Jack Wolfe is portraying the beloved queer character Wylan Hendriks in the second season of ‘Shadow and Bone.’ The show is based on the popular book series “Six of Crows,” written by Israeli-American fantasy author Leigh Bardugo.
Wylan is the love interest of Jesper Fahey (Kit Young) in Season 2, which is set to premiere on March 16 on Netflix. In a recent interview with Attitude, Wolfe opened up about growing up as queer child and the importance of queer representation.
“Growing up, I didn’t see that many characters like myself who were in big fantasy series, with violence or [who] even had access to fantasy weapons or got involved in big fights and battles. I think to see a character like myself in those situations is a really cool thing, it’s something that I actually don’t see often,” the 27-year-old English actor shared.
Talking about whether or not straight actors should play queer roles, Wolfe admitted that he has not yet “completely found what my stance on it is” and that “it constantly changes.” However, he noted how important LGBTQ+ representation is for young queer people, explaining:
“All I can say is that, as a young, queer person, who was aware of their identity, what it would have meant to me to have seen a gay character that I liked, and then found out the actor was gay too and had managed to get to that place…”
“As a gay child who felt alone, as so many of us did at the time, to have had more of those examples would have been wonderful, you know?,” he further expressed.
Getting to know more about Wolfe, he was born on December 17, 1995 in Dewsbury, West Yorkshire. The actor attended Ackworth School, and he started acting in a Wakefield Saturday-morning youth theater group.
In 2017, Wolfe graduated from Mountview Academy of Theatre Arts in London, and he also trained at Chetham’s School of Music in Manchester. He is known for his theater work with the National Theatre and Royal Shakespeare Company, among others.
Not to mention, Wolfe made his feature film debut in 2022’s ‘The Magic Flute,’ and of course, he is starring in ‘Shadow and Bone’ Season 2.
Sources: attitude.co.uk, en.wikipedia.org
“what it would have meant to me to have seen a gay character that I liked, and then found out the actor was gay too and had managed to get to that place…”
“As a gay child who felt alone, as so many of us did at the time, to have had more of those examples would have been wonderful, you know?,”
Love that statement. As a younger gay guy I’m thankful he’s talking about growing up gay & having more examples of gay characters for those of us who feel alone.