Omari douglas gay
Omari Douglas on Cabaret and growing up gay in the 00s: ‘You are made to experience there’s no one like you’
His eyes flicker as he revisits the moment he realised how others felt about him because of his race. “Before I could even articulate I was gay,” he says, “[I remember] being in a playground in main school and everyone’s playing kiss-chase and feeling that you are the undesirable one.”
His life might be different now, externally, with victory and adoration as a star of Channel 4’s most-binged drama of all time, It’s A Sin,and now about to take a lead role in Cabaretin the West End (and that’s before we even address the rumours he’ll be the next Doctor Who). But that feeling “fed its way in,” he says. And that’s nothing unusual. “That is just the life of being a Black person. Homosexual or not.”
His act as Roscoe Babatunde in It’s A Sin, Russell T Davies’ multi-award-winning mini-seriesabout a group of friends trying to survive the 1980s Aids crisis, was thrillingly defiant. He announces t
Omari Douglas
The responsibility of the recent Channel 4 show It’s A Sin isn’t lost on player Omari Douglas. In fact, he wears it like a badge of honor. “We have the privilege now to tell a story,” he explains when we chat just shy of a week from broadcast.
Omari plays the fictional character of Roscoe Babatunde, the standout star of this new drama by writer Russell T. Davies, which charts the lives of a group of young people during the HIV/AIDS crisis of the 80s. As their friendship and self-discovery grows, the years pass, and they each face the pandemic in an unfiltered and often beautifully tragic way.
“We’re so used to this narrative of things only affecting a specific group of people, which this was, people took that and then pushed them to one side even more,” he tells me. “People’s voices weren’t heard and this is a chance to provide those people that voice.”
Lead by Years & Years frontman Olly Alexander and The Bodyguard’s Keeley Hawes – who delivers a performance worthy of great accolade – Omari’s desire to act truth to the script given is matched by his need to represent the stories he’s longed to see on screen.
“It’s easy for people to ponder of these pers
Omari Douglas from It's a Sin: 'People like Roscoe shaped the gay landscape'
The Big Issue: Say us about Roscoe in It’s A Sin…
Omari Douglas: I would describe Roscoe as brave, unapologetic, audacious, a drive. What struck me was Roscoe’s boldness. My instinct was to tap into that self-expression because it’s something to be celebrated. People like Roscoe were shaping the homosexual landscape.
Did you undergo a pressure to represent a generation of young lgbtq+ men who were around during such a devastating time?
I don’t know about pressure, it felt like a service. Because it’s such a specific trial and you desire to honour that. It’s interesting that although it is a period piece, essentially, it’s not so far removed from us. There are people who aren’t with us anymore as a result of compassionate of the epidemic, but there are so many people still here, appreciate Russell, who own a very personal account of that time. The proof that Russell has been able to channel that into the scripts is really profound and amazing. It is incredible that he was able to share the exposure in that way.
What discussions did you have with Russell?
Wha
It’s a Sin actor explores extreme emotions and the need for authenticity with UCLan counselling and sexual health students
Sexual health pupil Molly commented: “I start I got a lot out of this conversation, particularly as a scholar with a theatre background and now a romance for sexual health it was great to spot these two loves collide.
“It was really exciting to get a chance to chat to Omari and see what the process was behind his nature and the experience he had on set. I am really grateful to have had a chance to talk about such an important topic and such an important show.”
Hannah Mclachlan, who is also a counselling student, added: “It was interesting to talk about how keeping secrets for so elongated, like many of the characters in It’s a Sin did, can command to unprocessed emotions and having to work through a trauma many years later. Shame can be a very powerful and negative feeling and it made me really contemplate what affect that could have on a person.”
The event was co-led by lecturer in psychological interventions Lowri Dowthwaite, who runs a module called human being in context to give students a foundation for understanding counse