LOVE VICTOR'S MICHAEL CIMINO [IN PRINT]

INTERVIEW BY CLARA SEELY-KATZ

Nothing is ever just black and white. Life, the world, love, sexuality, morality, cultures, history, are all an amalgamation of different layers and hues of colors. Refract a white light and you separate it into its constituent wavelengths and you’ll see the spectrum of colors.

PHOTOGRAPHER: IRVIN RIVERA, PHOTO PRODUCER: LOUISE BARRETTO, FASHION STYLING: NIKKO PANTI, GROOMING: MATILDE CAMPOS @ SIX K LA, CREATIVE DIRECITON: PHIL LIMPRASERTWONG

Pride is not any specific hue of the rainbow. Pride is being brave and free. Pride is self-acceptance, and openly loving others as much as you love yourself. It’s devoid of age, social and economic status, political affiliation, religion, and sexual orientation.

This issue is to remind us that there’s beauty in appreciating the spectrum around us. For the most part, it’s comforting to know that our differences somehow make us complete. We are more similar in so many ways than we realize. We are different, yet we all share the colors of the spectrum in one way or another.

In this special Collector’s Issue, we have the honor of featuring Michael Cimino, a young and promising, bright star who brilliantly plays Victor in the TV series Love, Victor. He was able to capture the nuances, the awkwardness, the excitement, the pain, the triumphs of coming out, of self-acceptance, of being young and in love.

The man is inspiring in many ways. He’s Latino, he’s brown, he sings, and leads a groundbreaking show that champions LGBTQIA stories. Michael’s presence on TV and social media is not just important because of representation and visibility, but also essential because of the message he carries and inspires to his audience - freedom of expression and self-acceptance.

There’s a wide spectrum to consider when we talk about self-acceptance. It’s a complex topic, for sure, granted there are different shades of ourselves to embrace and love. Sometimes you may feel blue, but sometimes you could feel sunny yellow, or mad red. But there’s just something refreshingly positive and light on deciding to be nicer to yourself - it’s liberating. Michael is one of those rare gems in the industry that radiates the type of positivity that we need right now in the world. We hope you enjoy this whole issue, the photos as well as Michael’s story as much as we do. Happy Pride!

-IRVIN RIVERA, EDITOR-IN-CHIEF

June is the official American Pride Month, and along with celebrating through parties and parades, many are turning to queer media to celebrate shows and movies that bring more representation to the screen. In the fight for true representation and equality, important assets to the LGBTQ+ community are those who identify as allies and want to help support and bolster the voices of members of the queer community. Allies take the form of friends, family members, and even, in this case, actors who although not queer-identifying themselves, have immense love and respect for the LGBTQ+ community. An actor who exemplifies the qualities every ally should have is the 21-year-old Michael Cimino, the young actor/musician who plays the titular Victor, of Hulu’s Love, Victor, a show following the coming out story of a young queer teen.

When I was told that I would get the opportunity to interview Michael Cimino, one of Hollywood's most current up-and-coming actors (who uniquely became a star during the pandemic), I immediately got to work. By "work," I mean I binged all ten of Love, Victor's equally heartbreaking and heartwarming episodes in a day with a scary amount of ease, not a very difficult task. Although Love, Victor (season two on Hulu starting June 11th) is geared towards a younger audience, the interweaving plot lines that cover everything from mental illness to first love and heartbreak are all themes easily related to by watchers of all ages, making Love, Victor truly a show that should not be missed. 

When Cimino walked onto A Book Of’s set in Downtown Los Angeles, the first thing that I registered was his natural charisma and brightness. Cimino was a live wire, buzzing with life as he was smiling and laughing throughout our whole conversation. Short on time, Cimino had to be interviewed as makeup was dabbed on his face before the multi-colored shoot. Beneath bristling brushes, he squinted at me, smiled, and proceeded to reveal how in touch he is with the current state of affairs for LGBTQ+ youth, as well as the general importance of his role as an ally/actor (he takes it seriously).

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LOVE, VICTOR SEASON 2 IS NOW STREAMING ON HULU