While Hulu's Fire Island promises to be a chance for many comedic LGBTQ+ actors to make their first appearances on-screen, there are just as many actors in the film who have long and impressive histories on the big screen, silver screen, and even behind the scenes.
Many queer films make good use of more established stars to anchor the film, providing a central name to draw audiences and provide good marketing. With names like Margaret Cho and Bowen Yang behind this film, it presents an incredible opportunity for LGBTQ+ and Asian-American comedians alike.
Joel Kim - A History of Swear Words
Lead and writer of Fire Island Joel Kim Booster tends to be behind the scenes in his work thanks to his incredibly sharp and witty comedic writing. His work behind the scenes has provided him with multiple appearances across many comedy specials and stand-up routines.
One of Booster's first live-action appearances was in the Netflix miniseries A History of Swear Words, in which he appears throughout multiple episodes. This miniseries, hosted by Nicolas Cage, provides insight into the most colorful words often used by comedians and actors alike.
Zane Phillips - Legacies
Legacies, the spin-off series of the Vampire Diaries and The Originals, has featured a sprawling cast of actors over the course of its running. The supernatural series has included all kinds of supernatural creatures, including werewolves, witches, vampires, and even gods and demigods.
One of these demigods is Ben, played by Fire Island's Zane Phillips, who appears in the fourth season. Throughout his run, Ben is a veritable punching bag, often taking the worst of the violence inflicted by the various supernatural monsters in the show.
Margaret Cho - Drop Dead Diva
Margaret Cho is one of the most famous Asian-American comedians in the business, with several decades of incredible television, film, and stand-up behind her. She got her big break with American Girl in which she was the lead actress, playing a young rebellious Korean-American girl.
Today, she is most well known for her stand-up comedy and work on comedy specials, but she also makes frequent guest appearances on shows she believes in - such as Drop Dead Diva. In the show, she plays a paralegal to the lead character, and frequently gest her best one-liners in.
Conrad Ricamora - How To Get Away With Murder
Conrad Ricamora plays Will, one of the main romantic interests in Fire Island. Unlike most other actors in this film, Ricamora doesn't have much comedy experience behind him but rather has spent most of his career in dramatic series - or on the theatre stage where he got his start.
Ricamora's most well-known role is that of Oliver Hampton on How To Get Away With Murder. Hampton is a shy and nerdy technology-focused man who develops a relationship with Connor Walsh, one of the central characters - they have a fraught relationship throughout the series.
Conrad Ricamora -The Resident
Ricamora's dramatic acting skills have served him well and don't show signs of stopping any time soon. Since How To Get Away With Murder ended, Ricamora has joined a more procedural and technical role in the dramatic television series The Resident.
In The Resident, Ricamora plays Dr. Jake Wong, a plastic surgeon who is also the step-son of Bruce Greenwood's Dr. Randolph Bell. He only recently appeared in the show's 4th season, but has made an impressive impact with his charming personality - and Ricamora hits the role out of the park with his singing voice.
James Scully - You
In Fire Island, Charlie is one of the men spending their vacation on the titular island and is played by James Scully. James has had a long history of dramatic acting under his belt, complete with procedural shows such as Quantico and 9-1-1. However, perhaps his biggest role was in You.
Forty Quinn is one of the main cast members in You for seasons 2 and 3 - an aggressive, sensitive, and often unbalanced character. He is the twin brother of Love Quinn, a recovering alcoholic, and often an obstacle to the problematic but loved leading anti-hero, Joe Goldburg.
Bowen Yang - Awkwafina Is Nora from Queens
Bowen Yang's comedic chops are legendary, having provided him with a career that has remained strong throughout many mediums. One of his first major roles was as Awkwafina's Cousin in her show Awkwafina is Nora From Queens. This show provided many Asian-American comedians with their starts.
Fire Island's Matt Rogers also has a guest role as Justin Schultz-Boudreaux in the episode 'Launch Party.' This wouldn't be the first time Yang and Rogers interacted - they host the podcast Las Culturistas together in which they discuss a variety of LGBTQ+ topics from their comedic perspectives.
Matt Rogers - Q-Force
Matt Rogers is one of the leading men in Fire Island, and he has a long history of comedic work, including his podcast Las Culturistas with Bowen Yang. One of his most recent works is as a voice actor with the television show Q-Force. The show features a heavily queer cast with mostly good results.
Matt Rogers voices Twink, a member of the crew who both intentionally embodies and subverts many LGBTQ+ community trends and stereotypes. Rogers' voice provides a delightfully fey counterpart to leading voice actor Sean Hayes' more masculine and neutral voice-acting.
Matt Rogers - I Love That For You
Matt Rogers does far more than just voice-acting and podcasting aside from just his stellar showing in Fire Island. The comedian has appeared in guest spots throughout dozens of television shows, but he recently earned a more central part on I Love That For You.
In this Vanessa Bayer vehicle, a young woman named Joanna beats leukemia and makes it her goal to move past her social anxiety and fears in order to host a home-shopping network show. Matt Rogers place Darcy Leeds, assistant to the network's head who often butts heads with Joanna.
Bowen Yang - SNL
Bowen Yang's most well-known and well-received role was that as a recurring cast member on SNL. The weekly show is often considered a challenge for up-and-coming comedians, considering the very quick turnaround and demanding requirements for the cast throughout the season.
Yang's tenure on the show started in 2018 as a writer, and he was also a cast member from 2019 onwards. His most commonly used characters are Kim Jong-un, George Takei, and Andrew Yang, but he continues to offer his comedic and imitative skills whenever the skits of the day require them.