The wildly inventive story follows eight principle characters whose lives are mysteriously intertwined. And not just in overlapping narratives, but actually linked to each other’s minds and maybe (?) their physical bodies as well….
Also of interest are a handful of LGBT characters appearing throughout the series. There’s trans lesbian hacktivist Nomi (played by trans actress Jamie Clayton), her girlfriend Amanita (Doctor Who’s Freema Agyeman), smoldering Mexican closeted actor Lito (Miguel Ángel Silvestre) and his handsome boyfriend, Hernando (Alfonso Herrera).
We spoke with Silvestre about his experience working on the show. This will be his first major U.S. role. Previously, he worked with openly-gay filmmaker Pedro Almodóvar in his farcical film, I’m So Excited. Now, Silvestre is ready to get gay and straight audiences’ blood pumping with a bevy of intimate scenes that cross genders.
Towleroad: Hi Miguel! Congrats on Sense8.
Miguel Ángel Silvestre: Thank you very much. I am very happy, to be honest. I watched the whole series, and it felt so, so good. I’m thankful to be part of something I really believe in. I felt very, very good. You always have to speak good about the projects you do and you have to see the beauty in them. Sometimes you see them and you’re happy with things, or maybe the process was nice and you enjoyed it, and you were happy with that. But when everything gathers — you liked the scripts from the very beginning, the directors, your friends — but then you see the result and you like it — it’s beautiful … I mean, we know how difficult it is to do something that works and that you feel proud of. When it happens, it’s like a miracle. So, I felt very thankful to be part of that story.
TR: That story is a complicated one. It’s a very complex concept.
MS: Complicated to speak about, I think, but easy to watch. It’s very difficult to explain in words the concept of Sense8, because I think it has a beautiful message underneath. It would be marvelous if we could be one, and we could share everybody’s skills, everybody’s knowledge, everybody’s vulnerability, in order to understand each other and understand our dark points, the parts that we’re afraid of. It’s served in a sci-fi premise with a lot of action, humor, drama. It’s difficult to explain, but very fun to watch.