When Luke Fetherston joined the solid of the romantic comedy “Picture This,” he instantly noticed his function as a possibility to assist “validate younger LGBTQ+ people’s experiences.” However he discovered himself relishing one of many perks of the job, too: the flexibility to bike to the movie’s London set from his dwelling.
“My character’s a gay man in his 30s living in [the London borough of] Hackney, and I’m all of those things. I didn’t have to dig that deep,” the actor quipped. “It’s completely bizarre when you book a job and then you suddenly realize that you’re 10 minutes down the road.”
“Picture This,” directed by Prarthana Mohan and due out Thursday on Amazon Prime Video, is an adaptation of the 2024 Australian comedy, “Five Blind Dates.” The film stars “Bridgerton” actor Simone Ashley as Pia, a lovesick Londoner who’s struggling to get her pictures enterprise off the bottom regardless of some inventive efforts spearheaded by Jay (Fetherston), her finest buddy and colleague.
At her youthful sister’s engagement get together, Pia is informed by a religious guru that the love of her life might be discovered amongst her subsequent 5 dates. However Pia’s plans to get again into the relationship scene are thwarted by the surprising reappearance of her ex-boyfriend, Charlie (Hero Fiennes Tiffin).
Fetherston, whose credit embody The CW’s “Pandora” and the Apple TV+ collection “Still Up,” has spoken in earlier interviews about being informed to cover his sexuality within the early years of his profession. He additionally understood that the character of Jay could be categorized as one more instance of the “gay best friend” trope, very like Rupert Everett’s George in “My Best Friend’s Wedding” and Willie Garson’s Stanford on “Sex and the City.”
Ashley, who’s of British-Indian heritage, has praised the methods through which “Picture This” places a multicultural twist on such rom-com traditions. As for Jay, Fetherston says the character felt extra “dimensional” than lots of his cinematic or tv predecessors.
Samir Hussein by way of Getty Pictures
“Jay is a constant for Pia and has this emotional arc that he goes on with her,” he defined. “He really listens to Pia, whereas some of her family don’t. He sees her and he appreciates what she’s going through and is able to try and lift her out of the fog and send her on her way.”
“It’s always nice for our community to see gay men playing gay roles,” he added. “It’s more visibility for us, which is only a good thing.”
Born in Scotland and raised in East London, Fetherston bought his begin in musical theater, performing in productions of “Funny Girl” and “Fiddler on the Roof,” amongst different reveals.
In recent times, Fetherston has been largely targeted on TV, together with a memorable function on Lifetime’s “Flowers in the Attic: The Origin.” Not solely does “Picture This” look poised to spice up his Hollywood profile, nevertheless it additionally gave him an opportunity to reunite with Ashley, with whom he participated in an performing workshop greater than a decade in the past.
“When I read the script for my audition, I had an idea that it would be Simone,” he mentioned. “We hadn’t seen each other for a long time, but we already had that familiarity. So the relationship between Jay and Pia just flourished on-screen, because we had that comfortability with each other.”
Viewers hoping to see extra of Fetherston after “Picture This” are in luck, because the actor additionally has a principal function on the third season of the Amazon Prime Video collection “The Wheel of Time,” due out March 13.
For now, Fetherston is having fun with being ensconced within the romantic comedy house, naming “Clueless” and “Notting Hill” as amongst his private favorites. Nonetheless, he’s hoping to increase the breadth of queer roles, whether or not in rom-coms or different genres, he tackles transferring ahead.
Take pleasure in HuffPost Entertainment — Advert Free
Already contributed? Log in to cover these messages.
“I would like to play as many queer roles as possible because it’s my lived experience ― it would be amazing to have that opportunity,” he mentioned. “It’s amazing working with other actors who have different lenses on life, and I think absorbing all that in whatever way you can is beneficial.”
Watch the trailer for “Picture This” under.
