Conrad Ricamora on Playing Fire Island’s Mr. Darcy

Mixed Asian Media - June 17, 2022

By Sam Tanabe

We’ve finally been served the mixed, gay Mr. Darcy we didn’t know we needed. Fire Island the movie is streaming now on Hulu (Happy Pride), and she’s the queer rom-com of the season. Modeled after Pride and Prejudice, Joel Kim Booster’s adaptation is set in the titular, gay summer Mecca… if you booked your house early enough.

I must confess, I’ve always loved Pride and Prejudice. “I get lost in the language, words like: thither, mischance, felicity...” Leveling up your queer social status is the ultimate inexhaustible objective, and while both stories navigate society’s rude, unwarranted social classifications, this film’s focus drifts away from our classic girl Jane’s by offering variety in the gay experience, a distinction in the gay Asian experience, and the unmatched acceptance of chosen family. It seems these themes lead to a F- on the Bechdel test, but at the end of the night, when the sun creeps up over the Pines once again, don’t we all want to feel like we belong somewhere?

How to Get Away With Murder darling and Broadway leading man Conrad Ricamora plays Will, the aloof love interest, of Joel Kim Booster’s Noah. How did he embrace the Mr. Darcy of it all to carry this 1800s parable into 2022?  I sat down with Conrad at the swanky Equinox Hotel in New York City for an exclusive MAM interview and photoshoot. Lounging in one of the Fire Island press suites (stocked with foam rollers and fitness amenities), we discussed his filming experience, connotations linked to the island itself, and his career as a mixed Asian actor.

Fire Island is the first of its kind. Did you ever think you'd find yourself playing the love interest in a gay romcom? 

You know, I thought maybe I would, after I did How to Get Away With Murder for six years. I played a kind of popular, romantic couple on that show, in the midst of everybody getting killed. But you know, honestly, when they first sent me the script, I thought they maybe made a mistake because I saw that Bowen and Joel were attached, and (because of my experience in the industry) I didn't believe that they would have this many Asians attached to it, Asian men. 

Ater they called me back, they were like, “They actually meant to send it to you. They want you to audition.” So yeah, after that sunk in, I was like, “Oh, this is going to be amazing. And hopefully groundbreaking in a way.”

It's a really good cast and super fun for a lot of queer pop culture fans. There's a lot of crossing over: you have Joel Kim Booster, the Culturistas, SNL vibes, you bring us Shondaland. What was it like working with everybody? It seems like a really fun group.

Yeah, I mean, it was. It felt like we were getting paid to hang out and become best friends with each other. Like queer camp. Yeah, it was just a blast. I mean, the first thing I have to say is: Margaret Cho. I think back in 2004 is when I saw her standup special I’m the One That I Want, and it completely shifted my whole idea of what an Asian American could be in this country — how powerful and raw and sexy and vulnerable. Getting to be in the same van with her, let alone be in scenes with her, was the opportunity of a lifetime. It felt like I had to really control my… it wasn't even like “fan girl,” she was just such a profound person in my life from afar, and now I get to work with her. It was really something that meant a lot.

I would be starstruck working with Margaret Cho.

We've all grown up watching her. She's an icon in the queer community and in the Asian American community. I feel like as Asian Americans, our parents teach us to be good, work hard, keep your head down, and don't make waves. She was so out there using her voice in a really big way that kind of felt like it gave me, and a lot of other Asian-Americans, permission to be like, “You know what? We can speak up. We can be loud. we can be ourselves.” And I didn't see that happening before.

In the beginning of the movie, our heroes are on the ferry to Fire Island, when one jokingly bring up “No fats, no femmes, no Asians,” a phrase we’ve heard a lot in the gay community.

What are your thoughts on these twisted, gay “social hierarchies,” and how they’re addressed in Fire Island?

I love the way they addressed it in the movie because it's super subtle. It's not lecturing the audience. It's showing what is already, but not wagging a finger at the audience. You never feel like you're being pandered to. The way that Joel has written this movie allows the characters to exist in the world as it is, but still have power and agency over their own lives and their own attitudes. Speaking for myself, as a person in the queer community, I don't want to feel like I'm being lectured, but I do want to see the reality of the situation portrayed. I also want to feel empowered by things that are, not re-traumatized, re-victimized by things that we've all experienced. It's like, I know that these things happen, but let us be the heroes, you know? I love that Joel navigates that in the movie really easily and subtly.

They did a really good job addressing some of the gay hot topics and expectations, surrounding the idea of summer in Fire Island. 

Yeah. I really enjoyed that aspect of it. They showed that there is a place for everyone, but there are also cliques and… I don't even want to say “hierarchies” because with the groups that are into excluding people, I don't think that they're higher than anyone else. I wouldn't want to belong to that.

At the beginning of the movie, the audience perceives your character, Will, as stoic and standoffish. He comes across as pretentious. How do you see Will?

I see him as being really shy and quiet, and I think that this is something that happens in the gay community. Speaking for myself, I am introverted. This is the first time I've ever been to Fire Island, and I've never been to a circuit party. I think sometimes people in the queer community that keep more to themselves, get labeled as stuck up or arrogant or snobby when they're just shy and introverted. So for me, it wasn't hard to connect with Will because I very much identify as an introvert. I think he's misunderstood at the beginning of the movie, and hopefully this will allow people access inside of somebody's mindset who is, like Will, shyer and not pass judgment on somebody immediately.

You can't always go off the first impression. 

No. Even if somebody gives off a really good first impression, they can turn out to be different as well, as we see in the movie.

So you had never been to Fire Island before filming? Would you go back?

I am. I’m going to go back this weekend, and I feel like every year now. I didn't know it was so beautiful, but the natural landscape is really, really beautiful. I love the way it's not overdeveloped. They don't have high rise condos or anything like that. It feels like the way the houses have been developed kind of fits into the natural landscape and natural greenery of the island. And yeah, I do feel like there is the party aspect to it, but you can also go chill out and read a book, you can make dinner with your friends. And I got to experience the side of Fire Island I don't think gets a lot of attention.

I love that. 

Looking at your career, I've seen you in a lot of Asian specific theatre roles: Here Lies Love, The King & I, Soft Power, but on TV and in film you've played roles that aren't necessarily race specific. Do you find yourself getting a lot of Asian auditions? Or because you're mixed, do you find you get some more diverse calls? 

It's interesting. When I was in Philadelphia working as an actor for four years, I actually found that theater wise, I got cast in more non-Asian specific roles. I feel like the people who run theatre at the top in New York, in terms of producing and the people who have the money, tend to put people in more of a box than I was used to in Philly. And I don't know why exactly that is.

I do think that with theatre, it’s a lot harder to make money. So there's more of a risk. Maybe that's why they're quicker to put people in boxes, because they want more of a guarantee. I've loved the fact that I've been able to have nonspecific race casting in TV and film.

I think we need both. As Asian Americans, we need to tell Asian specific stories, but then we also need to be able to exist outside of just race specific stories. I mean, I've been able to do it. So I hope that's a sign of it happening more and more, but I would love to see it happen more in theatre.

Same. I would like to see that.

I was happy to do Little Shop [of Horrors] because that was the first theatre role in New York City I played that the character wasn't specifically written as Asian.

My final question is what are your summer plans? Anything exciting coming up for you?

Yeah. I sold a show with Kelvin [Moon Loh] and Jeigh [ Madjus]. It's so funny ‘cause we're still waiting to hear about that.

We just submitted the final draft two weeks ago. They said that it’ll take a few weeks to find it out if it’s going to get greenlit. So yeah, we're waiting to hear about that. Relaxing. Doing a concert in Boston for one night with a bunch of other people. And yeah, back to pounding the pavement. 

Well, thank you so much. It was great to speak a little more formally about everything you're doing.

I'm glad that you started this great, necessary outlet.

Thanks, it's been really fun. Hopefully we’ll chat again soon.

You can follow Conrad Ricamora on IG at @conradricamora, and watch Fire Island the movie now on Hulu.