Anthony Keyvan on authentic representation and continuing to tell the right stories
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“What’s really special about Q is that his queerness isn’t his identity, and it isn’t something that traumatized him. It was normalized for him and his peers. No one in the show has ever questioned his sexual orientation or discriminated against him, and he was immediately accepted by everyone. We don’t get to see that side of the coming out story or that way of being queer a lot of times because the media shows the opposite, which can be really scary for questioning or queer young people who are watching these shows. Q’s story allows people who might be questioning their sexual orientation or sexual identity to see that it can be easy — it doesn’t have to be super scary, and you can be accepted by the people around you, but it is always about surrounding yourself with the right people.”
Covering our Summer 2023 issue, Anthony Keyvan, known for notable and beloved LGBTQ+ series Love, Victor and Generation, takes on a new role as Q in Netflix’s XO, Kitty. Anthony reflects on how Q differs from his previous roles, how LGBTQ+ youth can celebrate their true selves in an ever changing landscape, and the impact his characters have had on young audiences struggling to come out as queer.
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Hi everyone, thank you for joining us at Phosphor Magazine. My name is Jonathan, and I am here today with Anthony Keyvan, who stars in the new Netflix series XO, Kitty. Hi Anthony. How are you?
Hi Jonathan. I’m good, how are you?
I’m doing well. Congratulations on your new role and on XO, Kitty being one of the top 10 shows in the US today. What were you most excited for when you found out that you were given this particular role?
I was excited to join the ensemble of an entirely AAPI cast. I’ve never seen a show like this before in my career that was geared towards young people. When I found out about it, it was a show that was the first of its kind, and it’s very special. That’s really what drew me to the part and project and what made me want to audition for it.
That’s awesome. That’s actually one of the things that stood out to me when watching the show, and something that drew me in to see more episodes of it. What was your experience like filming in Korea, compared to some of the other shows you’ve done that filmed primarily in the US, and what did you enjoy most about that experience?
It was definitely an experience to film in Korea. It was something I never thought my career would do for me. I never thought I would be taken to Asia, let alone Seoul, for a TV show. I’ve been doing this since I was five, and I’ve worked mostly only in North America, so that’s really what I thought the norm was, which it still is. It was definitely super interesting when I got the call that we were going to Korea, but it was also really exciting. I didn’t finish college so, in a way, it was kind of like studying abroad for a semester. I thought I knew everything I needed to know about working in the industry, having done it my whole life, but it was really cool to see how an entirely Korean crew produced a show. Everything’s a little bit different, so there was a learning curve there, which was exciting to me because you only grow when you learn, and I feel like I did a lot of growth while filming XO, Kitty.
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Definitely. That actually reminds me of my own experience, because I was so close to studying abroad before the pandemic, so I definitely feel like you get a new learning experience just from what I’ve heard with other friends as well. One of the things that stood out to me about XO, Kitty that I loved so much was the friendship dynamic between your character Q and Kitty. On a personal note, what has been the craziest thing that you have done to help out a friend, and what type of friend do you consider yourself to be?
Loyalty is always my top priority. I feel like that’s really important with friendships, and keeping your circle tight. That’s something that I try to practice because I want to give the closest people in my life all of my attention and all of my efforts. What is the craziest thing I’ve ever done for a friend? I’m the kind of friend that you can call me at any time at night and be like, I need your help, and I will be there. I just can’t think of a specific time that happened. Sometimes my friends will call me and be like, I want to book a trip, let’s go, and I’m the first one in the group chat to say, ‘Okay, send me the link, send me where we’re going. I’ll book it right now.’ That’s probably the craziest thing I’ll do, is I’ll spend an exorbitant amount of money just hanging out.
Honestly that’s a big deal. Shout out to the friend that always responds first in the chat. I think that’s super helpful and something that I really appreciate so I’m glad to hear that. In XO, Kitty, your character Q mentions his fear of acceptance in a city like Seoul. What would be your advice to individuals growing up or living in regions where LGBTQ+ views are not as accepted, so they can embrace and celebrate their true selves?
I don’t have any experience in that personally, but I know how important and impactful it is to have proper representation for communities like this. If you don’t feel like you are supported within your own community, you can seek communities online or even watch TV shows like XO, Kitty that can provide a little bit of comfort in knowing that you’re not alone and that your stories are able to be told. My best advice would be to find resources — they’re always out there, there’s always a community out there that will have your back.
I’m sure the community will appreciate hearing this advice, and it will help them out a lot in their journeys, as everyone’s can be very different. You’ve also starred in other successful shows like Generation and Love, Victor. How would you say that your character Q is different from these other characters, and was there ever a point where you took inspiration from Pablo or Rahim to play this new role?
Obviously, there are some similarities between Rahim and Q. They’re both queer, and they’re both Iranian. The main difference between Q and Rahim’s stories is that Rahim had a very difficult time coming out and coming to terms with his queerness. Amongst his friends, he was extremely comfortable, but when it came to his family, he wasn’t as ready to be himself around them. With Love, Victor, we saw a lot of stories of coming out being a really traumatic experience, and something that was really scary and daunting. What’s really special about Q is that his queerness isn’t his identity, and it isn’t something that traumatized him. It was normalized for him and his peers. No one in the show has ever questioned his sexual orientation or discriminated against him, and he was immediately accepted by everyone. We don’t get to see that side of the coming out story or that way of being queer a lot of times because the media shows the opposite, which can be really scary for questioning or queer young people who are watching these shows. Q’s story allows people who might be questioning their sexual orientation or sexual identity to see that it can be easy — it doesn’t have to be super scary, and you can be accepted by the people around you, but it is always about surrounding yourself with the right people.
Given that you’ve starred in several series playing LGBTQ+ roles, I can personally tell you that the community looks up to you as a public figure with your authentic representation of these characters. Do you have a favorite experience with fans who have either approached you in person or through social media and expressed their gratitude for the impact that you had on them? Is there a story that stands out from these encounters?
There’s no specific story, but I do read a lot of the messages, and I see how impactful characters like Rahim and Q have been for these people, not just on a queer level, but also on an ethnic level. Seeing a mixed kid and mixed queer kid on TV is not something that is often really portrayed in television and film, so when I got the chance to play these characters, I knew it would be really special. I didn’t realize just how impactful it was, but now seeing all these messages, it really warms my heart that I get to do what I love, but also do it with authenticity and have it be impactful for people. That’s really the goal as an artist: to make your art and leave a lasting impression. To know that the characters I play have brought representation to people like that is really an honor and something I don’t take lightly. I can’t think of a specific story, but there are so many queer Iranians who have reached out to me who live in Iran, where it’s not accepted or illegal to be who they are. That really resonated with me because as an Iranian, these are my people, and my people are hurting. The fact that I can bring a little glimmer of hope to their lives is something that I will take with me for the rest of my life.
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I myself am Hispanic American, and I definitely see a lot of similarities between those cultures and Hispanic culture. Even if it’s not exactly a Hispanic character, I can still see similarities in the conflicts that arise from other cultures, other beliefs, and other points of view. Given that you have done so well representing these characters, is there something that you still feel could be improved in the television industry when it comes to authentically representing the LGBTQ+ community? How do you see this impacting future generations?
Continuing to tell these stories. Never stop telling these stories. The more eyes we get on shows like this, the more we touch people’s hearts and open people’s minds. I’ve seen so many messages from people who have watched XO, Kitty or Love, Victor with their families, and how having them watch the perspectives of the parents on these shows changed their own opinions on things or at least opened the conversation. Putting out television and film and media like this is doing way more good than harm because it is showing the right people how things could be and should be.
Kitty’s coming out scene to her father is a really impactful scene because she was calling him in the middle of the night, and she let it out that she had feelings for a girl and the first thing that he was concerned about was her safety and her health. I think seeing that for a lot of parents can show that there are other ways to handle situations like this. I’ve seen that firsthand. I’ve seen a lot of comments like I showed my mom this scene or I showed my mom your coming out scene in Love, Victor, and just seeing how those families and those dynamics have changed individually from that is so special and impactful. Continuing to make shows like this and telling these stories is the only way that there can be more representation in the LGBTQ+ community.
Absolutely. I definitely agree. I’ve seen a lot of the reactions that people have posted on TikTok, and they’ve used movies like Love, Simon, and Love, Victor to show these scenes to their parents and come out to them. It causes a very emotional reaction for people to be able to see their courage and how these characters encourage people in real life to be brave and share these stories publicly — I think that’s something amazing and priceless. Going into some light hearted questions, as you mentioned in the beginning, we’ve seen you play a student in most of your roles. What were your most and least favorite subjects in school, and what was your experience like in high school?
I was a good student. I would say I wasn’t the best student, but I pride myself on hard work, and my parents were really sticklers when it came to grades. I would say my least favorite subject is absolutely math. I am good at it but I hate it so much. It’s the one thing that brings me the least joy in the world. My favorite subject in high school was probably my film studies class that I took my sophomore or junior year. I loved that class, and I think that’s what made me want to continue acting and make it my career, versus just something I did as a kid. I would say my film studies classes were my absolute favorite, and also science. I took biology and honors chemistry, and that was really interesting to me.
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That’s awesome. To end on a happy note, do you have a favorite high school memory that really stands out to you?
I’m really lucky because I was working as an actor, but I still got to be a kid and I still went to normal school. I would say my senior year of high school was my favorite year. I had finished all my classes pretty much, so I had ceramics and random classes like that to graduate. My favorite memories were when we played this game called Senior Assassin. A lot of high schools play it. Basically, it’s a game of tag or you’re out if you get wet by another player. You can throw a water balloon at them or shoot them with a water gun or something. We took it really seriously in my school, and we would follow people home from school with water guns and wait outside their house for them to get out of their car and then spray them. It became really toxic. Looking back now, I can see why that probably wasn’t safe for fun, but back then it was a fun thing to do because we didn’t have major testing or anything since it was the end of the year. Playing Senior Assassin was really fun. There’s a bunch of videos on TikTok of other schools playing it. We’d get really creative, like we would box people into their driveways and make them late for work if they had a job or something so they would have to get out of their cars.
That’s definitely very, very creative. Very fun. I can see why it can get on the toxic side, but I’m sure that was very enjoyable. Anthony, thank you so much. It’s been a pleasure talking to you today. Something I admire about you is how you always bring your authentic personality to your roles, no matter how different they are, and make them unique and your own, and I’m sure fans out there also appreciate that.
Thank you so much. To everyone out there, please don’t forget to catch Anthony in his new series, XO, Kitty, now streaming on Netflix. Thank you so much!
Thank you, Jonathan. That means a lot, and congratulations on your first interview.
Photography IRENE CHEN
Fashion JAIIN KANG
Words JONATHAN CHAVEZ
Grooming SYDNEY STAEHLE
Photo Assistant JONATHAN CHAVEZ
Retouch REGINA MOROZOVA
Special thanks to THE BRAND PARTNERS
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