A Closer look at Julian Morris’ sexuality, family, and career
Julian Morris is an English actor who rose to fame for playing a starring role in the 2005 film Cry Wolf. He went on to play supporting roles in the thriller Donkey Punch and historical drama Valkyrie. The North London native was handed his on-screen debut at the age of 13 after the director of The Knock spotted his potential as an actor.
He underwent intensive training for nearly a decade at the Anna Scher Theatre before spending three seasons with the Royal Shakespeare company. Morris is well known for playing a seductive doctor in Pretty Little Lies and having recurring roles in New Girl and Once Upon a Time.
This piece will look at Julian Morris’ sexuality, family, and career. Julian Morris is yet to clarify whether he is gay.
Morris played a gay character in Man in an Orange Shirt but it is unclear whether he is gay in real life
In 2017, Morris played perhaps his most significant role to date – a gay character suppressing his sexuality because he suffers from shame inflicted by his grandmother. The shame causes him to repel intimacy; for him, sex is a mode of punishment. “And in banishing what is most beautiful about him – his need to love and be loved – he becomes his own oppressor,” Julian told iNews.
Julian starred as Adam Berryman in part two of Man in an Orange Shirt. The star in part one, Adam’s grandfather, lived a closeted gay in ‘40s, when it was a criminal offence to be gay. In part two, being gay has long been decriminalized, but due Adam’s relationship with his grandmother, he feels trapped in a metaphorical prison. However, Man in an Orange Shirt also features a beautiful love story. Morris told Iris Covet Book:
“I guess the first thing was the story. I think it showed something that I think is really important in society that should be revealed and I think that any great film or artwork has that imperative to do so. It was this character that I found so moving and painful to read on the page and thinking how I might play him. It was really a story that I felt was really important to tell.”
Morris’ star turn in Man in Orange Shirt led to questions about his sexuality in real life. The actor speaks candidly about his character in the production, but he seems to avoid questions about his sexuality.
Nevertheless, some fans are convinced that Morris is secretly gay. A February 2020 post by Twitter user @colinfarrall claims that Morris is gay. The second photo on the post features two men kissing, but we aren’t sure that the man in the photo is Morris.
The other man featured in the post goes by the name Landon Ross on Instagram. He and Julian appear quite close, but it is unclear whether they are in a relationship.
Morris was rumored to be dating his Once Upon a Time co-star Sarah Bolger
In Once Upon a Time, Morris and Sarah Bolger played each other’s love interest, and according to some reports, their romance extended to real life. Sarah starred as Sleeping Beauty, and Morris played Price Phillip.
Julian posted a couple of pictures of Sarah on Instagram, but that’s hardly solid evidence of a relationship. However, some fans interpreted the posts as relationship confirmation.
Unfortunately, Morris’ secrecy about his love life makes it difficult to make any conclusion about who he is dating or who he might have dated.
Morris grandfather fought against the Nazis during the Second World War
Julian Morris was born in Crouch End, North London, on 13th January 1983, to Zimbabwean-born Andrea and South African-born Glen Morris. He spent plenty of his young life alongside his sister Amy in both countries.
Morris can trace his Jewish roots back to his grandfather, who lined up for the Allies against the Nazis during World War 2. Julian’s grandfather was captured and sent to a prison camp in Italy for two months. He escaped after learning that the Germans were coming to take the Jews to concentration camps. Morris told TV of the Absurd:
“He managed to escape, and he did this incredible trek across the Alps and he kept a diary the whole time he did it. It was this green leather bound diary with these incredible stories and these immaculately sketched drawings of where he was, the people he met, those that helped him and so when I was very young he gave it to me. I’ve always had it.”
Morris felt a taste of what his grandfather went through during filming for Valkyrie. “There was a scene where all these explosions were happening and I remember thinking, gosh this is exactly the same region that my grandpa would have experienced,” he added. “I was exactly there where my grandpa had been in the early 1940’s. It was spectacular.”
Julian admits that he feels drawn to appearing in dark productions
Julian’s breakout role came in the 2005 slasher film Cry Wolf, in which he worked alongside Jon Bon Jovi. It turns out that the first film Julian auditioned for was a Jon Bon Jovi film, but he didn’t get the role. “It’s funny how things come around,” he said. “And he was great to work with.”
Over the years, Julian has appeared in plenty of productions with a horror element, including Sorority Row and Donkey Punch. Even the teen drama Pretty Little Liars has psychological horror as a dominant theme. Julian talked to Iris Covet Book about his attraction to such productions and characters:
“It’s not the genre. As long as the character has many layers and is interesting and challenging, that’s what I’m drawn to. I really dig horror. Some movies I’ve seen the last couple of years – The Witch (2015) and Under the Shadow (2016) – I love how they utilized horror to tell a bigger story.”
