Our Flag Means Death's Vico Ortiz built Jedi lifestyle and wants to do a Star Wars

As a fan of Our Flag Means Death, it was heartbreaking to see the show come to an end. As the stars move on to look for other project, one person in particular would love to join a franchise I also clearly adore: Star Wars.

While attending as a guest for the yearly fandom event JoCo Cruise, Our Flag Means Death star Vico Ortiz shared their dream to one day step into a galaxy far, far away. Via Polygon, they shared:

"Dream-role-wise, I would love to be in the Star Wars universe at some point. That’d be so dope. I’ve been a big Star Wars fan since — I feel like it’s in my veins. One side of my family is big Star Wars fans. And a lot of them, their choices in life, similar to mine, have been because of Star Wars."

Ortiz went on to explain that they also built their lifestyle around being a Jedi, including learning to swordfight as a hobby which for sure helped them get their role as pirate Jim Jimenez. They also shared a hilarious tidbit about their family. They said:

“Long story short, the reason I’m 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 rocked my world. I was like, 'I want to be a peaceful warrior. I want to be a Jedi. I want to learn how to sword fight and meditate and eat plants and be one with the Force.'

So I did it! I became vegetarian in Puerto Rico at age, like, 12. The diet there was mostly pork. So my parents were like, ‘All right, it’s gonna be interesting!’ And my grandmother was more appalled that I changed to being vegetarian than anything else [in my life]. They were like, ‘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 OK with me being a homosexual and all the things. Funny, priorities, you know what I’m saying?”

While Star Wars has come a long way in queer representation, the franchise still has a long way to go. Most LGBTQIA+ content is hidden away in the comics and books, hitting the smallest part of the franchise. Live-action Star Wars has made some strides thanks to characters like Vel and Cinta in Andor and the upcoming series The Acolyte. Animation has lagged significantly and has, at times, been harmful. However, the preschool series Young Jedi Adventures, of all things, is repping that front the most.

The franchise could use more actors like Ortiz and their Our Flag Means Death character, Jim Jimenez. They shared this similar sentiment about why it's important to have representation on screen:

"Yeah, we’re literally like everybody else. We drink coffee, we pay taxes, we get anxiety and everything, those everyday experiences of the human life. So I want to keep doing roles that represent that. It’s not like me sitting and being like, 'This is what trans nonbinary means,' and then pulling up a PowerPoint to explain all of that. That’s totally fine, and it’s good to have those roles, because we gotta find education here and there. But also, education is just like, us breathing and existing."