Exclusive: Margaret Cho says Fire Island “lets everybody in on the secret that being gay is better”
Fire Island is full of “gorgeous queer joy”, says star Margaret Cho. The Emmy-nominated trailblazer, whose iconic credits include All American Girl, Drop Dead Diva and 30 Rock, stars in the upcoming gay rom-com as Erin; the “gay elder” and “mom” to the gang who annually hosts them at her Fire Island condo.
Although Erin was originally written as a man, Cho reached out and requested a part in the film, which resulted in writer and star Joel Kim Booster revamping the character and their background. “They were trying to figure out where I would fit in, because they really wanted to put me in the movie,” she reveals in the brand new issue of GAY TIMES.
Cho commends Booster for his script, saying she has “never seen” an Asian-American film like Fire Island about “coming to cope with your identity in the context of family, in the context of trying to hide your gayness or exist within white society as an Asian-American gay.” “That is so unexplored in any sort of media,” Cho continues. “So, we have a rare glimpse into these lives that are really their universal themes, but also so invisible in mainstream society.” Fire Island also stars Bowen Yang, Conrad Ricamora, James Scully, Zane Phillips, Torian Miller, Tomás Matos and Nick Adams.
Directed by Ahn, the comedy follows Noah (Booster), Howie (Yang) and their eclectic circle on their annual trip to the famous gay escape destination off the southern shore of Long Island.
