“I do believe, or at least hope, they seem to be dying out,” laughs Oliver Stark. The British actor is manifesting the much-needed and deserved extinction of 9-1-1’s anti-LGBTQIA+ mob, who were – sadly, but predictably – out in full force after his mainstay character Evan “Buck” Buckley embraced his status as a bi-con in the procedural drama’s seventh season. Stark proceeded to showcase his LGBTQIA+ allyship by issuing a statement in which he condemned the biphobes and told them to, basically, piss off.

“I wondered if I should bother even saying something to them because, do I even wanna give them the time of day?” Stark tells GAY TIMES over Zoom. “I think the most important aspect was to put a message out for the other people, for the people who were supportive of the storyline and to make sure they knew I wasn’t at all swayed away from it and I’m proud to be telling this story.”

‘Refreshing’ is how fans – and Stark – describe the handling of Buck’s sexuality. Rather than question his masculinity or reject his identity – which has, sigh, traditionally been the case in television and film – Stark’s beloved first responder has embraced all facets of his queerness. From the start, it was important that ‘trauma’ didn’t have a place in his journey, Stark explains.

Read ahead for our full interview with Oliver Stark, where he celebrates 9-1-1’s progressive depiction of Buck’s sexuality and discusses his chemistry with co-stars Ryan Guzman and Lou Ferrigno Jr. Obviously, we had to chat with Stark about ‘Buddie’ – the much-championed ship between his and Guzman’s characters – and whether Buck is a fan of Atomic Kitten. That last part: very important and relevant.