Raya and the Last Dragon star Kelly Marie Tran has publicly come out as queer.
The 35-year-old talent announced the exciting news during a recent Vanity Fair feature for her film The Wedding Banquet – which is a remake of Ang Lee’s 1993 queer romantic comedy of the same name.
“I haven’t said this publicly yet, but I’m a queer person,” she exclaimed.
Tran went on to gush about the upcoming Andrew Ahn-directed project and how portraying her gay character didn’t feel like acting.
“The thing that excited me about it was I got to play a person that I felt like I knew. I don’t feel like I’m acting at all in this movie,” she continued.
“I’m here doing this amazing movie with these amazing people. I’ve never been in a queer space before. I’ve never truly felt this accepted.”
Taking place in Seattle, Washington, The Wedding Banquet remake follows Angela (Tran) and her girlfriend Lee (Lilly Gladstone), who are trying to have a baby through IVF, and their best friends Chris (Bowen Yang) and Min (Han Gi-chan), who live in the former couple’s guest house, per the aforementioned news outlet.
Similar to its predecessor, the film features a faux wedding plan, with Min and Angela agreeing to walk down the aisle to appease the former’s conservative Korean parents and secure a green card. At the same time, Angela intends to use the opportunity to raise money for IVF treatments.
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Elsewhere in her interview, Tran revealed that she and Angela shared similar life moments – especially regarding the character’s coming out journey with her mother, played by Minari star Joan Chen.
“I came out to my mom in a very specific experience. The scenes that I have with Joan Chen in this movie are very similar to the experience that I had,” she explained.
Before publically coming out as queer, Tran had consistently used her platform to support the LGBTQIA+ community.
Following the release of Raya and the Last Dragon, The Young Wife star affirmed fans who theorized that Raya was queer.
“I think if you’re a person watching this movie and you see representation in a way that feels really real and authentic to you, then it is real and authentic,” she said. “I think it might get me in trouble for saying that, but whatever,” she revealed to Vanity Fair at the time.
Tran also expressed her hopes for more LGBTQIA+ representation in future Disney projects, stating: “There’s a lot of work to be done in that respect. I’d love to see a Disney warrior who – I don’t know, can I say this without getting in trouble? I don’t care – is openly in the LGBTQ+ community.”
Ahn’s The Wedding Banquet remake is set for release in 2025.
Check out the trailer to Lee’s 1993 classic here or below.
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