Jan 20
How About the Hotties in Upcoming Queer Films?
Frank J. Avella READ TIME: 19 MIN.
2024 was not a banner year for queer films. While there were a number of terrific indies, like "I Saw the TV Glow," as well as "National Anthem" and "Love Lies Bleeding," and some stayed under the radar, such as "Sebastian" with its extraordinary performance by Ruaridh Mollica. "Emilia Pérez," the year's most celebrated queer film, has the highest profile with likely multiple Oscar noms and two Golden Globes under its belt, but it also remains one of the most controversial. And leave it to Luca Guadagnino to gift us two of the queerest films of 2024, "Challengers" and "Queer."
But what of 2025?
Looking forward to 2025, there's a lot to be excited about with sizzling hotties ready to burst from the screens. Too many to list in just one feature article. Some are familiar straight-men-playing-gay suspects, such as Josh O'Connor, Jonathan Groff, and Jacob Elordi; while others are queer-identifying and/or openly gay actors playing queer roles, who include Jonathan Groff, Russell Tovey, Brandon Flynn and Bowen Yang.
And they are so numerous, that they come at you in two parts. Here is the first.
'A Nice Indian Boy'
Source: IMDbPro
Roshan Sethi's charming rom-com, "A Nice Indian Boy," premiered at SXSW last year and also opened NewFest. The film stars Karan Soni as Naveen, a doctor who has brought home a nice white boy Jay, played by Jonathan Groff, to meet his family.
Karan Soni
The openly gay, Indian-born Soni received acclaim as Dopinder Tim Miller's "Deadpool" in 2016, a role he reprised in "Deadpool 2" in 2018. He has over 100 acting credits which include "The People We Hate at the Wedding," where he appears shirtless and has a threesome with Julian Ovenden and Ben Platt. "This year he was back as Dopinder in "Deadpool & Wolverine."
Source: Instagram
Jonathan Groff
Stage, screen and TV thesp Jonathan Groff is busy prepping to play Bobby Darin on Broadway in "Just in Time," bowing later this season. The Out "Spring Awakening" and "Hamilton" star won a Tony Award for Lead Actor in a Musical for the sublime Sondheim revival of "Merrily We Roll Along." His TV work includes the iconic gay series, "Looking," "Glee" and "The Normal Heart." In 2023 he starred in M. Night Shyamalan's queer horror film, "Knock at the Cabin."
Sexy Groff is no stranger to LGBTQ-roles and does not shy away from nudity, onscreen, TV or on stage.
"A Nice Indian Boy" hits theaters April 4, 2025
Frank J. Avella is a proud EDGE and Awards Daily contributor. He serves as the GALECA Industry Liaison and is a Member of the New York Film Critics Online. His award-winning short film, FIG JAM, has shown in Festivals worldwide (figjamfilm.com). Frank's screenplays have won numerous awards in 17 countries. Recently produced plays include LURED & VATICAL FALLS, both O'Neill semifinalists. He is currently working on a highly personal project, FROCI, about the queer Italian/Italian-American experience. He is a proud member of the Dramatists Guild. https://filmfreeway.com/FrankAvella https://muckrack.com/fjaklute