Image Source: Another Man
Troye Sivan is an Australian singer-songwriter, actor, and YouTuber who is recently seen in a queer-drama movie, ‘Thee Months, which focuses on the HIV status of young individuals. The singer-actor spoke to Variety recently on how Hollywood should cast better roles for queer actors in queer roles.
In 'Three Months', after a one-night stand with a stranger and realizing that the condom broke and that the stranger was HIV positive, Caleb played by Troye Sivan is waiting for the result to know if he’s also HIV positive or not. Throughout the movie, the audience would find Caleb looking for someone to complete him but through the process of waiting and trying to find the one, Caleb also goes through the journey of introspection and self-discovery. This journey showcases to the audience especially youth how they simply need to stop worrying about appealing to others and learn how to love themselves.
Troye Sivan shared with Variety on a weekly episode of the ‘Just for Variety’ podcast the first time he got tested for HIV and explained, “I was in a new relationship and I wanted to have sex. We both went and got tested and once we were all clear, it was all good to go.” The singer also recalled and shared that he learned about the virus that causes AIDS while he was growing up in Australia and added, “It was probably doom-and-gloom movies that were super heartbreaking.” He shared with The New York Post about HIV prevention medication, “You know, I never learned at school about how to have safe sex. I never had anyone in my life tell me about PrEP until, you know, a couple of years ago when I and some friends were talking and then I went and saw my doctor about it. There’s a lot of these conversations that just don’t happen in the open, I think, because of this sort of like leftover stigma and shame. And so doing away with that and kind of, like, bringing these conversations up, I’m hoping that people will watch the movie and just start talking.”
Talking about the movie, ‘Three Months’, Troye asked, “Where are the stories that are painting the picture of what HIV is like today? I think the thing that I hope that people pull from this movie is you are going to be okay, no matter what.” Three Months is written and directed by Jared Frieder who is debuting his career with such a sensitive topic and the movie also marks Troye Sivan’s return to acting after 2018’s ‘Boy Erased’. Sharing about the acting part, Troye said, “Acting is this thing that I’m just now starting to accept. I’m filming [“The Idol”] at the moment and it’s been so consistent and for so long now… I’m finally starting to accept that this is part of my job, you know what I mean? And that maybe I’m an actor.”
Troye Sivan who has been vocal about his sexuality since the initial days of stepping into the industry mentioned that he does not really have a problem with straight people playing queer roles but he genuinely hopes that the filmmakers would try a little harder. He states, “I would say to the people who are casting: ‘Have you looked? Why are you casting that person?’” Troye adds that authentic casting can be ‘life-changing for someone and especially queer youth. The singer who shared that while he was growing up, he turned towards the gay icons for inspiration added, “For some reason, I figured out how to illegally download ‘Like a Prayer’ by Madonna. And I put it on repeat in the Windows media player on the PC, out of the terrible computer speakers. And I ran in circles and skipped, and I just sang that song over and over, and over and over again. Looking back, I feel like if I saw my kid doing that, I would melt. It would just melt my heart because to me there’s nothing sweeter than seeing inklings of queerness in children because I think it’s been something that’s been bashed out of us for so long that I just can’t wait to celebrate that in kids. It was moments like that where I don’t know why, but I was just so drawn to this flamboyant, camp, huge pop star.”
Troye Sivan was handpicked by Beyonce to star in Valentine’s Day-themed campaign for her fashion line, ‘Ivy Park’, sharing about that Troye said, “I got a message from the Ivy Park team and they were like, ‘B would love Troye…’ And I was like, ‘Yeah, fucking right. I do not believe this for one second. But it was true because I went and I did this thing and it was the greatest day ever. Unfortunately, Beyoncé was not there that day, but since then Beyoncé’s been putting it on Instagram stories and stuff. For my phone to light up and it was like, ‘Beyoncé’s mentioned you in her story,’ I needed to take a second.”
Troye Sivan is currently filming for a lead role in ‘The Idol’, which is an upcoming HBO music industry drama co-created by The Weeknd. Talking about his future, Troye Sivan told to the New York Post, “It’s weird because it feels like what keeps happening is I reach a certain point, and you think that’s kind of, like, the final destination — but then it opens a door to a whole new sort of world of things that sound interesting to me or cool opportunities.”
