Australian Actor Joel Lago Talks SBS Erotic Stories
Image: SBS
Australian Actor Joel Lago stars in an episode of the new SBS anthology series, Erotic Stories.
The episode, titled “Bound”, explores the world of a young gay man, CJ, being fetishised for his disability.
In “Bound”, Lago stars as CJ, who has a train encounter with Jet, played by Tim Draxl. Jet invites CJ to a Queer event at Spectrum Club. After arriving, CJ realises he was invited because of his disability, not in spite of it. CJ feels tricked and Jet feels shamed for his kink.
In a chat with Star Observer, Lago spoke about the challenges of the role, the importance of representation on screen, and Wilbur the Optical Whale.
First Big Screen Role
Talking about his character CJ, Lago explained, “CJ is casually hooking up with people – you know – fun, no commitments, nothing too serious.
“He tends to hide his disability during sex. But this all changes when he runs into Jet on the train. Jet seems interested in him not just because of who he is, but also because of his disability. This creates an interesting interaction between the two of them in an interesting space.”
As this was Lago’s first big screen role, one of the challenges that Lago faced was meeting his own expectations for himself.
“This is my first big-time screen role. So I find it difficult to meet my own expectations of what my performance should be,” he shared.
“Getting such a complex character like CJ, I wanted to do [episode writer] Alistair Baldwin’s writing justice.”
He continued, “There’s also an added pressure to acting when you are not just representing yourself, but when you’re representing disabled people on screen. There are such limited roles for disabled people. As a disabled person, myself, I felt this added pressure to show that disabled actors are just as capable as able-bodied actors at pulling off for a performance.”
‘Sit In On A Conversation That’s Been Happening For A Long Time’
Lago hopes that the show and his performance will be “an opportunity for people to sit in on a conversation that’s been happening for a long time.
“I think it’s a great opportunity for people who aren’t disabled or haven’t had much interaction with disabled people to really listen in on these conversations that are happening around them.”
He went on to say that it gives the viewer “an insight into the complexity is being a disabled person, and that we have rich vibrant sex lives and we’re very sexy people.”
Speaking about the episode in an earlier interview with Star Observer, Draxl said, “’Bound’ is really beautifully told. For a half-hour show, it’s got an incredible journey that you go on with these two characters, and the way that it’s resolved in the end is really beautiful.”
Wilbur The Optical Whale
Lago is currently working on a stage show, called Wilbur the Optical Whale.
Wilbur the Optical Whale was created by the inclusive theatre company indelabilityarts, and is based on a book by Karen Lee Roberts.
It is a fully interactive, immersive, and accessible story for children, that utilises alternative storytelling methods.
According to Lago, Wilbur the Optical Whale is an “inclusive theatre show that features disabled actors and neurodivergent actors. It’s about a whale that gets bullied and has to find self-acceptance.”
Eight Self-Contained Episodes
Erotic Stories consists of eight self-contained episodes that deeply explore sex and intimacy.
“The eight stories are set in completely different worlds, each with a fresh cast, and each telling a new story. It’s a chance for the audiences to watch a sexy story in a snackable way – and I think once they snack one, they’ll want to snack the rest!” said Erotic Stories Series Producer Helen Bowden.
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Erotic Stories premiered on October 26, with all episodes available to stream on SBS On Demand.
