervous. We were both nervous. I got nervous when I kissed Rachel (Hilson) for the first time, too. It's just like one of those things and afterward, it's like oh it's fine, it's great."

Love, Victor is now streaming on Hulu!