Plus, the actor teases where they’d like to see Jim’s story go next.
Ye be warned spoilers lay ahead!
For that role, Ortiz was performing in drag asDanny Trejoin a fullMachetecostume.
Vico Ortiz.Val Vega; Aaron Epstein/HBO Max
Jim is a fierce pirate who journeys the seas seeking revenge on the people that killed their family.
ENTERTAINMENT WEEKLY: I have to geek out a little.
It was not a huge explanation.
Aaron Epstein/HBO Max
It was, “Hey, I am just who I am.
This is how you know me.
Nothing’s changed.”
Val Vega
And the characters in this time period were just like, “Okay, sure.”
As a non-binary actor, how did that feel, to actually play that?
VICO ORTIZ: Well, when I first read the script, I cried.
In part, it’s because we had three non-binary writers in the writers' room.
So there’s already this space in which this character is being nurtured and taken care of.
And then they’ll fend for themselves."
There was already this space that’s created that people already are vouching for this character and their storyline.
And I love that.
They use they, them now.
And we’re not even going to have this debate …
It’s just, it’s done."
It’s amazing what they’re doing this with this story.
So it’s huge, and I’m very, very proud to be part of it.
Reflecting on that a little, Jim also has joy they have love.
And it didn’t have to be defined in any way other than, this is love.
And when I met Samson, I immediately felt at ease and I felt safe.
Where it’s like, our love transcends everything.
I love that this care that Oluwande has for Jim exists whether Jim has a beard or not.
Whether Jim is a man or woman, it doesn’t really matter.
Oluwande just loves Jim for who they are.
It’s really, really sweet.
The series itself is not fact-based, but inspired by the story of Stede Bonnet, the gentleman pirate.
It’s showing you this journey of these hyper-masculine types performing masculinity and why that tears them up inside.
I loved having this opportunity to present this.
Because I have been questioning, before even the show started, “What does masculinity mean to me?
What does femininity mean to me?”
I did that within the context of the drag world.
I never truly questioned my gender so deeply up until I began performing as a drag king.
In that masculine persona, I began to tap into the power of my femininity within this masculine persona.
That’s when I was like, “Wait, why am I really loving this?
Why is this accessing a part of me that I otherwise wouldn’t have been able to access?”
And what would happen when I took that away and then just existed?
I gave Jim that experience of Jim is Jim whether the beard is on or not.
The beard doesn’t make them more masculine.
The not having the beard doesn’t make them more feminine, they just are the same person.
The only thing that changes is the perception that people have of them outside.
What’s bad is what society is trying to pressure us to do and it happens with femininity too.
When you take those things away, who are you?
What makes you a man?
What makes you a woman?
What makes you a person?
Of course there’s Latine pirates, of course there’s Caribbean pirates.
Came with the white people."
And it’s like, actually, no.
It’s the reverse.
People normally think non-binary and they think white, skinny androgynous.
And that is not the case.
We actually existed forever ago.
So having someone who’s Latine, who’s going through this and totally able to use their language…
It was so beautiful to see that.
It was like, “Yeah, you’re Jim now?
But you didn’t kill all the seven guys I told you to kill.
I have a problem now, the line is drawn.”
Which is so, so, so great.
I mean, it’s huge.
Jim was left in a bit of a predicament.
Where do you hope Jim’s journey goes?
So obviously everything is somewhat and loosely based on historical facts and stuff.
Mary Read is the basis of my character, but then there’s also Anne Bonny.
And they both had a crush on each other.
I still want to be with you."
I want to maybe explore a little bit of those random historical factors with that.
Because Izzy Hands is quote-unquote, “The most competent person on Blackbeard’s ship.”
And Jim is quote-unquote, “The most competent person, unlike Stede, in terms of fighting.”
Or Jim has daddy issues because they lost their father early on.
So it’s like, “Is Izzy… Can something happen in Izzy?”
But this is all just me speculating what could happen there.
And then what about an army of assassin nuns?
I don’t know …
I’d want to see some more of that.
This interview has been edited and condensed for length and clarity.
