Andor’s sapphic love story between Cinta and Vel marked the first same-sex romantic pairing in Star Wars history — and the importance is not lost on show star Varada Sethu.
“It meant a lot to me — I think the best thing about that part was that it wasn’t this huge deal, it was just normalized, nobody bats an eyelid,” Sethu, 32, told The Guardian in an interview published on Friday, April 11. “I believe that’s how it should be. Unfortunately, there are certain parts of the world where it’s illegal to be gay or to be queer in any way.”
She added, “It’s a fundamental part of someone, but it’s also so arbitrary, and sadly, there’s still a ways to go. So anything that is moving towards highlighting how totally normal and fine it is to be queer, I’m on board with.”
According to Sethu, it also “meant a lot” to bring more LGBTQ+ representation into the Star Wars franchise overall.
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“I think we were told, [it was the first] openly queer relationship,” Sethu added, noting the Andor scripts are “considered and layered and complex.”
Sethu portrays medic Cinta Kaz on Disney+’s Andor, who is in a relationship with Vel Sartha (Faye Marsay). Despite previous issues surrounding inclusive Star Wars characters, their onscreen love story has been largely well-received by fans.
“I’ve not had any [backlash],” Marsay, 38, previously told The Independent in 2023. “Nothing. It’s gorgeous and reassuring — and the way it should be.”
She added at the time, “While we were filming, I wasn’t thinking too much about it, but then when you think about what it means to the community, and what it says to the massive bunch of people that need to see themselves mirrored in the shows they watch. The further we got, the more myself and Varada were aware that we were the first openly written queer characters, and how important that was.”
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Like Sethu reiterated to The Guardian, Marsay also appreciated that Cinta and Vel’s romance wasn’t done with “some big announcement.”
“Like I always say, ‘People in the LGBTQI+ community have been around] since the beginning of time,’” Marsay added to The Independent. “It’ll go on till the end of time. Andor was just normalizing the normal. That’s it.”
Marsay further praised the importance of “authentic casting” in storytelling.
“Those are lived experiences and there are groups of people who might not get the parts they want by virtue of who they are and what their sexuality or their orientation is,” Marsay said. “I don’t think it’s [necessarily] this or that. But, equal opportunity to explore those roles — certainly for people who were overlooked due to their sexual orientation — I think we need to be mindful of that [overall].”
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