Marvel's ETERNALS Actor Haaz Sleiman, Who Plays Phastos's Husband, Talks About First Gay MCU Couple and Their Onscreen Kiss
When the news broke that Marvel’s Eternals would have the first openly gay character, some fans started to speculate as to who it could be. Now we know it will be Phastos, who is being played by Brian Tyree Henry (If Beale Street Could Talk, Hotel Artemis), and we have some details about the first onscreen kiss by a same-sex couple from the actor who plays Phastos’s husband, Haaz Sleiman.
In a recent interview with newnownext, Sleiman talked about his part in Eternals, saying:
I just shot a Marvel film with the first openly gay superhero, The Eternals. I’m married to the gay superhero Phastos, played by Atlanta’s Brian Tyree Henry, and we represent a gay family and have a child.
Then, when asked if audiences could expect to see an onscreen kiss, Sleiman emphatically responded:
Oh, yeah, absolutely, and it’s a beautiful, very moving kiss. Everyone cried on set. For me it’s very important to show how loving and beautiful a queer family can be. Brian Tyree Henry is such a tremendous actor and brought so much beauty into this part, and at one point I saw a child in his eyes, and I think it’s important for the world to be reminded that we in the queer community were all children at one point. We forget that because we’re always depicted as sexual or rebellious. We forget to connect on that human part.
That’s awesome. People of all colors, shapes, sizes, beliefs, and orientations deserve to see themselves represented on the big screen within their favorite genres. I love the melting pot of the MCU, and how underdogs and misfits were always able to identify with different characters. Now even more people are getting to be included in that as well.
Here’s the synopsis for the film:
Marvel Studios' The Eternals features an exciting new team of Super Heroes in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, ancient aliens who have been living on Earth in secret for thousands of years. Following the events of Avengers: Endgame, an unexpected tragedy forces them out of the shadows to reunite against mankind's most ancient enemy, The Deviants.
Eternals is being directed by Chloé Zhao, and also stars Angelina Jolie as Thena, Gemma Chan as Sersi, Richard Madden as Icarus, Kumail Nanjiani as Kingo, Lauren Ridloff as Makkari, Salma Hayek as Ajak, Lia McHugh as Sprite, Don Lee as Gilgamesh, and Kit Harrington as an archeologist named Dane Whitman.
Eternals hits theaters on November 6, 2020. Are you excited?