Kevin Zegers talks portraying Alec Lightwood in ‘MORTAL INSTRUMENTS’
Kevin Zegers as Alec Lightwood
Kevin Zegers spoke to Straight.com about how LGBT roles on screen have evolved over the years. He also discussed portraying one of those characters, Alec Lightwood, in the forthcoming The Mortal Instruments: City of Bones (Aug. 23).
On how the perception of LGBT roles has changed over time:
“It’s not as taboo as it used to be,” the Canadian star from Woodstock, Ontario, says. “It’s much more of a generational thing that that is even something that people consider….It used to be like the gay character and they didn’t even have to define him any further. They were just like, ‘Oh, he’s the gay guy’. I think everyone now has much more experience with gay family members and whatever the case may be. Certainly for my generation, it’s just not something that’s that big a deal anymore.”
On how views have changed in society:
“Mortal Instruments is a pretty big movie and the fact that the studio feels comfortable with one of their lead characters being gay is pretty indicative of peoples’ opinion towards that sort of thing, which is that you don’t really have to make a big deal out of it. It’s just sort of is what it is. It’s just one of the layers of the characters that I get to play.”
On how Alec’s sexuality added to the complexity of the role:
“For me, it makes the character more dynamic. There’s a lot more to work with and his behaviour and what he does in the film is not defined at all by his sexual preference. In fact, he’s probably one of the more bad-ass characters in the movies so it’s certainly not something that we played or…it’s not something that we needed to focus on. It’s just one of the many traits he has.”
On how the important things are the stories and characters:
“To me, it’s boring to play a one-note character. I think maybe ’cause I was so young when I started working and was on set for the first time, I think the novelty of being on set has worn off in a way that I wanna do something that’s hard. I wanna do something that’s challenging and difficult and uncomfortable. And to me, that’s what I look for more than anything. So when I read the Mortal Instruments, it was the character that I immediately resonated with because there were so many layers to this guy….I just try to find the character or the film or the director who I think will challenge me the most.”
TMI Source 
You know, I wasnt completely sold on Kevin potraying Alec. His image didnt match my “Alec” when Im reading. But after reading this I see how Kevin understands and appreciates Alec’s many emotional layers.
Me too, I mean he looks a little bit older than the Alec I imagined, but after reading this his enthusiasm got into me and know I actually think he would be good for playing Alec and in the trailer I like how he actually is acting like a jerk towards Clary , that was exactly how I imagined that scene. Kevin Zegers is a great actor!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Now if only the movie wardrobe department got the same memo about not making a big deal out of Alec’s sexuality! From what I’ve seen so far from the movie, Kevin’s outfits scream “stereotypical gay” and the character of Alec is anything but.
I don’t really see steriotype with his clothes. To me they just look like badass fighting gear XD
kevin/alec looks badass and i think it’s great how cassie created a character that was gay but masclunie as the lbtq can be masclunie, or flmaboyant, and girly and nongirly and in between
Nice post, i will share with my friends.
My love for Kevin’s being Alec intensifies ❤