TELEVISION
Q&A with Matt Rogers of “Q-Force”
Actor and writer stars as Twink in Netfl ix animated series
BY GARY M. KRAMER
In the highly amusing animated
series, “Q-Force,” out
gay actor and writer Matt
Rogers plays Twink, a sassy
drag queen who can disguise himself
as anyone to help his team
of queer superspies solve crime.
Twink’s leader from the American
Intelligence Agency (AIA) is agent
Steve Maryweather (Sean Hayes)
— a man with “affected confi dence
and the body of a God” — who made
the unwise decision in 2010 to come
out at his commencement.
Now, after 10 years or doing
nothing in West Hollywood, Steve,
or “Mary” as he is known, decides
he and his queer crew — which includes
Stat (Patti Harrison), Deb
(Wanda Sykes) and Twink — goes
rogue. What is more, they stumble
upon a terrorist plot. Cracking wise
and cracking ribs, Q-Force takes on
a several missions over the course
of Season One’s ten episodes.
In a recent phone interview, Rogers
chatted with Gay City News
about the show and creating Twink.
KRAMER: How did you come
to embody Twink?
ROGERS: I was fi rst hired to
write on the show, and when I read
the pilot script, the character that
jumped out at me was defi nitely
Twink because I thought it was
genius that he was a drag queen
by day and a master of disguise by
night. He makes pop culture references
and always says the very
fi rst thing that comes to his mind
— even if it is dumb — but he is
still brilliant at what he does, and
such an integral part of the team.
I never suggested myself for the
role. When we had the fi rst table
read, I was asked to read Twink to
sell the jokes. I gravitated towards
him naturally. I gave him a heightened
version of myself. I used my
resonator to give some energy in his
voice, and I found I was rhythmically
in the pocket of where he lived as
a comedic character. After the read,
they came to me and offered me the
role. I did not audition for it.
KRAMER: Twink’s character
is really sassy, selfi sh, overly
Q Force is an animated series arriving on Netfl ix September 2.
emotional, and enthusiastic.
What qualities did you give him?
I’m guessing he’s not like you.
ROGERS: Twink is someone
who says what he feels. He is a
little burst of energy in every episode.
The character and me blend
together at a certain point. What
I really like about him is that he’s
very instinctual, and he doesn’t
apologize for who he is. He’s never
competing. Yes, he wants all the
attention and wants to be the star
of the team, but it’s never at the
expense of anyone else. There is
not a bitchy bone in his body. He
is an energetic, positive, sex positive,
enthusiastic, maybe not super
thoughtful, but well intentioned.
KRAMER:What observations
do you have about how the series
embraces and subverts queer
stereotypes?
ROGERS: It’s been really interesting.
I understand why there’s a
hesitancy and diffi culty to swallow
queer content by queer audiences
because we’re not represented a lot.
When we are represented, there is
a nervousness or an anxiety when
we see characters on screen, and
they are a certain way and people
think: Is this the way we’re being
represented and is this the defi nitive
way of representation?
I experienced a lot of that when
people saw the fi rst trailer for “Qforce”
and Twink says something
NETFLIX
that supports the stereotype
that we’re oversexualized, or that
we talk like that. But people dotalk
like that and a lot of people I
know who are gay dogo out fuck a
lot. You make a choice to think it’s
funny or be offended or anxious
about it. I hope that people choose
to embrace this. There are so many
queer identities represented so I
hope that people check their criticism
at the door. It’s a very sweet
story about a chosen family, and
it’s a fun spy show as well. Yes, I
do understand when people are
on edge about representation, but
that means we need more of it. So
let’s let this one happen so there
are more queer shows so we don’t
have to put too much on one show.
KRAMER: I appreciate that
“Q-Force” embraces community
and diversity. What can you say
about the way you and your castmates
work together as a team?
ROGERS:In the writers’ room,
that was a major focus from an
early point. If you are going to have
a queer show, represent the queer
community in all its vastness. I
was excited to be on the same show
as Wanda Sykes, Niecy Nash, and
my dear friend Patti Harrison, who
I came up with in queer comedy.
I love that it was centered around
Sean Hayes. Sean was one of two
gay male characters on screen
when I was a young kid growing up
on Long Island. It’s fun to see how
far we’ve come and how far he has
come in his career that he can be
the center of the show — because
he has earned that. We emphasized
having queer actors on this
show. I’m fi lming “Fire Island” now
and we have an all-queer cast as
well. To do queer projects that are
walking the walk, and have a majority
queer writer’s room and cast,
and are diverse in age, race, orientation,
and identity, it’s something
I’m really proud of.
KRAMER: Animation allows
the characters to defy physics
— Twink can be pretty limber
— and get very, very naked. Can
you talk about the nude scene
and your thoughts about the
show’s no-holds-barred style?
ROGERS: There are couple sex
and nude scenes where I screamed
out loud watching it. Especially in
the “Brokeback Mountain” episode,
we are really going for it in terms of
graphic gay sex in a way that I hope
everyone fucking loves. And these
animated gay characters are really
hot. I’m sure there’s a subreddit
that will absolutely have a fi eld
day with this in a positive way, and
I’m excited to be part of a horny,
animated gay show. And in terms
of how my character looks, that is
how my weight and chest are proportioned,
and my ass is absolutely
that fat and yes, I am as limber as
Twink, and people should inquire
about it 100 percent.
KRAMER: Twink doesn’t really
get a love interest in the
series. What can you say about
that or even your own romantic
life—does it mirror Twink’s?
ROGERS: Hmm. Twink and
I are both trying to have hot boy
summers all the time! Laughs I
think Twink and I both actually
do best when we’re single. We’re
a lot in relationships. That’s one
way Twink and I are similar. We’ve
got a lot of stuff to work out. But
who knows — maybe someone can
handle Twink? And I say that just
about Twink, not about myself at
all. It would be interesting to see
who Twink would want to be with.
Obviously, a daddy type.
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