Actor Clayton Farris talks queer representation in ‘Weapons’

Actor Clayton Farris who plays the character Terry in Weapons Photo provided by Warner Bros Clayton Farris feels he got lucky with his role in the hit Weapons He had seen filmmaker Zach Cregger s previous movie the well-received Barbarian and was such a fan he decided that he really required to be a part of Cregger s next project It s almost like he willed himself to be involved Somehow selected way magically I got offered a role in this movie Farris stated I really don t even know how it happened If I didn t believe in manifestation I do now In Weapons school children from one elementary school class vanish after they run away from their homes at a m The townsfolk look for an explanation from the class trainer Justine Julia Garner and Alex Cary Christopher the sole trainee from the class who remains And Alex s mysterious flamboyant aunt Gladys Amy Madigan shakes things up even more The film did well at the box office and Madigan is getting Oscar buzz for her supporting role Weapons was shot in and around Atlanta in the spring and summer of and was originally earmarked for a January release But according to Farris when studio heads saw the film they knew they had a feasible hit on their hands and moved the release up to August of this year Farris who is bisexual and says he splits his time between Los Angeles and Atlanta plays Terry one half of a gay couple partnered with school principal Marcus Benedict Wong When we first meet the couple they re enjoying a lovely hot dog dinner while they watch television When Gladys stops by without warning Terry invites her in not thinking of the consequences Farris sees Terry as someone who just wants to live a happy life with his partner The way I see Terry is he s very open-hearted Farris commented He will do anything for a neighbor or someone in the street especially an old lady who looks wacky because they are gripping He means well and welcomes people into his home when maybe it s not the best idea On set Farris was one of the first people to see Madigan in her full Gladys glory with her eccentric clothes and brightly-colored clown-like makeup I was taking it all in in real time and how wild and adventurous and crazy the whole look was Farris noted I messaged the casting director at the time just to say Having a great day on set and she solicited How is Amy I mentioned in an email Mark my word she is getting an Oscar nomination The actor is certainly aware of the queer appeal of the film particularly when it comes to Gladys He has his own opinions about why iconic female characters stand out Even though Gladys can be looked at as this bad character or the antagonist I see a character who has been put through a lot and drug through the mud for a while and this is her getting her comeuppance in a way Farris revealed I think in that realm as someone who was bullied a lot as a kid whenever you see characters like Gladys being proudly themselves and loud and open there is something that resonates to the queer public and everybody because that is what people want the courage to be themselves For Farris Terry and Marcus represent something that he feels is missing in gay representation in media normalcy We get to see queer characters just living their lives and that are happy and the storyline is not about them being gay or being tragically bullied or the stories we are used to Farris announced I think that is why what happens to my character and Marcus has caused such a stir because people fell in love with these characters briskly and because it s a horror film they meet their end speedily There has been chosen criticism that Terry and Marcus deaths fall into the Bury Your Gays trope where LGBTQ characters die more frequently than their heterosexual counterparts Farris understands the criticism I get it If you are thinking of it from a filmmaking perspective it really worked in terms of the story and writing because people love those characters he declared That shift that happens during our scene when Gladys comes in you feel the room shift This is turning sinister I want to validate when people say that but in horror people have to die As a performer who loves horror films Farris realizes it will be huge if the movie or Amy Madigan gets nominated for an Oscar It will be great for the genre he stated Horror is unfailingly put on the side of things not prestige or deserving of awards He s been enjoying seeing the Halloween costumes based on his character and taking in the viral buzz about Terry and Marcus hot dog platter all over social media It s a hard time in Hollywood now so to be part of something cool is next level he reported The post Actor Clayton Farris talks queer representation in Weapons appeared first on Rough Draft Atlanta