Heartstopper star opens up about playing Black queer character in Netflix series
A Heartstopper actress has opened up about what it means to represent the Black queer community on the Netflix hit series
Heartstopper star Corrina Brown has said 'it is an honour' to play a Black queer girl in Netflix's hit LGBTQ+ dramedy.
The 25-year-old actress plays Tara in the coming-of-age series, which follows a group of school friends navigating love, friendships and sexuality. Penned by Alice Oseman, the teen drama sees Kit Connor and Joe Locke as the two main love interests, Nick and Charlie, with Brown playing one of their close friends.
The latest season of the show has received overwhelming praise and debuted with a 100% rating from critics on Rotten Tomatoes. Throughout the series, Tara is in an interracial lesbian relationship with Darcy (portrayed by Kizzy Edgell), and fans have praised the series for representing the Black queer community.
Speaking to Digital Spy, Brown shared what it means to have such a role: "Honestly, it's an honour. It's one of the things that I've maybe not always known was a passion of mine and what I wanted to strive for with the work that I produce, but yeah, representation matters. I don't think I would be here doing this job if I didn't see someone who looked like me telling stories that I relate to."
She added: "So, to be able to do that for the Black queer community is just everything. I wouldn't want anything else or want it any other way, and I want to do that forever and ever. It's an honour and I'm glad I've been given the opportunity to do that."
As one of two Black characters in the ensemble, Tara's hairstyles have also been a key focus for fans. Following the season 2 launch, one viewer took to X (Twitter) to voice their thoughts: "Can we talk about how important the Black hair representation is in Heartstopper? Tara being proud and comfortable to [wear] her natural hair makes me soo happy, especially since I grew up hating my natural hair because I never seen anyone on TV with Afro hair."
Elsewhere in the interview, Brown shared her experience with hair and makeup on the Heartstopper set.
She said: "The head of that [hair and makeup] was Diandra Ferreira. She was awesome asking me what I thought. She's got such a great knowledge base. She'd be like, "I'm getting braiders specifically for this", which is amazing to see in the TV film industry because when I was younger, there would be situations where I was leaving set like, "You've messed up my hair. My mum said, if you take my canerows out, you gotta put them back in, but you're looking at me like blink, blink". (sic)
"So to think the progression that has happened so far, for Black people in TV and film, with hair and makeup, I think it's so important and that's why I'll always be like, I don't just want one [hairstyle]. I want them all."
Heartstopper season 3 is available to stream now on Netflix.