Ruaridh Mollica says being a bisexual actor playing a bisexual character in the Disney-Marvel TV show VisionQuest is an “honor” that makes him feel “seen.”
“I feel like Marvel did a great job by casting a bisexual actor for this and it’s such an honor to be portraying that in the MCU [Marvel Cinematic Universe]. I feel so seen,” Mollica told Variety.
The Scottish actor also noted that there had been some discussion around the fact that Tommy Maximoff, his character in VisionQuest, isn’t shown onscreen being attracted to other men.
“He’s flirting with Lisa Molinari, but I think that makes me feel more seen as bisexual,” Mollica said. “Because that’s the whole point. It’s not necessarily about who you’re dating, it’s about who you are inside, and who you want to flirt with.”
“So I hope that me being bisexual and playing this part is good for people to feel seen and represented,” the 27-year-old added.
Mollica went on to comment that his VisionQuest character — who appears halfway through the first episode as a teenage hustler, pickpocket, and conman who roves the streets of London — is a “grifter.”
“He’s an orphan. He not got anyone,” the actor said of Tommy. “He’s had to build who he is by himself, and there’s a loneliness to that, and a yearning for family.”
Mollica added that many of the references he used were from Matt Damon’s performance in the 1997 film, Good Will Hunting.
“Matt Damon portrayed that character so unbelievably well that I feel like it is the archetype of a lot of male characters,” he told Variety.
Currently, Mollica is best known for his breakout role as Max Williamson in the 2024 film Sebastian, in which he played an aspiring writer who moonlights by night as a male escort.
Alana Mastrangelo-Wrask is a reporter for Breitbart News. You can follow her on Facebook and X at @ARmastrangelo, and on Instagram.