The Q Agenda’: Two Directors Talk Career Impact and Representation in Film

Your favorite queer talk show is back again this week, right here on LATV!

Actor Josh Banday opened up to his kids about being bisexual, and he tells us how they reacted. Director Aitch Alberto and actor Reese Gonzales talk about their new film, Aristotle and Dante Discover the Secrets of the Universe, and how the project shaped their careers. Finally, Lianna Carrera is back with another round of Hot Takes with Hot Cakes.

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Josh Banday was born and raised in the heart of Los Angeles to a Latin-Filipino-Black family. Growing up looked like “trying to fit in as much as possible and failing miserably,” he says. That is, until he found acting — accidentally.

“I got into acting because I lost a bet,” Banday says.

He was in high school, hanging out with friends, and they convinced him to ask a certain girl out. If she turned him down, he was to audition for the musical.

And so it went, she turned him down. But, to his surprise, he landed a role in that year’s show, Candide, and fell in love with the craft.

Banday’s career unfolded. Most recently, he starred in the first season of ABC’s new series, Not Dead Yet, which has been nominated for a Hollywood Critics Award. His character in the show, like himself, is bisexual.

“I had never had that conversation [with my two daughters],” Banday says on the show. “I was trying to figure out the best way to tell them.”

Then, one day, out of the blue, his older daughter asked him: “Who have you dated before?”

Surprised and caught off guard, Banday decided to open up about his dating history, about the women he had dated, and about a certain boy from his past.

He expected a more dramatic response from his daughter. All he got was, “And?”

Just like that, he found his strength. It made no matter he was part of the queer community; he’s their goofy dad and it really is that simple.

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Aitch Alberto’s new film, Aristotle and Dante Discover the Secrets of the Universe, is her life’s work.

“It’s about these two Mexican-American boys in 1987 El Paso and they go on this epic journey of self-discovery, of secrets, of family secrets, and — eventually — love,” Alberto says on the show.

It took Alberto a long time to make the film. First, she had to get the rights to the book on which the film is based, so she flew to El Paso with a draft of her screenplay and got the blessing of novelist Benjamin Alire Sáenz.

Then, she had to assemble a team and cast the right actors, so she hosted a table read. That’s where she met actor Reese Gonzales.

“I never had a dream role in mind. I didn’t see a lot of people like me who were represented,” Gonzales says on today’s episode.

But, when the request for Alberto’s volunteer-based table-read came in for Aristotle and Dante, Gonzales found the book and read it in one sitting. In that moment, “Dante” became his dream role. He confirmed the request.

“I’ve seen Reese grow up,” Alberto says, reflecting back on the years she’s known him.

Gonzales started acting in elementary school because he was having trouble making friends. The theatre was a place he felt safe to authentically express himself. He went on to make it his career.

With the support of his family, Gonzales landed a commercial agent. In time, he was cast in an array of short films, tv shows, and commercials. Then, he met Aitch, he discovered the character “Dante”, and things changed.

“Every single person who worked on [this film] understood the importance of it, the love and the passion that was required to go into it to make it work,” Gonzales says.

Even though this film undeniably adds a more representative story to the queer, Latino experience, Alberto believes the project goes beyond the shades of identity.

“I really wanted to make – not a Latino movie, not a queer movie – I wanted to make a classic American film,” she says. “I think there’s universality in specificity, and that was always my approach.”

Aristotle and Dante Discover the Secrets of the Universe premiered at the Outfest Film Festival and is currently in theatres.

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This episode will also explore how top surgery backlash might stem from societal issues with femininity. Lianna is back with another iteration of her segment, Hot Takes with Hot Cakes. And, as expected, our hosts surprise each other with their own stories and interesting points of view. Don’t miss it!