Joe Locke is shrugging off any negativity when it comes to his new role within the Marvel Cinematic Universe.
The Heartstopper star is one of the new additions to the much-hyped WandaVision spin-off Agatha All Along, which centres around Kathryn Hahn’s character from the hit Disney+ show.
In a new interview with Variety, the Emmy-nominated actor spoke about some of the backlash to his character in the show – including from within the LGBTQ+ community – that his openly queer character within the show plays up to stereotypes.
“It really annoyed me because I was like, ‘You can’t ask for authentic casting and then be upset if you have a camp character’,” he admitted.
Turning his attention to wider criticism from Marvel’s existing fanbase, Joe continued: “I’m fully aware that the Marvel fandom is far less nice than the ‘Heartstopper’ fandom. There’s going to be a lot of people that just hate everything about the character and everything about what I’ve done with it, and I just have to be OK with that.”
“Marvel fans are very open with their opinions,” he added. “But they’re not in a Marvel show. So I’m doing the one thing that they really wish they could be doing. Sorry!”
Agatha All Along will begin streaming on Disney+ in September, a month before the much-anticipated arrival of Heartstopper season three on Netflix.
Much has been made of Heartstopper entering a more grown-up era with its new batch of episodes, with Joe telling Variety: “The second half of the season is about sex.”
“Me and Kit are so comfortable with each other, but it’s still a vulnerable thing to do,” he shared.
Agatha All Along premieres on 18 September, while Heartstopper returns on 3 October