The Gentleman Jack star speaks exclusively to DIVA Box Office about her role as Anne Lister
WORDS: ROXY BOURDILLON, PHOTOS: BBC/LOOKOUT POINT/MATT SQUIRE
There’s a lot of discussion right now about straight actors playing LGBTQI+ characters. The matter of representation is undoubtedly an important one, especially for us as queer people, who have often been poorly or underrepresented in the past.
That’s why we launched DIVA Box Office, our new entertainment platform providing stellar content for women-loving women. It’s also why, when we interviewed Suranne Jones about playing lesbian diarist Anne Lister in HBO/BBC drama Gentleman Jack, we made sure we brought the subject up. When we did, we discovered it’s something Suranne has plenty of thoughts about, and she was more than happy to share them with us.
That’s not all we talked about in our juicy one-on-one. We also discussed how she prepared for this part of a lifetime, her sizzling onscreen chemistry with Sophie Rundle and even what Anne was like in bed. You can see the whole thing here.
While Suranne has given several interviews to publicise Gentleman Jack, she pointed her Instagram followers looking for “a full discussion on straight actors playing LGBTQIA roles” to our in-depth DIVA Box Office chat. She also paid tribute to the many people, including members of the queer community, who helped her bring Anne to life.
So to find out what Suranne really thinks, click here and watch our exclusive interview.
And for even more Gentleman Jack, grab a copy of the May issue of DIVA, featuring Suranne on the cover. It’s available now via the links below.
Only reading DIVA online? You’re missing out. For more news, reviews and commentary, check out the latest issue. It’s pretty badass, if we do say so ourselves.
