'Love, Simon' stars talk coming of age, representation
New movie gives fresh perspective on teenage romance, when a gay 17-year-old is forced to come to terms with his identity after his secret is threatened.
On the eve of its release, the cast and director of “Love, Simon” are opening up about the film's importance in today's society.
The film tells the story of a closeted high school student, Simon, who connects with a similar boy named Blue online. It follows his journey to find acceptance while falling in love with his newly-discovered kindred spirit.
Director Greg Berlanti and stars Natasha Rothwell, Katherine Langford and Nick Robinson sat down with Fox News to discuss why they find the film such an important story to tell in 2018.
Rothwell brought politics into the conversation while discussing the film.
"Under this current administration, it's important and critical to celebrate and highlight marginalized voices and to give them a platform and stories that are interesting and moving and compelling, and I think that's what this movie does," she said. "That's why I'm so proud to be a part of it. I think this film will play in theaters and for audiences that really needs to hear the message that this film has of kindness, acceptance and living your truth and being authentic and supporting each other as we try to do that."
Director Berlanti said when he read the script it moved him "in so many ways."
"One of the ways was it was just so nice that there was a feature film script that I was reading that wasn't just a comedy or a drama, but was actually both, and reminded me of all the kind of films had grown up with,” Berlanti told Fox News. “Then I realized that a part of why it moved me so much was that it was 2016 at the time, you know, and there hadn't been a teen romantic comedy with a gay character at the center of it and that I was connecting very personally with it in that way, and I felt it was both for everyone, but also specifically for kids that had felt alone in that way and they can hopefully experience a film like this in a way that they hadn't before. The timing of it, to me, was essential in that I felt it was too late and that it should have happened a long time ago and so I wanted to do anything I could to make it happen.”
“13 Reasons Why” actress Katherine Langford, who plays Simon’s friend Leah in the film, gushed over the film’s ability to depict a population of the country that doesn’t often see itself portrayed in media.
“I think representation is crucial. You need to see people who look like you, who think like you, speak like you, who go through the same things like you. And I think that's what filmmakers can do so beautifully, is to tell stories,” she said. “I was also on ‘13 Reasons Why,’ and I think that the two similarities between ‘Love, Simon’ and the show are that we're aiming to tell a story in an authentic way. I didn't choose either one with any social agenda, but I think that I'm really grateful to be a part of both and again I think that you need representation, particularly with a story that so many people have gone through and hasn't been told yet."
Robinson, the film’s star, noted that he was interested in the role as it put LGBTQ characters front and center for the first time.
"What makes it different is usually when you are seeing a film like this or a character like this their sort of perfunctory, you know? They're not really...they're in the background. They're like a fringe element,” he said. “With this, Simon's story, it's really front and center and I think that's what makes it different. It's a new perspective.”
“Love, Simon” hits theaters on March 16.
Fox News’ Liza Aristizabal contributed to this report
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