‘Queer as Folk’ Reboot is a Golden Opportunity for Jesse James Keitel

In Peacock’s vibrant reimagining of the groundbreaking series Queer as Folk, we see Jesse James Keitel star as Ruthie, a trans woman and former party girl who is trying to mature and coming into her own.

The 28-year-old actress, who is also a queer trans woman, made history in 2020 when she portrayed private investigator and aspiring singer Jerrie Kennedy on ABC’s Big Sky, which concluded its second season in May. Her casting on the show marked the first time a nonbinary actor (Keitel identified as nonbinary at the time) played a nonbinary series regular on primetime TV.

According to Keitel, being a part of the Queer as Folk legacy has been a dream come true. The previous two iterations changed the TV landscape for LGBTQ stories, and she believes audiences expect more today than what was broadcast 20 years ago. Keitel also got the opportunity to perform her character’s full journey pre- and post-transition.

OFM caught up with the star to talk more about the show, queer storytelling, and the incredible opportunities this reboot is providing.

Let me begin by asking, how excited are you to be involved with the Queer as Folk reboot?

Excited is such a gross understatement. Truly, this group of people and this product, it feels like coming home. It’s a show I didn’t know I needed, and people are going to be so shocked.

Were you a fan of the original series?

Yeah, you know, I was a little young to enjoy the series, both versions of the original show as they were coming out, but later in my adult life, I got to become fans of them. Then getting to become part of the show, I became like a mega fan. It’s been a fun journey of falling in love with both previous iterations of the show and then getting to kind of recreate it.

Did you have a favorite character?

I know we’re technically doing a reboot of the British version, but I would say my favorite from the American would be Ted.

When you first heard that there was going to be a reboot, what were your initial thoughts?

You know, I think, like a lot of people, I’m a little reboot-skeptical. However, with Queer as Folk, I felt like the show had been off the air for a good amount of time, and a lot has changed in the media landscape for queer people.

Trans rights are at the forefront of a lot of conversations right now, and I thought it was a very cool opportunity to center a trans character within a queer narrative. Very often, we see trans people kind of placed into non-queer spaces, versus seeing them grow, live, and thrive amongst family. So, it was a little meta in that sense. It felt like I was coming home to be with family.

So, you believe it will have a major impact like the original series did?

Absolutely. Without a doubt. The original series paved the way for our version to exist. It was groundbreaking in so many ways, and I think television has changed a lot since then too. So, I think the expectations from viewers have changed. People are excited. We’ve seen a bunch of different queer stories told over the past couple decades, but now there’s more. We still want to see more, and I think this is a great opportunity to show how nuanced and fleshed out queer storytelling has become. It feels very much for us by us.

Can you talk more about your character, Ruthie, and how you personally connect with her?

I think there’s a lot of similarities with Ruthie. When I first read the script, I was like, “Good God. It’s me!” She’s definitely a little messier than I am and a little more chaotic. She leans into her ability to manipulate more than I do, and her journey on the show is beautiful. Her arc is one of my favorite things I’ve ever gotten to do. She’s a super edgy, really cool English teacher at a high school—an aspiring adult is how I like to put it. She’s a former party girl who’s really struggling to shake that loose when her best friend in the whole world comes back into town and kind of shakes up the foundation of her new life.

This reboot has quite a dynamic cast. What was it like working with everyone?

It was instant chemistry. Truly, you would get lucky to make one friend on a show. Making friends is a special, rare thing, and the fact that I can call every single cast member and every creative on the show friends, who I know I’ll have for a very, very long time, it’s beautiful. Specifically, Devin Way—He plays my best friend on the show and has quickly become one of my actual best friends. It’s really sweet. It’s really fun.

Are there any memorable behind-the-scenes moments you would like to share with us?

I mean, where to begin? (Laughs.) Probably, one of my favorite nights was our first night out as a cast. We went out for Halloween as Super Smash Bros. characters, and it was really the first time that I got to experience New Orleans in a way where we felt like locals, even though we were all transplants—except for CG, who is from there.

It was such a great clue into what the next few months, and hopefully next few years, would look like for us because we got to bond in a queer nightlife setting in a really queer city that we were all embracing in our own ways. In turn, it felt like the city was embracing us. It was so special. I will cherish season one of the show for the rest of my life.

Have you always had a passion for acting and storytelling?

I think so. I started acting in high school in school plays, and it’s just something I had fun with. It gave me an opportunity to play and have the chance to use your imagination, especially if you’re doing improv or making people laugh or cry. There’s something that’s very firming about telling stories effectively and with impact. Storytelling has many forms. I’m also an artist and a writer, and I think acting has given me the opportunity to explore the other ways I enjoy storytelling, other ways I can appreciate it.

I read that you never thought acting would become a reality for you. Is this true?

I think when we’re setting out to say, “I’m going to be a professional actor and I’m going to work in Hollywood,” there’s a twinge of delusion you need to really believe that. I think as I started to embrace my own queerness, I felt I needed to lose a little bit of myself to be successful as an actor. Ultimately, that’s not true. That was wrong.

Embracing myself was the best thing I ever did for my career. It made me a real person outside of my job, and then informed my job itself. We’re people before we’re our job, and I’m very lucky and very grateful that I get to be working as consistently as I have been recently. I think that’s purely because I found myself through storytelling and acting.

You were the first cast member announced for the Queer as Folk reboot, and you have already made a history a couple times with your career. What does Hollywood need to step up while casting trans and nonbinary actors in TV and movies?

Make sure that the people crafting the stories are doing so from a well-informed and well-intentioned place. There are so many tropes with trans people, and queer people in general, that can so easily be avoided just to tell richer stories, and I think that’s something I’m really excited for about Queer as Folk. Jaclyn Moore, our co-showrunner, is a trans woman, and a lot of Ruthie’s experiences on the show come straight from Jaclyn’s hand.

Peacock has given the show, me, Jaclyn, and trans people as a whole such a rich, beautiful opportunity to tell these incredible stories that we haven’t seen on TV before. So, I think having trans, queer, and LGBTQ creators behind the shows will also make a big impact. There’s only so much we as actors can do in front of this camera.

What happens behind the camera is what matters even more.

Totally. From the writing to the producing to the directing, there are so many things.

What are some future goals you hope to accomplish with your career?

What don’t I want to accomplish? (Laughs). I’m just excited to continue challenging myself. Queer as Folk really stretched my own limits creatively of what I was comfortable with, and it was such a satisfying challenge that I long to continue doing work that kind of scares me. I would love to do a really soft romance and do some type of historical drama, things that I think queer people are often neglected from.

I feel like queer people are often saved to play the token queer character, but there’s so much work that excites me that has nothing to do with my own lived experience that straight, cis people often get to play. I hope that within my career, I can transcend the limitations of my gender and sexuality and play some really badass cool roles.

Stay up-to-date and connect with Keitel by following her on Twitter @jessejkeitel or Instagram @jessejameskeitel. Queer as Folk is now streaming on Peacock.

Photos courtesy of Rowan Daly and Peacock