'Thor' star Tessa Thompson says being open about her sexuality has inspired fans to come out
Actress Tessa Thompson, who plays Valkyrie in Marvel's Thor: Love and Thunder, shares her experience playing the first LGBTQ superhero in the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU).
In an interview by Variety’s “Just for Variety” podcast released Thursday, July 7, the actress who is openly queer herself, said that playing the role has been "a dream" and that many fans have told her that they've been able to come out because of the representation.
“That’s been tremendous. I’ve had so many folks write me and say that they were able to come out or to talk to their family, which is a dream,” said Thompson.
Back in 2017, as she accepted her new role in the MCU, Thompson confirmed her character is bisexual.
YES! Val is Bi in the comics & I was faithful to that in her depiction. But her sexuality isn’t explicitly addressed in Thor: Ragnarok. https://t.co/hmb5lYN5to
— Tessa Thompson (@TessaThompson_x) October 23, 2017
In Thor: Love and Thunder as she embraces her role as the King of New Asgard, Valkyrie has been more open with her sexuality. Although that was more highlighted in this film, she stated that she is not rushing to find her queen.
“She’s out in the world. She’s ready for love. She’s definitely single and ready to mingle, but she also, I think, when the time is right,” she told Variety.
Thompson also highlighted that queer characters in the MCU are allowed to exist on their own selves.
“And I think in terms of the representation that we talk about in the MCU, I think a part of really being able to normalize queer characters, LBGTQIA characters, is to allow them to exist in their humanity,” she said, “And that doesn’t always mean that they’re in love or in a partnership because plenty of us know that sometimes you’re not.”
When it was mentioned that Valkyrie has to find her queen, Thompson replied: “You know, you can’t hurry love.”
On The Wrap, she expressed that despite the representation Marvel has shown, there is still much more work to be done.
“We talk so much about representation and obviously, in terms of the LGBTQIA community, there’s still so much work to be done. But if you look at the comics in the canon, there are so many queer characters! It’s hard because [director Taika Waititi] and I would’ve even liked to go further, but in the context of the movies, there’s only so much we can do.”
You can see Tessa Thompson in Thor: Love and Thunder now showing in cinemas nationwide.