Vico Ortiz is about to batten down the hatches…
The non-binary Puerto Rican actor, drag king, activist and performer extraordinaire will star in HBO Max’s upcoming period comedy Our Flag Means Death.
Ortiz joins a cast of newcomers that includes Kristian Nairn, Nathan Foad, Samson Kayo, Rory Kinnear and Con O’Neill.
The series hails from Taika Waititi, David Jenkins, Garrett Basch and Dan Halsted.
Ortiz is set to portray Bonifacia.
The series, which stars Rhys Darby and Waititi, based loosely on the true adventures of Stede Bonnet, a pampered aristocrat who abandoned his life of privilege to become a pirate in the early 18th century.
Bonnet was a moderately wealthy land owner who later turned to a life of crime as a pirate. He bought a sailing vessel, named it Revenge and traveled with his paid crew along the Eastern Seaboard of what is now the United States, capturing other vessels and burning other Barbadian ships.
Darby plays Bonnet, while Waititi, who is also directing the pilot episode and will executive-produce, will play Blackbeard, history’s most feared and revered pirate.
Ortiz’s previous credits include Indebted, Vida and Everything’s Gonna Be Okay.