Angus O’Brien brings to life one of the funnest and most fascinating characters from Boots on Netflix, Hicks — a chaotic and lovable recruit at the U.S. Marine Corps who enters the pantheon of iconically cryptic smirks in pop culture. Except, this devilish agent of chaos doesn’t wear Prada… just camo.
In an interview, O’Brien tells Out which reference points and personal goals he had in mind while embodying Hicks, looks forward to exploring new layers of the character in a potential second season, and recalls the inspiring journey that led him to this role. The actor also discusses meeting costar Miles Heizer (“a complete soulmate”), being one of five out gay actors on Boots, and his experience playing such a butch character like Hicks without losing sight of his “gay as hell self.”
Buckle up, buttercup: This Boots star is just getting started.
Hicks planting seeds of a conspiracy theory that he’s built up in his own head… while also gardening. /// Angus O’Brien as Hick on Boots.Netflix
Out: Boots is a big hit, and the online discourse is still pretty intense. I think it’s pretty remarkable that the show, the cast, and the crew, across the board, are all getting pretty good reviews. What’s it been like to experience a moment like this?
Angus O’Brien: I mean, it's a complete dream come true, that’s the short answer. Something that was a little bit unique about this show is that it took so much longer for it to come out than it otherwise would have. We were sort of split up by the strike [led by SAG-AFTRA and WGA, opposing the AMPTP, in 2023]. For those of us who were there since the beginning, it’s felt like a really, really, really long journey.
The longer you spend with something as your baby, the scarier it gets. Like, ‘Oh my god, I hope people like it, because we’ve been spending so much time making it.’ It’s a huge relief that people are enjoying it as much as they are.
I know Max Parker and Miles Heizer were there from the start, whereas Sachin Bhatt and Jack Cameron Kay joined a bit later in the process. When did you become attached to Boots?
I was there day-one with the rest of the series regular boys, which was two and a half years ago. Truly crazy. Looking back, watching the show, I really do feel like we all looked so much younger when we started, so it’s kind of nostalgic at the same time.
That’s true. Everyone looks great, but it’s easy to spot some differences.
Well, now we have all these luscious locks of hair as well. [Laughs.]
Rocks, locks, and a framed full-frontal on the wall that we had to blur out. /// Angus O’Brien via Instagram Story.Instagram (@angusobrien_)
Thank you for addressing that matter. As a fellow “baldy” myself, this is a very important topic for me. What was it like to shave your head, and do it along with everyone else in the project? Are you precious about your hair at all?
No, not at all! I was really looking forward to it, actually, because I enjoy playing characters that are very different from who I am as a person. That physical transformation is something that you don’t always get the opportunity to do. It’s so fun, and exciting, to really dramatically switch up your look. I remember we were all very nervous and excited. It was a huge bonding experience for all of us.
I also feel like, once my hair was shaved and I looked in the mirror, and then especially wearing the uniform… I felt so much more connected to the character. It just felt so different from my own day-to-day; it made connecting with Hicks a lot easier.
Like you were putting on “Hicks drag.”
Totally. 100 percent.
Out of the five out queer actors starring in the show — Heizer, Parker, Bhatt, and Kay — you’re the only one playing a character who doesn’t identify as queer, and is described as straight. I should admit that this didn’t immediately click for me — and I see some confusion among fans, too. But the storylines for Hicks just didn’t relate to him identifying one way or another.
I think a part of what that [confusion] was that so many of the publications used that picture of me and Miles shaving for the first few articles. That’s one of my favorite scenes I got to do. I love that scene! But there’s definitely, rightly so, a homoerotic tension to that scene.
But more than a display of Hicks’s sexuality, that scene is sort of showing… A) He likes getting up in people’s business and making them uncomfortable; B) Those moments of unexpected intimacy in boot camp. You don’t necessarily think of these fraternal sorts of intimacy that are displayed to each other. When I saw that in the script, I thought it was really exciting, because it’s just sort of those little unexpected moments that people blow up into a much bigger thing.
Threatening? Titillating? Maybe both. /// Angus O’Brien and Miles Heizer on Boots.Netflix
The cast and crew of Boots is very passionate about the project, but everyone acknowledges that the waiting around was hard. Not it was anyone’s fault — the strike, for instance, just placed a hiatus on Hollywood overall. But did you fear the show might not move forward? Were you surprised by any changes made as you resumed filming?
We all sort of knew, going into it, that we were all going to be working every day — which was abnormal. In most TV shows, you’re popping in, doing your scenes, and then you have a couple of days off or whatever. But because we were all there every day, we all got very, very close.
We kind of expected that, going into it. But I will say… Yeah, a lot of the boys did have a lot of anxiety when we went away for the strike. We would be so devastated if the show just all of a sudden kind of went poof. We are very, very grateful and lucky that it didn’t, because we know that happens all the time.
Uh, yeah, to say the least. I could probably list, off the top of my head, a pretty long list of shows — queer ones specifically — that got canceled at the time. For many of them, it felt like the strike was a convenient excuse. I can totally see that.
Yes, so many productions. We consider ourselves very, very lucky. But, just to that point… All of us really relied on each other in those times where we were just spiraling from the stress of what’s going to happen next. All we really had was each other.
Trauma-bonding, low-key?
Exactly. And I’ll say, too: Miles [Heizer] and I are… That’s my best friend in the entire world. I’ve had cast friends before, and I love those kinds of relationships. But if there was anything surprising from the experience of shooting Boots: It was unexpected to meet someone that I do feel like is a complete soulmate of mine.
I’ve never had that experience on a job before. It made showing up to work every day so much fun. It made the times where we were all nervous, and spiraling, and scared, that much more bearable. We could sort of text each other and rely on each other.
If I send you any of these, it means we’re besties. /// Angus O’Brien and Miles Heizer in images shared on social media.Instagram (@younggoth); Jenny Anderson/Getty Images for Netflix; Instagram (@angusobrien_)
A wise woman once that “we, as gay people, we get to choose our family.” The Boots cast had a handful, at least. And I’ve seen the straight actors being just as comfortable with you guys — joking, posing for photos, sharing compliments… It should be the least we expect, but the bar is underground at this point.
Oh, completely. To that point, Miles and I joke that it had been so long since we spent that much time with a majority straight group of people. Because my day to day, obviously, that’s just not the case. [Laughs.] All of my close friends are queer.
It was really interesting, and cool, because everyone’s sort of coming from different walks of life. It was also a helpful thing where I was like, ‘Oh, these straight people… they can hang! They like joking around.’ It was really nice to have everyone bonding together.
What was your experience, personally, coming out?
It was pretty straightforward. I came out in high school, to my friends first, then my mom, then my brother. I was very lucky. I grew up in Los Angeles, so my family’s pretty liberal and progressive. I never… Well, I guess I was still nervous, but I didn’t think anything terrible was going to happen to me, by any means.
Professionally, as an actor, was that coming-out process smooth, too?
The way that it plays into my career was actually much more of a source of anxiety for me. I noticed that all the parts that my agents were sending me out for were straight characters. And, especially at the time, there were just no gay parts at all.
Whatever they were sort of seeing as my preliminary type, they were sending me out for these more ‘straight roles.’ And I was getting callbacks and booking some of those jobs. So I think, to them, they started seeing that as the viable lane for me to get my career started.
I remember having a lot of anxieties on my first couple of sets. It’s the classic “gay actor” thing, but it’s sort of exhausting to be so concerned with like, “How am I supposed to act when the cameras aren’t rolling? If I were to be myself, how damaging for my career would that be?” The more that I started to book those parts, the more comfortable I started feeling like, “Okay, I know it’s not a fluke. I know I can do that now.”
Hicks offering some sketchy green drink to people like he’s in Wicked or something. /// Angus O’Brien as Hicks sharing a drink container with a green liquid to other recruits in the U.S. Marine Corps, as depicted on Boots.Netflix
Oh my god, Angus! No, it’s not a fluke. You’re fantastic as Hicks. I don’t think anyone can, or would even want to, dispute how great of a performance that is.
Thank you. It kind of came a point, to me, where I was like: “If I have to spend my career lying to myself and other people, I would rather just do something else.”
I love acting. It’s so fun. But it’s not worth the deep shame and anxiety that comes with that. I feel very grateful that I get to bounce back and forth from these really interesting — and sort of strange — characters back to my gay as hell self. [Laughs.]
OK, let’s talk about that. As we discussed, you’re the only out actor here playing a straight character. But Hicks is also, like, really butch?! There was scenes on this season that, on my first watch, I had a hard time figuring out who’s who. And then I saw you on social media as a completely different person. As you said, your “gay as hell self,” thank gawd.
That’s so fun about watching it back, too. The uniformity of us all being shaved bald and wearing the uniform. So there are moments — I think intentionally so — where you’re like, “Wait, who’s who?” You lose track. But I think that’s how it is in boot camp: You get broken down to your most basic components.
And yeah, that was a part of the joy for me too — showing up to work, changing out of my clothes, taking off my earrings, taking off my bracelets… [Laughs.] It was actually a huge relief to me after some really long, exhausting days. I just remember — so dramatic [laughs] — putting my earrings back in my ear and looking at myself in the mirror, and I was back to my regular self. Like, “I’ve been straight for too long today. I need to be gay again.”
“Gay as hell self” euphoria.
Truly!
Mama, kudos for being your gay as hell self. For serving. /// Angus O’Brien via Instagram Stories.Instagram (@angusobrien_; @chrisjadkins)
This being a queer-centered, ensemble-inclusive Netflix show set in a contained environment: We’ve seen some people recall the character Suzanne Warren, a.k.a. “Crazy Eyes,” played by Uzo Aduba on Orange Is the New Black. Did you have any specific references for playing Hicks?
For me, from a character perspective, Full Metal Jacket [Stanley Kubrick’s 1987 film about the U.S. Marines during the U.S.-Vietnam War] was something that a lot of the cast members watched. And, certainly for a character like Hicks, there’s a lot of influence in that.
But definitely, “Crazy Eyes,” I take that as such a huge compliment, because what an amazing performance that was. I feel that that reference was an inspiration for how that archetypal character fits within the context of the series, and shows that you actually really need characters like that to sort of break away from the intensity. I felt a responsibility to being the sort of relief from the more intense moments.
From a character perspective, I really wanted to approach Hicks from a place of love and positivity. There’s a way of reading the character on the page and being like… “He’s a sociopath, and fucking crazy, and an asshole.” Which, all of that can be true, but to me this is someone who sees the good in every situation he’s in. He wants to have an amazing time. In his own weird way, he thinks he’s bonding with these guys by stirring the pot.
I feel like Hicks is so brave. He’s fearless in these kinds of situations that are very stressful. Yeah, there’s the Full Metal Jacket crazy, but I really wanted to flesh out the parts of him that were almost like, in his own maniacal way, his desire to connect with these people.
One of Hicks’s funniest scenes, for me, is one he’s gardening with Slovacek (Kieron Moore), and Hicks is delivering this super-serious explanation of a conspiracy to Slovacek. And Hicks is so completely serious to the point of making fun of Slovacek for not knowing something. Your face journey in that scene is so funny.
Yeah, me and Miles always joke that one of the funniest things a person can be is so dead-serious about something… Like, all of a sudden, they’re just so earnest and serious about something. It can be so hilarious, especially for a character like Hicks. He takes the conspiracy so seriously; there’s something kind of endearing about it. He’s not infallible. He almost falls for his own chaotic ideas sometimes.
This type of character, who is a supporting comedic relief kind of thing, I wanted to be able to show variety in certain moments. One of my proudest moments showing that variety was in graduation, when we were getting our pins at the end of “The Crucible” [season finale]. There was a take where I wanted, for once, for Hicks to actually just enjoy the moment. In a character that’s always bouncing off the walls and out there, it lets people in when you show that this guy can also be vulnerable and moved by things. I was grateful for that opportunity.
“Is it crazy that I kinda need him?” via @most on Instagram /// Angus O’Brien as Hicks on Boots, with graphics by @most on Instagram.Instagram (@most)
Why do you think Hicks is drawn to the chaos? Does it always come from that place of wanting to have fun or trying to make connections with other people? What’s your take on this “internal compass” from Hicks?
I want to hopefully explore more of these things in a second season, but to break down what I know — and what I’m allowed to talk about, backstory-wise — is that the outside world was perhaps getting a little bit boring for him. With a person like Hicks, boredom can be a dangerous thing… like, not a good thing. He wants to connect to people, but struggles to do so because of how he is.
I think he considered boot camp to be the most kind of insane and challenging situation he could put himself in to have an exciting experience. So when he’s pulling the strings and sort of stirring the pot, it’s his way of poking and prodding at people to see who he can connect with — he’s determining who’s brave, who’s funny, who’s smart, who’s interesting. He wants to be around people who are going to elicit the most exciting circumstances.
And this is me completely standing up for my character — and I always will — but the scene where he ends up telling Ray the truth of the toilet paper thing: In my mind, he does that is because these two friends can either continue to exist in the lie of what is going on between them, or they can confront each other with the truth and grow as people.
Hicks was just like, “That’s what needs to happen next, so that’s what I’m going to make happen.” And look, they got closer from it! It worked!
[O’Brien’s screen freezes momentarily; he then re-appears on the call.]
Sorry, my brother just tried to call me, so I had to hang up on him.
I recently saw this cute post you shared, and I wanted to bring it up because this is always a pertinent subject in the LGBTQ+ community. You wrote that you and older brother accidentally have the same “sober birthday.” If you’re comfortable, do you want talk about your journey with sobriety?
Yeah, I would love to talk about it. I come from a family of addicts who are now sober. My childhood was always sort of… I wanted to be the one who was the good kid because my family was addicts. So, the way that my drug abuse manifested was much later in my life, after [the COVID lockdown].
I was fortunate because my family had already gotten sober by this time, and I was able to lean on them as support. I really needed to get sober, so I was grateful. And it completely changed my life. I mean, on my 30th day of sobriety, I found out that I booked this play, it was really miraculous how it all happened. I went straight from my month of sobriety into a really rigorous rehearsal process. I felt like the structure of it was really helpful for my sobriety, as I had to show up every day.
And that play led straight into this TV show! It was one of those moments in sobriety where you just feel like everything is being revealed to you for the first time in your life now that you’ve actually done something for yourself.
[O’Brien starred in A Bright New Boise at Signature Theatre, revived as a dark comedy by Samuel D. Hunter and reviewed by Jackson McHenry for Vulture.]
Looking ahead, you’ve recently worked on a couple of episodes for Elsbeth on CBS. How’s this post-Boots season 1 era going?
Oh, it’s amazing. The cast and crew are so wonderful, so kind. They’ve just been really supportive. Coincidentally, one episode aired a few days after Boots came out, and then I just wrapped on another episode. Everyone was so congratulatory and supportive. The director of the episode that I just filmed with is an old friend of Greg Cope White’s, who wrote the memoir [The Pink Marine, which inspired Boots.] So she took a moment on set to be like, “Everyone, Angus is in a top 10 Netflix show! Be sure to watch Boots on Netflix.” I was just like, “This is so surreal.”
Yeah, the director of an episode for a hit series on CBS doesn’t have to do that. But she did.
It was so kind and unexpected, and that’s just a testament to what that set is. Everyone is so warm and so supportive. I hope to keep coming back, because it’s been so much fun.
What other upcoming projects are you looking forward to?
There’s a short film, which I recently filmed, that hopefully will be going to festivals: I’m Gonna Kill You. It was fun because I got to play a gay guy for once! And I also got to have my first… well, I don’t want to spoil anything, but it was an experience of a lot of firsts for me, which is fun.
Anything specific that you want to do next? More on-screen, more theater?
I want to do both. The joke is that your screen acting job pays for your theater acting, which I think is true. I would love to keep doing both. But, aside from the medium, I just want to keep playing characters that are bizarre, and exciting, and unexpected… And I hope that continues with Boots, and I hope that this leads to more opportunities where I get to keep having those sorts of roles.
Boots is streaming on Netflix.
