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There’s a lot hiding beneath the surface of the “super positive” Tan France that audiences don’t usually get to see.
The Queer Eye and Next in Fashion host is taking on his first-ever scripted role as a guest star on the new Hulu comedy series, Deli Boys. The show follows Raj (Saagar Shaikh) and Mir Dar (Asif Ali), a pair of spoiled Pakistani-American brothers who lose everything after their deli-tycoon father suddenly dies. The brothers soon come to learn that their Baba wasn’t a corporate magnate, but rather a drug lord in the underground world of organized crime. France plays Zubair, a British-Pakistani South London gang leader who’s always dressed to kill.
The series is one of the few pieces of media to heavily spotlight Pakistani talent. France is also excited to showcase his acting skills, as the role marks a shift in the public persona he usually portrays.
Here’s what he told The Advocate about the milestone. The conversation below has been edited for clarity.
The Advocate: This is your first scripted role. I’m so curious what that’s been like for you. How does it compare to reality TV?
Tan France: It does not compare in any way. It’s so jarringly different. The funny thing is, my sister was saying when I was doing it, “You must be used to it because you’re on camera every day.” I can’t even articulate how wildly different these experiences are. I turn up on set every day on any other show that I do, and I’m just me. It’s so easy. I’m loud, and I just have to be myself. And it’s such a luxury to get paid to just be yourself.
And then doing this job, it was work, but the most incredible work. I was challenged at every turn, and it felt so good as an adult to do something new and to experience something that was so special. I can’t believe that at 40, I got to do something that I never thought possible for me.
This is a scripted role, but you get to bring so much of yourself to it. Of course, you’re not really a gang leader — unless we could the Fab Five.
I am. I’m part of the gay mafia.
But you get to bring a lot of yourself to this role. How does it feel to be able to portray something so close to home and represent those parts of yourself?
Wonderful. The fact that I get to be on a show with South Asian people — but it’s for (hopefully) the mass audience, people outside of our community — and show what this community looks like in a way that’s never been done before, felt amazing.
I know you’re not referencing this, but I’m gonna tell you that my life before Queer Eye, before I moved to America, was very different from the life that I live here in America. I learned to fight very early on in life. I was boxing from an early age. So, to be able to incorporate that side of myself into this character was really exciting, because what you guys in America get to see is smiley, happy, super positive Tan France. You never really get to see the dark side. So, I do love that I get to show that.
I was just going to say, I love that we have a queer man who’s in this traditionally masculine and morally gray role. How have you tackled that?
I’ve been asked to do cameos on many shows, and I typically say no because they just want gay Tan France. Which is fine, but I already do that in my regular job. I don’t want to do it elsewhere. This job really forced me to work hard to be something that I’m not typically.
I was so excited about the fact that they wanted me to play a straight role. I loved that they wanted me to play a violent role. It was so against type, and I would like to believe that’s the success of it.
If I was playing Jolly Tan, it wouldn’t have been a stretch. If I had my own accent, it would have been a stretch. I love that I got to do an accent that isn’t mine, a voice that isn’t mine, walk the way I don’t walk, to be so violent. Every facet of this person was so not me or a version that the world has never seen, so that’s what really got me excited about it.
Deli Boys is streaming exclusively on Hulu beginning March 6.
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Fashion expert and television personality Tan France sits down with TODAY’s Jenna Bush Hager and guest co-host Regina Hall to talk about his acting debut in “Deli Boys,” an upcoming comedy series. France calls the experience terrifying, but says it was “the best experience of my adult life.” He then discusses his recent tour with the rest of the “Queer Eye” Fab Five, and his attendance at the Oscars.
March 5, 2025
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