Cruella’s John McCrea: ‘Queer-representing’ Artie was originally written as a drag queen
"An iconic, fabulous rule-breaker."
Words: Jamie Tabberer; picture: Disney
Cruella star John McCrea has said he believes his character in the hit film was always intended to be “queer-representing” as he was originally written as a drag queen.
The actor appeared in the Disney movie as the fashion-obsessed Artie earlier this year, alongside Oscar-winner Emma Stone as the title character.
The Everybody’s Talking About Jamie stage star previously told Attitude of Artie: “For me, it’s official – he’s queer.”
“Somehow a member of the LGBTQ community”
To mark the film’s release on DVD today, and ahead of its release on Disney+ on 27 August, Attitude is releasing footage of our springtime interview with John [below] for the first time.
In it, he calls Artie an “iconic, fabulous rule-breaker” adding: “In one of the original scripts he was a drag queen so I think he was always intended to be queer-representing I suppose, or somehow a member of the LGBTQ community.”
Asked how it feels to be part of a Disney film, the 29-year-old added: “It feels incredible, like a childhood dream come to life. And it’s not necessarily one I saw for myself.
“I’m just so thrilled I can now tick that off my imaginary childhood bucket list.”
It recently emerged that Emma Stone has signed up for a Cruella sequel, in a revolutionary deal with Disney which will make her the highest-paid actress in Hollywood.
Cruella has scored a 75% ‘Fresh’ rating on Rotten Tomatoes and grossed over $226m worldwide. It is currently the seventh highest-grossing film worldwide of 2021.
The Attitude September Style Issue is out now.
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