What do Rupert Everett, a gay firefighter & ballroom dancing all have in common?
The Light Fantastic is set in the charming British seaside town of Blackpool, where a gay, thirty-something firefighter named Jason decides to take a (literal) leap of faith into the world of dance, beginning his training under the guidance of an “ultra-traditional” instructor.Scripted by actor-writer Lee Warburton (Banana, Shameless), the film is seemingly loosely inspired by real-life firefighter Rob Lem who, in 2022, made local Blackpool headlines when he momentarily left the firehouse to compete in the British dance championships in the classical category.“You could say that in both ballroom and firefighting, you have to be light on your feet,” he joked at the time.We say The Light Fantastic is “loosely inspired” by Lem’s story because it doesn’t appear that he’s gay himself.
But Warburton and director Chris Cottam (The Problem With People, Nikki Fre$h) seem to have found a fresh angle, one that doesn’t appear to be about coming out as much as it is pursuing your passion and defying expectations.This is beautiful.Notably, James will be played by the hunky Jeremy Irvine, who has quite a track record with queer-focused projects: There’s the good (stirring literary biopic Benediction), the bad (Roland Emmerich’s absolute misfire of an LGBTQ+ history lesson, Stonewall), and the outrageously camp (Mamma Mia Here We Go Again, a perfect film).At the very least, we know Irvine can deliver on the fireman physique—and we knows he’s got the moves:As for Jason’s demanding mentor, Reynolds, he’ll be portrayed by none other than Rupert Everett.
The actor’s career has seen some major highs (My Best Friend’s Wedding) and lows (The Next Best Thing, opposite his former friend Madonna), and he’s maintained he never became a bigger star specifically because he made the brave decision to come out in 1989.Still, Everett’s quite the trailblazer in that regard, and we’re always happy to see him on screen all these years later.
