Now that Max is ending the beloved pirate series Our flag means death after two seasons, the cast is considering their next career steps. For Vico Ortizwho played non-binary fan-favorite pirate Jim Jimenez in the show, that includes reflecting on a long-held dream of becoming involved with Star Wars – a franchise that Ortiz says has greatly shaped their lives and the lives of their family.
On the JoCo Cruise 2024, an annual fandom event where Ortiz was one of the guest artistsone fan asked during a Q&A event if Ortiz had a wish list for future roles.
“As far as my dreams go, I would like to be in the Star Wars universe one day. That would be so stupid. I’ve been a huge Star Wars fan ever since – it feels like it’s in my veins,” Ortiz told the audience.
The Puerto Rican actor and drag kingalso known for the queer comedy series These Themes and for rolling on The sex lives of college girls And SOZ: Soldados or Zombiestraces their Star Wars fandom back to their childhood.
“One side of my family is big Star Wars fans,” they said during the Q&A. “And a lot of them, their life choices, similar to mine, are thanks to Star Wars.
“Long story short: the reason I’m a vegetarian and the… reason I sword fight is because of Star Wars. When I was 11, I read this book called Star Wars and philosophy. That absolutely turned my world upside down. I was like, I want to be a peaceful warrior. I want to be a Jedi. I want to learn to sword fight and meditate and eat plants and become one with the Force.”
Photo: Beth Gordon/Skinny Dog Photography
Ortiz says becoming a would-be Jedi as a preteen caused problems, even in a Star Wars fandom family. “So I did it! I became a vegetarian in Puerto Rico when I was twelve. The diet there consisted mainly of pork,” they said, laughing. “So my parents said, ‘Okay, it’s going to be interesting!’ And my grandmother was more shocked that I became a vegetarian than anything else (in my life). They said, ‘Whatever, you’re gay, but You’re not going to eat my chuleta? This might be the last chuleta I cook for you!’ And I’m like, ‘Wow, the manipulation!’ But they were okay with me being gay and all that. Funny, priorities, you know what I mean?
Ortiz doesn’t have a specific Star Wars role or story in mind; they say they just want to be a Force user. “If I could ever pretend to use the Force and get things moving, I would die happy,” they said. “This may be TMI, but on that same Star Wars journey, and because I wanted to be a Jedi, I also got into quantum physics (…) I went into my room and sat down and put a pencil in front of me, and pointed really like: Okay, quantum physics, everything is connected. They’re like atoms, and I am this pencil, this pencil is me, and I would really try to move it with my thoughts. I did that all summer.”
Asked if they’ve ever engaged in the usual Star Wars fandom practice of pretending use the Force to open automatic doors (a habit even Kenobi star Ewan McGregor takes the police with him), Ortiz laughed outright.
“Absolutely,” they said. “All the time! Sometimes I do it very quietly. I used to be really intense and walk in there like (big, threatening gesture) Who, you know? But now I’m like (small, casual gesture) Tchh. I moved that, that was me. I still really do that. I’ll probably never stop.”
Photo: Beth Gordon/Skinny Dog Photography
While Ortiz said a Star Wars character would be the dream role, they also indicated that they are fine with continuing to play roles like Jim. Our flag means death and Vero on These Themes – parts they describe as educational, in terms of normalizing trans and non-binary people for mainstream audiences who haven’t seen many of those characters on screen.
“I like to play,” they said. “I think there is more representation now, but I don’t mind taking on roles that are educational in some way. I definitely want to keep pushing the boundaries and say: Yes, we are literally just like everyone else. We drink coffee, we pay taxes, we get anxiety and all that, those everyday experiences of human life. So I want to keep playing roles that represent that. It’s not like I sit and say: This is what trans non-binary meansand then pull out a PowerPoint to explain it all. That’s totally fine, and it’s good to have those roles because we have to find education here and there. But education is also just like: we breathe and exist.”