Vico Ortiz dishes on raunchy podcasting, their witchy cartoon crush, and the power of polyamory
American Horror Story: 1984 to The Sex Lives Of College Girls.But, without a doubt, their biggest breakthrough yet came in HBO’s charming, surprisingly queer pirate comedy Our Flag Means Death (which returns for season two Oct.
5), playing the bad*ss Jim Jimenez. Initially, Jim’s in disguise as a mysteriously mute and macho member of the SS Revenge’s crew, but they gradually begin to show their true self, and the series becomes a surprisingly nuanced exploration of nonbinary identity thanks to Ortiz’s complex performance.Of course, we can’t talk about Our Flag Means Death or any of Ortiz’s many screen credits until the major Hollywood studios and producers decide to pay writers and actors a fair wage and bring an end to the WGA and SAG strikes…Thankfully, Ortiz keeps very busy these days, so we’ve got plenty of other excuses to talk to one of our favorite queer rising stars.
Not least of which is their new podcast, Date My Abuelita, First!, an inclusive dating game in which three lucky contestants compete to win the heart of an eligible partner—the catch is, they have to win over a tough-to-please “abuelita,” played by Ortiz’s co-host Liliana Montenegro.Amidst their new gig as Date My Abuelita, First!‘s host with the most, we called up Ortiz to be the latest guest in our rapid-fire Q&A series, Dishin’ It.
