Katherine Langford and Nick Robinson on the Power of 'Love, Simon': 'Why Is Straight the Default?'
Love, Simon caught Katherine Langford off guard.
"What took me back was, firstly, the range of emotions that I felt and, secondly, how unsuspectingly [the script] affected me," the 21-year-old Perth native tells TheFIX. "It's so full of love and so full of joy, but it's also able to affect you in a way that you don't necessarily suspect."
The teen rom-com (in Australian cinemas now) centres on Simon Spier, as he navigates high school, crushes, and his struggle to come out. It's the first major studio film in the genre to focus on a closeted gay protagonist.
"I think that this movie is just incredibly sensitive... a new version of a very old story," says Nick Robinson, 23, who plays Simon. "And I think it's high time that this perspective reaches a younger, broader audience."
The film is already a critical success in the US, where it was released earlier this month, and co-stars Jennifer Garner, Josh Duhamel, and Dance Academy alum Keiynan Lonsdale.
In one memorable scene, the film imagines what it would be like if its straight characters had to come out to their families, prompting audiences to consider the very notion of asking LGBTQ people to declare their sexuality.
"We did touch on some of these hetero-normative ideas when we flipped the script, and we say why is straight the default?" says Langford, who's best known for her breakout role in Netflix's 13 Reasons Why. "Coming out is always tricky, and I think it's tricky to announce yourself… [But I think] films are really helpful for promoting discussion, which promotes understanding, and then hopefully, ultimately, acceptance."
