Yup, he’s playing for our team!
Alexander Lincoln is a rising film and television star who popped up on our radar last year with his role in the British romance In From The Side, a.k.a. the “gay rugby movie.”
From writer-director Matt Carter, the acclaimed indie tells the story of two rugby players who fall in love. The only problem is, they’re both in relationships, and their secret affair threatens to tear their lives apart—and their teams.
Related: Get ready to fall in love with the handsome stars of gay rugby drama ‘In From The Side’
Lincoln is fantastic as newbie player Mark who hooks up with his club’s MVP Warren (Alexander King) after a drunken night out. The actor’s stellar work in In From The Side landed him on the longlist for the British Independent Film Awards’ (BIFA) Breakthrough Performance category, which he belatedly celebrated with an Instagram post back in November:
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“I was truly honored to have been included,” Lincoln wrote in the caption. “Infinitely proud of this film and what it continues to do and how it continues to resonate with audiences.”
Fans took to the comments to share their support for the actor and love of the film, but one called into question its authenticity earlier this week, writing, “I loved the movie and its actors are still very handsome but I still think that the actors are posing as gay but they are not. Is it my doubt?”
While politely worded, their question does call to mind what happened to Heartstopper star Kit Connor (and many others), where viewers continually pressed him on his sexuality, accusing him of queer-baiting for playing a queer character while not being open about his own sexuality.
Related: Evicted from the closet: 8 times queer celebrities were outed by their own allies
Still, Lincoln took the time to thoughtfully address the comment, replying, “Thanks so much—really appreciate it!!!! And no, I’m not straight.”
This is one of the first times the actor has publicly addressed his sexuality, so the comment’s been generating some attention. One follower praised his courage, while another thanked Lincoln and wrote, “Seeing you say it here on Instagram means a lot more than you know.”
And though Lincoln may be a fresh new face to those of us stateside, audiences in the U.K. are very familiar with the actor. Between 2019 and 2021, he appeared in nearly 300 episodes of the popular British soap, Emmerdale. According to The Sun, he left the show after his character, Jamie Tate, tried to poison his own mother and then had his car driven into a lake, presumably dead and never to be seen again. Wait, this sounds campy… should we be watching?
But with Emmerdale behind him, hopefully that frees Lincoln up to take on more exciting gay projects like In From The Side in the future. We certainly won’t complain about seeing more of this exciting queer star on our screens!
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In From The Side opened across the pond in 2022, but is set for a U.S. release on January 20, 2023, via Strand Releasing. You can watch its latest trailer below:
guezwhoitis
Yay, another toxic homogenous team and relationship(white). Cheating, denial, and gaslighting perfect examples of trauma in the F’cked gay community.
ZzBomb
Can always take a shot at making your own movie, ya know instead of crying about what you hate about all the others. Somehow I doubt you have the motivation tho
Chrisk
Guezwhoitis can play the next whale. Instead of being just depressed and eating himself to death he doesn’t find any redemption at the end. Just becomes more bitter and posts shit on sites like Queerty on how much he hates everything.
ShiningSex
Films depicting LGBT life is good. It’s NOT all positive and it’s not all about minorities in the community. There are plenty of films of us minorities too. Stop bitching and be glad films about our community are happening at least. You can’t force a film maker to MAKE FILMS about specific topics YOU feel needs to be relevant. It’s all relevant.
Pier
Im so traumatized , offended, and oppressed by all this. Why why why are these movies still not featuring the real stories of real furbies ?
Brian
I really wish people would stop with the “queerbaiting” accusations. He acted in one movie, and the person felt entitled to ask the question (and ask publicly). It’s not as if this guy is a closet case politician voting against gay rights, or some other comparable destructive activity. Acting in a movie as a gay character is not really that harmful.
IMO, there are very few good examples of queerbaiting today. There’s one guy whose name I can’t remember who is straight in real life but has played gay (sometimes flamboyantly) in lots of guest spots on TV shows. He’s the one person I can think of, and I don’t even know his name. Queerbaiting is just not really the trend that people claim.
Brian-E
You might be thinking of James Corden.
I agree with what you write. Actors are entitled to their privacy and no-one should ever be forced out of the closet.
ShiningSex
closets are for clothes. end of story. in today’s time, no reason to still be in the closet.
As for Corden, isn’t he closeted? I mean come on girl.
Cam
Translation: Every other can be asked about their lives unless they’re LGBTQ. Because that is somehow shameful?
Brian-E
@Cam No, there’s no distinction about who can be asked about their private lives and who can’t. A private life is just that. There’s nothing shameful about it, but it’s still private. And revealing private information such as your sexual orientation can have serious real-life consequences. Talking about your private life in public is fine, but it must be your own choice when, whether and how you want to do that.
cuteguy
Even though I’m happy he plays for our team, it’s not cool to succumb to the online bullies that force a male actor to disclose his sexuality. Would it be acceptable to ask someone like Jennifer Anniston if she’s reached menopause? Of course not. This hunk now could have potential roles that would’ve been opened if he stayed discreet. I completely understand representation and how it matters but look what happened to previous actors who came out and their career suffered. Even NPH knew to come out AFTER he scored How I Met Your Mother
Cam
Jennifer Aniston is continually asked about her personal life.
And it’s fascinating how the right wingers have now planted the idea that asking actors if they are LGBTQ is the real bullying, and not the hatred and homophobic bigotry that keeps them closeted in the first place.
cuteguy
@Cam According to your “reasoning” 18 yr old Kit Connor was “asked” about his non existent queer baiting but according Kit himself, he was pressured by online bullies and felt forced to come out as bi. But I’m sure bitter ol queens like you don’t believe in bisexuality.
bachy
One of the issues for actors is that they are artists responsible for creating believable illusions and fictions. It actually helps your film performance to be more believable if there is a curtain of mystery drawn over your “real” life.
And I’m not just talking about keeping your sexuality a mystery, but also your ethnicity, your politics, your age, your marital status, your background. I can’t fault them for wishing to maintain some personal privacy in an effort to help their performances be more effective.
SDR94103
OMG. Yes. A star is born.
tjack47
Again this idiotic word, queerbaiting. Who gives a shit if he’s gay, straight, bisexual or asexual. He could be transgender. It’s a waste of emotional intelligence.
mac59
Amen. Any actor worth their salt should be able to play whatever role they take upon themselves. No one talks about, or seems to see the irony, when LGBTQ+ actors play straight roles, something they’ve been doing for a VERY long time. I’ve played everything from Shakespearean kings to murderous Victorian barbers to modern day cowboys, none of which (barring reincarnation) I’ve ever been. Almost all were straight men, but I’m gay. Was I straight-baiting? It’s called being creative, open to interpreting a world not necessarily of your own experience. And while I absolutely believe, all things being equal, that LGBTQ+ actors should be cast in LGBTQ+ roles, never underestimate the power of empathy in the creative process.
xnetminder
I’m so sick and tired of so-called movie/tv fans calling “queerbaiting” and asking or bullying actors into revealing their sexuality. Actors are people and have every right to their personal privacy. And I’m also freaking tired the “gay actors need to play gay characters” crap. IT’S CALLED ACTING…actors act!! Anyone calling out actors for not being historical/faous figures??? No… again, it’s called acting!!! Get TF over it and get a life.
Cam
This is the new tactic to keep roles from going to LGBTQ actors. Publications trying to call it bullying if people dare suggest that out LGBTQ actors be given roles.
Celtic
I still have not found where I can stream this film here in the U.S.
Joshooeerr
The movie is a good hour too long. Both main characters are hard to like (actually one is impossible to like). Lincoln is quite good. The other guy is not.
winemaker
What a handsome husky gay guy. And for those out there who say different, your loss. Some of the nicest guys I’ve met are like this, nice looking, great personality, are interesting with goals and have more to discuss than the latest gay thing and so what if they’re not gym bunnies, all the more for me.So many gay guys are so body obsessed and reject others because they for some reason aren’t their type and lose out on some great men because of this. I’m currently involved with a wonderfu; awesome guy who’s the best thing that’;s ever happened to me. Best of luck to all those guys out there looking for that special someone, sometimes you have to look and think outside the box
henare
lol. husky? are we looking at the same images?