Nico Tortorella Opens Up About Exploring Gender

Nico Tortorella graces the cover of Euphoria‘s Issue 8, out now.

Here’s what the 29-year-old Younger star had to say…

On his dream role: “The more that I’m playing ‘believe’ in my real life and working on myself, actually the harder it is for me to play ‘make-believe’ right now. So today, my dream role would be playing myself.”

On exploring gender: “There is not one label that I’m saying this is who I am for the rest of my life. I love language and I just wrote a book of poetry. I’m obsessed with words and how we use them. I think they can either be used as medicine or weapons. I feel like I’m getting my Doctorate in the medicine right now. I’m exploring the world of gender and what it means to me. I think the more work I’ve been doing in the space, the less I believe in gender as binary, as the construct that it is.

On judging RuPaul’s Drag Race: “That show has been such a staple to my life for so long that I knew that I always wanted to be part of it in one way or another. It’s funny, the show came into my life from the Menendez: Blood Brothers movie. To me, drag is a way to approach gender but it’s so much more than gender, with a sense of humility. So much of the life people take so f–king seriously all the time. To me, drag was a way to play with life in such a beautiful way. There’s a childish enthusiasm to drag that is so beautiful. That’s what really attracted it to me in the first place. It’s so visceral. It’s using your body, your voice, your face as canvas as a form of resistance, too! It’s so f–king layered.”

For more from Nico, head to EuphoriaZine.com.