‘What/If’s Juan Castano Says Gay Role Helped Him Embrace His Fluidity

And he’ll be in Netflix’s upcoming ‘Tales of the City.’

Anyone who went to college with a bunch of theater majors knows that acting is a way of getting to truth, ya know. Well, that goes double for What/If star Juan Castano, who plays Marcos, the gay brother of main character Lisa (Jane Levy).

In an interview with New Now Next, Castano admitted that playing Marcos helped him understand his own sexuality on a deeper level.

“I would say that for the majority of my life I identified as straight, but as I got older I think my sexual preference has gotten more fluid,” Castano said. “I am, as my friends say, on the spectrum.”

He added that Marcos wasn’t the first time he played gay, but that it was his largest gay role until now.

“When I first had to kiss another man, it was in a play in New York six or seven years ago, Minotaur,” he said. “I kissed this guy, and you’re rehearsing over and over, and it didn’t feel that different from kissing a woman. Then on I Am Michael it was the same thing. It feels really nice. I think what’s important is that as long as there is a connection with a human being that feels good it doesn’t make a difference if it’s a man or a woman. I would say playing Marcos solidified that for me simply because spending that much time with a character you fall in love with them and what they’re going through.”

Castano will next be in Netflix’s ultra-queer Tales of the City, where he’ll play someone hooking up with a transgender partner whose idea of their sexual orientation changes during their transition.

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