Joel Kim Booster talks Loot & kissing his boyfriend on red carpets

This interview is part of Out's March/April fashion spread, in which out actors Joel Kim Booster, Daniel Kyri, Mark Indelicato, and Satya Bhabha talked TV and modeled menswear on the Universal Studios Lot’s Courthouse Square.

Congratulations on the Emmy nomination for Fire Island. How did it feel to be there — and to kiss your boyfriend on the red carpet?
It was so surreal being at the Emmys. I have been watching the Emmys since I was a little boy. Like the better part of 30 years, probably. And so, to finally be there, it was really sort of a crazy wish-fulfillment moment for my younger self.

Acceptance speeches were a big reason why I wanted to become an actor, which is sort of funny. I didn’t expect to win, but I definitely think I’ve been practicing to win an Emmy for the last 30 years. So it was cool to get that one step closer to it.

As far as kissing my boyfriend on the red carpet…I think I kiss him on every red carpet that we go to together, and it just seems like a natural thing to do. When I’m with my partner, I like to kiss him, and it’s crazy that people went nuts for that photo.

How would you describe your personal style?
I always lean more towards street style. I like comfortable clothes that skew a little slutty — but you know, like a skater but slutty.

ANNAKIKI Liquid Metal Bolero Jacket and Shorts; STEVE MADDEN Black Leather Berrit Mid-Shaft Buckled Moto Boots; VITALY Stainless Steel Deadbolt Chain NecklaceANTHONY BARRIOS

How would you describe the style of your Loot character, Nicholas?
Definitely a little bit more elevated than mine. Lots of colorful suits. He loves a lot of oversized, baggy, straight-off-the-runway looks. I think for him, his clothing is like a status symbol. He loves being a part of [his rich boss] Molly’s world and the sort of the opulence of it. I think for him, fashion is wearable art.

Do you have a favorite look?
Kirston [Lee Mann], our costume designer, manages to find and pull some really incredible suits. He’s never going to be in just like a regular black gray work suit. There’s always going to be a twist, there’s always going to be a pattern, there’s always going to be a texture.

How has Nicholas resonated with LGBTQ+ fans?
I don’t think they like him very much. I get accused of playing a stereotype on the daily. And it is just another bitchy gay character on TV that I try to elevate as much as I can. But I don’t think it resonates super deeply with gay fans.

TOKYO JAMES Cream Hand- Stitched Lace Shirt Matching Trousers and Suit Jacket Shoes; STEVE MADDEN Lawrence Bone Leather Lug Sole LoaferANTHONY BARRIOS

Tell us about his journey this season.
We definitely, this season on Loot, get to see a little bit more of Nicholas’s background. There’s a lot more exploration into his family and where he comes from.

We did decide together — Matt [Hubbard] and Alan [Yang], the showrunners and I — that [like me] he is adopted as well. And so we get to see his parents, and I think it’s really great because the sort of transracial adoption background of my character is never really outwardly addressed. His parents show up, they’re white, and that is sort of the end of the discussion.

Loot — Season 2 Official Trailer | Apple TV+

What does it mean to be an out actor on TV today?
It’s sort of meaningless at this point. Like I feel like I am a part of a huge fraternity of out actors across the spectrum of our community, and it doesn’t feel like it’s that big a deal anymore, which is kind of a wonderful place to be. It’s a job, it’s work. I’m so grateful to be working and to be in a time when I can be out and be myself at work. But it just feels so everyday pedestrian now, which is nice.

What TV show changed your life?
All-American Girl, which was Margaret Cho’s short-lived sitcom. I think we’ve definitely gotten a little lost in the sauce when it comes to this conversation about representation and how much it actually matters. But for me, at that time growing up, it was the first time I’d seen a Korean-American family on TV…anybody that that looked like me on TV. And so it was really life-changing for me as a little boy to see.

ANTHONY BARRIOS

This story is part of the Out March/April issue, which hits newsstands on April 2. Support queer media and subscribe— or download the issue through Apple News, Zinio, Nook, or PressReader starting March 18.

photographer: ANTHONY BARRIOS @anthony__giovanni
photographer’s assistant: JORDAN FRAME @_jordanframe
photographer’s assistant: ANDREW BARRIOS @andrewbarrios1
stylist: EDWIN ORTEGA @edwin.j.ortega
stylist assistant: KAREN VELIZ
grooming for Satya and Mark: JOSÉ FIGUEROA @josefigz
grooming for Joel and Daniel: TRACY RAFFELSON @tracyraffelsonmakeup
videographer: ROBERT MARRERO @itsrobertmarrero
location: COURTHOUSE SQUARE, UNIVERSAL STUDIOS BACK LOT @unistudios
All TV shows — HACKS, LOOT, CHICAGO FIRE, and SCOTT PILGRIM TAKES OFF — are produced by Universal Studio Group. Interviews are condensed.