Here's What Queer as Folk's Johnny Sibilly Is Looking For in a Partner

The following interview is part of Out's "Dating PrEP 2.0" series, in which four notable experts from various fields offer advice on how to prepare for dating as a modern queer man. Watch the full series on Out.com.

When it comes to televising queer interracial relationships, Johnny Sibilly knows the importance of representation.

"It's important to show interracial relationships onscreen and film because it's important that people's love is affirmed," says the gay actor, who has romantic storylines with Black characters in both Hacks and Queer as Folk. He also portrayed Costas, the boyfriend of Pray Tell, Billy Porter's character in Pose.

"When people see me dating a Black man, or another Black man dating another Black man or an Asian person...it shows you what we have not seen already on screen. And I think that's super important for moving the needle forward."

Sibilly, a breakout star of these shows, shared his own dating experiences with Out for its Dating PrEP 2.0 series, in which LGBTQ+ influencers share advice on love and self-love. And Sibilly is willing to go the distance, literally, in pursuit of love. He recounts how he twice went on cross-country trips to "spend the weekend with someone"

"The first person I did meet once at like a brunch quickly," he says. "And the second one was someone that I met on Instagram, and we had corresponded for over a year, but it did feel like a first date. Because when you're with someone in a physical space, it does feel like you're meeting them for the first time."

And Sibilly likes to be prepared before going on a date. "It's important to feel good when you're going out into a vulnerable situation and, you know, putting on a shirt that you love, like a color that you love them. That makes you feel like a bad bitch," he says. Additionally, Sibilly will take a power nap, listen to disco hits from a Spotify playlist, take PrEP, and trim his body hair in order to feel "confident and comfortable."

In fact, a classic straight rom-com inspires Sibilly in his dating preparation. "I always say I like to feel like Julia Roberts in Pretty Woman when I'm getting ready to go meet someone because that was one of the first things that I saw on TV that showed me what love can look like," he says. And now, through projects like Queer as Folk and Hacks, Sibilly is showing the world what queer love can look like.

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