“Grown-ish” star Emily Arlook says that playing an LGBTQ character isn’t all that different from playing a straight character.
“I mean, she’s just a person,” Arlook said when asked about what it’s like portraying an LGBTQ character in a recent interview with TheWrap. “So I just played her how any human I thought would behave.”
Arlook said that playing Nomi Segal gave her the opportunity to learn more about the LGBTQ community. “I didn’t know that bi people make up a majority of the community and are the least represented,” she said.
Arlook’s character is a bisexual woman who goes on a date with a bisexual man in one episode and is forced to confront her own biases.
“I think what’s important is to tell the truth about anybody,” she said.
“I think women’s stories are so fascinating and so interesting and so complex,” she continued, adding that there are several “dynamic” women portrayed on the “Black-ish” spinoff.
“To be able to have my character, Nomi, [and] Zoey [Yara Shahidi], Ana [Francia Raisa], Jazz [Chloe Bailey], Sky [Halle Bailey], these dynamic, strong women who aren’t afraid to speak up and are not being silenced in any shape or form is awesome.”
Watch “Grownish” on Wednesdays at 8/7 C on Freeform.