Miah Massaro | Sports Editor
For my Directed Research project here at Eastern, I’m diving into an exploration of LGBTQ+ representation in film and television, focusing on the value of authentic storytelling both in front of and behind the camera. A key part of this journey led me to the talented Joseph La Corte, the costume designer behind Fellow Travelers, a stunning series that captures queer experiences across decades of American history. In our interview, La Corte shared his insights on his experience working with LGBTQ+ creatives on set, how costume design can help tell more nuanced and accureate queer love stories, and some hurdles we may still see today. He also shared some insightful stories, further more revealing how the cast of Fellow Travelers worked together as a powerful unit to bring this heartbreakingly beautiful story to life.
This interview not only deepened my understanding of the behind-the-scenes craftsmanship, but also speaks to the broader importance of having openly queer voices—whether through acting, writing, or design—in telling these stories with authenticity. As I work towards creating my video essay, I’m excited to share moments from our conversation here, offering a glimpse into the thoughtful work that goes into representing LGBTQ+ lives with integrity and depth.
I wanted to start off by saying that the costumes in this project were so amazing. I feel like costuming is such an overlooked part of film and TV–sometimes people don’t understand how important it is to the characters and the story. Every episode, I was just so blown away.
Joseph La Corte: Oh, that’s so kind of you. That’s very nice to say. Yeah, a lot of people, you know, don’t realize that before [a character] even opens their mouth, you’ve already made a decision about who they are, where they come from, how much money they have, just by what they look like.
I feel like with Tim in the first episode–before you even hear him speak–just seeing him in that little bow tie…
La Corte: Listen, believe it or not, they fought me on the bow tie! When Jonny and I had our first fitting, I fit him mostly in bow ties–I did some string ties, but mostly bow ties–because I thought it helped make him look more juvenile, more young, you know. And they’re like, No, no, no. We had shot some senes already [where Tim is wearing a tie], and then we were getting ready to shoot that ball room scene for the election night, and the director, Dan [Minahan] was like, "What do you think, should we throw a bow tie on here?" I was like, "This is the first time [Hawk and Tim] are meeting, I think absolutely." And so we did, and then Dan was like, "Oh, we should have listened!" I told him it was fine, we’re moving forward. I think we had one other bow tie in there at one point… Jonny loved the bowties and so did I, but there’s a lot of people involved in the process.
I’m happy to say too that like, 90% of what I sketched is what made it to camera. I had that and I’m very grateful.
What was your experience like working on Fellow Travelers and collaborating with other LGBTQ+ creatives on set?
La Corte: Really, from the top down–which includes the showrunners, the directors, the producers, department heads, the cast–everyone came with the willingness and determination to go above and beyond to make sure that the collaboration put forth was the most accurate portrayal of the story and who these people were. I mean, we had so many meetings, and even department heads who are not LGBTQ+ were also… everyone knew going in that this was something that hadn’t been done yet to this level.
Fremantle and Showtime were all on board once we did our screen test and our pitch. About a couple weeks before filming, you have to do a presentation–all the department heads and the studio– for me, I had to do sketches and talk about the costumes and what I think it should look like, and then we did the screen test, and after that, Showtime was like, "You guys have this, we don’t need to approve every little thing, just go." And we knew once that happened–that never happens–so we were like, oh, we’re onto a good thing here. So we took it from there.
One of the directors one time, when Allison Williams [who plays Lucy Smith] came downstairs in this gown to go to the symphony, was like: "Where is she going?" I said, “To the symphony in 1953!” And she’s like, "This is what they wore?" I mean… Everyone fact checked everyone. There was lots of that on set to make sure we were getting everything just right.
Showtime posted a Youtube video before Fellow Travelers aired for the first time called “Queer Through the Generations,” and in it, you spoke about how you grew up in the 70’s and 80’s, and how you spent time in hospitals during the AIDS crisis.
La Corte: Yes.
And you mentioned how you could only really stay for a few takes of the scenes done in the hospital rooms, and then you had to leave. I was wondering how you think queer actors, like Jonathan Bailey and Matt Bomer, and other queer creatives impact those types of performances in terms of authenticity?
La Corte: Queer actors and creatives bring a perspective of the lived LGBTQ+ experience, which is helpful in so many layers and nuances to tell the story. Ron [Nyswaner] and Dan [Minahan], and myself, we knew when we were on a hospital set… like, I don’t know if you remember [Tim’s] friend, who had the bed next to him, we knew that gay people weren’t going to just look at those horrible hospital walls. He would festoon; he would put his robes up on the ivy stand, and we knew all those details because we’ve seen it. We’ve been there.
We also did tons and tons of research about it, but yeah, I mean… the acting, and especially the hair and make up in the hospital, were just so realistic. I remember early on, I had a boyfriend here in New York, and he had a very dear friend who died… we were at his bedside when he died from AIDS, and I knew a couple other people, but that was the first time I had been there, and then just sitting on set watching these moments, I was like… Yeah, I can’t. I can’t go.
And it wasn’t because I didn’t want to fall apart, it was that I had a fitting to go to or something, and I was like, "If I [watch] this whole thing, I’m never gonna be able to get through the day."
I’ve often heard the cast talk about how you all really came together like a family, and that scenes that were difficult emotionally–like the hospital scenes, and even the break down scene in episode 7 with Hawk and Tim–solidified the bond and trust you all had with one another. With this, I was curious to know how working on Fellow Travelers perhaps felt different from other projects in terms of inclusivity?
La Corte: Before I answer this, I just want to say one other thing… when we filmed the final scene where [Hawk] is at the AIDS quilt, I was in a tent probably a good city block away, and after the first or second take, Ron radioed back to the tent, “Tell Joseph to go back to the studio,” because I was crying–sobbing–so loud, because it was so real.
I can’t even imagine how emotional and impactful that was for you all on set. I sobbed my eyes out watching it, but you were all there and with authentic pieces of the AIDS quilt, too.
La Corte: Even the extras were crying because a lot of them were of the right age, but anyone who was even in the slight area and could hear what was being said by Matt, I mean, they were just… It was so good. [La Corte grows emotional] Sorry, I’m even crying about it now.
I cry thinking about it too–you’re completely fine. Take your time.
La Corte: Yes! It was a whole new experience to be able to go to the creatives and the actors and have a deeper dialogue about all the story points. We were all coming from a place of knowledge and understanding, so it really… You know, sometimes things are just internally… it’s like a nature in your being, and so a lot of that–especially for Jonny, Matt, Noah, and Jelani–it was so organic because it was them, or they’ve had those experiences. Maybe not in that time period, but they’ve had a similar experience now. To have that constant, buzzy feeling of this is right, this is right, this is right, was just a gift every day for everyone.
Ron was such a mentor and father and leader to everyone, and when they would come to a moment that they didn’t quite understand, because most of them were not alive, or just so young, Ron and Dan would provide insight to them, and it was super helpful to have that for everyone.
How does having LGBTQ+ individuals in decision making roles, such as costume design, help tell more nuanced and accurate queer love stories?
La Corte: Kind of similar, of course LGBTQ+ individuals involved in decision making will bring a deeper awareness of the story. You’re also able to have a dialogue based on shared understanding. Every fraction of a scene was dissected and talked about–"Oh, I remember when I was in the 80’s, I would say this… I’d feel this way about it…" etc,. There was a constant dialogue happening for all of it.
In an interview you did with Gold Derby a few months ago, around the time of the Emmy nominations coming out, you spoke about how you wanted input from the cast about what you were thinking of doing with their costumes because they were the ones telling the story.
La Corte: Correct.
How did their input affect how you designed the costumes to reflect the queer characters' experiences?
La Corte: My process–whether it’s an LGBTQ+ [project] or not–is after I read the script, I do initial, passive sketches, I send them to Ron, Dan, the producers, everyone, and I get a reaction. They were all, you know, this is great, this is the right direction. Then I will specifically send the sketches of those characters to the actors playing them, and I’ll say something like, "Hi, my name is Joseph, I’m looking forward to meeting you. These are my thoughts, I’m really anxious to talk to you and find out your feelings on the character. What colors do you really enjoy? This is the kind of color pallet we’re choosing for your character, but it’s up for discussion."
Because no matter what I do, if [the actor] puts the costume on and they don’t feel like the character… They’re going to spend time thinking about how it doesn’t look good and doesn’t feel right. I always tell the actors, “Once you leave this room, I don’t want you to ever think about the clothes again. You have enough to worry about with acting and getting it right…” Because sometimes–I’m so old now that I can look at scenes and tell when something is just not right with an actor, like they’re uncomfortable–sometimes it's the clothes.
You had also mentioned, I think you said it was a dropped scene, but you spoke about the coding that happened back in the 50’s when people couldn’t explicitly talk about their sexuality.
La Corte: Yeah! We shot a scene where, back in Washington, if you matched your tie and your pocket square and your socks, it was an indicator to someone else in the “circle” that you were gay. Kind of like now where we just put a rainbow sticker on a window or a bag.
We shot a scene where a gentleman was getting a blue envelope [which in the series means government staffers are going to be investigated due to a report of them being gay], and Hawk was walking by and clocks it–it’s shot in a way where you can see it all. But for running time, I guess it got cut.
The four leads, Matt Bomer, Jonathan Bailey, Jelani Alladin, and Noah J. Ricketts are all openly gay men. As well as yourself, Ron Nyswaner (the creator), Robbie Rogers (a producer), and Daniel Minahan (a director). Was there any conversation on set about the importance or significance of having a predominately queer cast and crew? Or was it something that was unspoken?
La Corte: It kind of was unspoken. I think we just sort of went right into like… do you just have friends that you instantly click with? It was like that. You’re just sort of like, you understand what I’m talking about. I don’t know, it’s almost like being in a fraternity or sorority–you get inducted on day one, and then everyone is in it as a group.
I feel like it’s maybe something that doesn’t even need to be said. It’s something everyone knows is special, but the acknowledgement of that carries out through the work and commitment.
La Corte: Yeah! And I do feel that there was an extra level of care by everybody. Including the background characters, the hair and make-up people who would come in for one day because we’d do a group scene; everyone wanted to handle it with kid gloves so that it could be what you saw on the screen. Everyone just was so dedicated. I’ve been very fortunate, knock on wood, to be on some ground breaking projects, but this one was just heightened to the tenth power.
What do you still see as major hurdles with authentic queer representation in film and TV?
La Corte: I feel that there’s definitely been major strides in LGBTQ+ film and television, thanks to [creatives] like Ron Nyswaner, Robbie Rogers, Dustin Lance Black, Ryan Murphy, etc., they’re all trying to, you know, tell queer stories and cast queer actors. But society is slow to change. I’m hoping now that Fellow Travelers has come out, it will set a new sort of blueprint for what can be done and be achieved. I have heard many whisperings of new projects similar to Fellow Travelers because it was so successful, and studios that were afraid to move on these kinds of projects are now [open to it]. Fingers crossed that in the coming years we’ll see some new things and more excitement for the LGBTQ+ community.
Was there anything else you would like to share about your experience on Fellow Travelers that we didn’t talk about?
La Corte: You had asked me about how close I worked with Ron. Ron and I spoke multiple times a day and we continually were providing the most authentic portrayal of these characters. Because some people were based on historical figures, we had a multitude of research that solidified the design choices we were thinking about, and those historic figures helped inform what the fictitious characters would look like. But we had done so much research. Ron also trusted my vision because of my own research and my ability to understand the characters at a deep level.
I wasn’t alive in the 50’s, but Stormé DeLarverie was well documented. I don’t know if you’ve ever seen this documentary, but if you haven’t, it’s called P.S. Burn This Letter Please. So back in the 50’s, there was this guy who lived in New York City and was friends with basically all the drag queens in the eastern seaboard. He got a job as a radio DJ host in L.A., so he moved to L.A., and every week the drag queens would write to him with all the gossip, and at the very end they would say, “P.S. burn this letter please,” because back then, if it got out…
Fast forward many years later, he died. Fast forward to I think it was 2013 or 2014, someone finally auctioned off his storage unit, and in his storage unit was a box of all the letters from all the drag queens. They traced down a huge amount of them that were still alive, and they tell the story–they had video reels–it is a magnificent story, and to see these drag queens now in their 80’s and 90’s… I made sure Noah saw it and we talked about [the details] all the time.
To end on a bit of a less serious note, do you have a favorite costume that Matt, Jonathan, or any of the cast wore? Is there a costume you were particularly proud of?
La Corte: It’s always odd when I get this question because you’re basically asking me to pick a favorite child [Laughs]. I will say that the actors and I all created a great trust right away, and Matt said a really great thing in an interview, something like: "Never have I had so few fittings and looked so good." I only had four fittings with Matt for the entire 5 ½ months. I just got to know his body, his measurements... It got to a point where he was like, "Just put it in my room and I’ll wear it." If I wasn’t sure, I would put a couple options, say either of them were good for me, and he could pick one he liked.
All the actors loved their clothes so much that at the end of shooting, much of [the costumes] disappeared. I mean, I don’t know where they’re going to wear all these 50’s clothes, but that is the greatest compliment a costume designer can get.
I can’t say I blame them, all of those costumes were incredible. I think I have some favorites.
La Corte: Do you? Tell me!
Well, my favorite for Tim was the jacket he wore in the diner with Mary in the 8th episode. It was the green and tan one. Green is my favorite color, so I loved it.
La Corte: That’s my favorite color!
As soon as I saw that outfit, I was like, this is just so good. And for Hawk, it was also the green jacket you see him wear in the first episode, which I think Matt admitted to taking.
La Corte: [Laughing] Yeah, he did take it!
I can’t say I blame him.
La Corte: The first time he ever wore that, we shot the scene where Hawk meets the guy [he knows] who’s been reported… That was the first time he wore it, and I was inside with the actor playing the other character, and Matt got wired and he went outside, and when I came out, Matt was like, "I’m so sorry, but I have to have this jacket. I’ve gotten two-hundred compliments in five minutes." I was like, “Okay, we’ll figure it out, buddy!”
There’s something about the cut of the jacket, where it sits. I’ve always loved jackets like that.
La Corte: Well, he’s just a freaking model anyway. He’s stunningly handsome and he’s so well proportioned. He could wear a paper bag and look good. I was very blessed to have a cast full of great clothing wearers.
I also loved everything in the 70’s.
La Corte: Here’s a little fun fact: Lucy, Frankie, and Hawk, everything besides a couple pieces in the 60’s for Hawk, was built for them. Nothing was off the rack. Part of the problem is that in the 50’s, all the dresses that we even had ideas about for Lucy would never hold up for two days of shooting because they’re old and frail. Like when I did Boardwalk Empire, all the actors wore brand new, built clothes, and all the extras wore the old clothes. But yeah–[Fellow Travelers] was just an all around joy. And everything you’ve heard about these actors collectively–they're all the nicest in the world. They'll all give you the shirt off their back. They’re just so kind and wonderful.
It was horribly hard to end the job because everyone had built a family, but fortunately we all still communicate. Jonny’s a little less right now because he’s so busy–and now he’s going to start the Wicked press.
Yeah! And they just released a little clip of him singing “Dancing Through Life."
La Corte: Oh, “Dancing Through Life,” it’s so funny! I’ll tell you, Jonny would come to us, he’d film for like two weeks, and his hair on the show with us was straight, but he would also be working on Bridgerton, so he’d have to get his hair permed everytime he flew back to London. So he’d get his hair permed, fly to London, do Bridgerton for a couple days, fly back to [the Fellow Travelers set], and we got his Wicked boots delivered so he could start practicing, and he’d be rehearsing “Dancing Through Life” in his trailer. We could hear him.
One night he was getting his hair permed, and he was like, "Have a seat! Get your hair done!" So we both got our hair permed together. Every fall I now grow out my hair and I get a little perm. But yeah, how he did three projects at one time, I’ll never know.