In the upcoming Hulu series How To Die Alone, Conrad Ricamora stars as Rory, the BFF of Mel played by show creator and Insecure alum Natasha Rothwell, an actor he has been wanting to collaborate with. In fact, he wanted to work with her so bad that he put Rothwell on his vision board 10 years ago.
“I saw her on the bit part she had on Love, Simon and I was like, ‘Who is that? She’s stealing the show as the drama teacher’,” Ricamora told GLAAD’s Anthony Allen Ramos in a recent interview. “Then I saw her get tased on Insecure at Coachella and, and then she played Belinda in season one of White Lotus … that this is somebody we’ve only seen 5% of what she’s capable of.”
He continued, “Now that she’s finally getting to be the whole show and writing the whole landscape, I just feel lucky that I was included in it and I felt an instant connection to her when I met her. I felt like we’ve been best friends for decades.”
How to Die Alone follows Mel, a broke, fat, Black JFK airport employee who’s never been in love and forgotten how to dream, until an accidental brush with death catapults her on a journey to finally take flight and start living by any means necessary.
Ricamora is wildly known for his role in How to Get Away with Murder as Oliver opposite Jack Falahee, who played the love of his life, Connor. The two reunited on the red carpet at the premiere of How To Die Alone.
“Jack and I have been friends since 2020 when we wrapped,” admitted Ricamora. “Jack is just one of the most heart of gold people that I know — especially in Hollywood. It’s hard to find.” Falahee has even traveled across the country to see his theater performances and Ricamora supports him in his career as well.
From stage (Oh, Mary!) to TV (How to Get Away with Murder) to movies (Fire Island), Ricamora is known for playing an array of queer characters. With Rory, he adds to that roster.
“I was being interviewed a year ago and somebody was asking me, ‘Are you worried about getting typecast only playing gay characters?’ and I’m like, ‘No, because there is so much diversity within the queer community.”
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Ricamora mentioned he went from playing someone shy and nervous like Oliver in Murder to outspoken and loud Rory in How to Die Alone, a title that comes from Onyx Collective, a content brand under the Disney banner that bolsters stories of BIPOC and other marginalized voices.
“I think people used to think of coming out in your personal life as limiting in your professional life and that has not been my experience at all,” he said. “I think I’m living proof that you can be honest about who you are in your personal life and still have a very rich, fulfilling career with a lot of variety.”
How to Die Alone premieres on Hulu on September 13.