Interview: Nick Adams on Why FIRE ISLAND Is 'Groundbreaking' For Queer Cinema

With roles in Priscilla, Queen of the Desert, La Cage Aux Folles, and Falsettos, Nick Adams has recognized that he has created a "queer-forward" career for himself. Now, as he stars in Hulu's new summer comedy Fire Island, Adams looks forward to adding another important piece of work to his resume.

Also starring comedy greats like Bowen Yang and Maraget Cho, Fire Island follows a group of queer best friends who gather for their annual week on the island, filled with love and laughter. However, a sudden change of events might make this their final summer in gay paradise. As they discover the romance and pleasure of the iconic island, their bonds as a chosen family are pushed to the limit.

BroadwayWorld caught up with Adams to discuss the new film, how it has impacted him on a personal level, and more.

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You play Cooper in Fire Island on Hulu. Tell me a little bit about this new movie in your character.

It's sort of a re-inspired version of Pride and Prejudice that is told through a gay lens that takes place on Fire Island. So it's sort of a modern spin on a classic. It all takes place with the gay community, which is fantastic. It's starring gay Asian Americans in the romantic leading roles, which is groundbreaking.

I play, as you said, Cooper, who is the villainous, antagonistic equivalent of Caroline Bingley from Jane Austen's famous novel. So it's such a departure from my sort of like normal, nice guy roles. I get to sink my teeth into this juicy script that Joel Kim Booster who also stars it, it wrote. It was a blast to shoot. I think that people are gonna really love it, especially the LGBTQ community.

It's such an exciting concept and we've seen such a necessary push for more queer representation in mainstream films. So how does Fire Island add to this important initiative to have more representation?

Well, I think it's groundbreaking in that it's from a a major movie studio and so that in itself is a huge step and it's not overly sentimental and it's not a tragedy. It really has gay joy at the heart of it and it's about chosen family and the importance of friendship. I don't think we have anything quite like that and it's handled in such a thoughtful, realistic, grounded, organic way that I think all audiences will connect with it and especially the LGBTQ community. And also the diversity of the cast is so special and important that we have gay Asian American leads. We have a gay Asian American director. There's not been anything like it of its kind. I think it's gonna have a huge impact in queer cinema. I think this is sort of like a watershed moment and I'm thrilled that I got to be a part of it.

Speaking of impact, on a personal level, how has starring in this film impacted you?

A friend of mine pointed this out to me that I've sort of unconsciously crafted a really queer-forward career for myself. Just by sort of leaning into who I am and trying to be authentic and going for projects that I felt like would be interesting stories to tell. In the theater world, I've done some pretty major gay works and that is not lost on me, that I've been a part of those things. So now for me to be a part of this insanely talented ensemble cast and this diverse cast, I'm so honored. I'm so proud to be a part of it. I think it's gonna be part of the gay canon, I really do.

It was an amazing gift to come at the end of the pandemic. You know, as most actors, I was out of work for almost two years, really. This projects came as a gift at the end of this past summer. I spent two months working on it. I learned so much, I was with comedy Titans. I mean, I got to become great friends with Bowen Yang, which is also a blessing. But I got to learn from them. I got to learn what it was like to be on a set for that long. And I've done TV show in the past, but not to this magnitude. I just remember after our first table read that we all kind of felt this electric energy in the room, this buzzing synergy. We could tell it was gonna be something really special and the perfect recipe of humans to create it. Everybody involved had a great time and it was like gay summer camp.

You mentioned the exciting cast earlier. What was it like on set every day, working with like such funny people?

It's amazing. That's for sure. Luckily, my humor comes basically from a lot of my digs and sort of my backhanded compliments and my snarkiness in it, but the quickness of the jokes and the way that they're able to just set and slam it and knock it out of the park, I found jaw-dropping. I mean, even just our onset banter, like on a break, sitting in our green room in our trailers or whatever, and just chatting with each other and the way that I would just how ING every day.

And then, you know, Margaret Cho is in icon. I mean, she's a pioneer in female comedy. Just her trajectory is fascinating to me and to just see how grounded and humble and accessible she is, it really floored me. It was really just a beautiful thing. And with everybody, Joel, Bowen, they all are just so down to earth and real and we all really felt like we're part of an ensemble making this together. Like we're all pieces of this puzzle and there wasn't any ego. It was just like, we are so lucky we're getting to do this, especially at this time in our world. It was a blast.

Something else I'd like to touch on is that you were recently part of the Drag: the Musical concept album. What was the collaboration process behind that?

I think last May, so almost a year ago, I got a phone call from my friend Spencer Lift, who I'm sure you know, is a Brpadway choreographer and director. We've worked together a million times in the city and on the Falsettos national tour together. He called me and said, 'Look, I've got this project that's sort of kicking around. I think you'd be perfect for one of the stars in it. Like, take a, listen, read the script, let me know what you think. We're gonna do it in sort of a backwards fashion and record an album first.' And I said, 'Okay, that's interesting.' And so, he also said, 'You know, we're gonna reach out to Max von Essen, too,' who is a dear friend of mine. We did Falsettos together. So I was like, 'This sounds great. Sure. Who else was involved?' And he pitched a bunch of names of famous RuPaul's Drag Race Queens, and it felt like a good fit for me, just because of my history of drag and musicals and drag in musicals. So I was like, 'Alright, let's take a look and take a listen to the demos.' And I immediately was like, 'Oh, I know this. I have to play this part, for sure.'

It's so fun. And the story's great. It's campy, it's over the top. There's heart in it. The songs are really catchy and fun and eclectic. It's like Rocky Horror meets like Green Day meets The Sex Pistols. I thought, 'Alright, let's make this album.' So I flew to LA after we wrapped Fire Island in October and then the album just came out, and now I'm headed to LA at the beginning of the June to do a workshop and some presentations. It's really fun to be working on musical theater again, it's been a long time, so I'm excited to put that hat on and see what it brings when I go out to LA see where the show goes.

I get to play opposite Alaska [Thunderfuck] who was apparently from my hometown, we both grew up in Erie, Pennsylvania, which is a greatconnection. So I can't wait to talk to her about that and see what common ground we share from from there, but how odd, how random.

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Watch the trailer for Fire Island here: