Exclusive Preview: John Early is our Non Threatening Boys* Print Cover Star
Introduction: Gina Tonic | Photographer: Ramona Jingru Wang | Styling: Ruby McCollister at Surrender Dorothy | Videographer: Marie Koury | Photo assistant: Jaison Lin
Picture this: It’s Friday night, your friends have come round after school and you’ve convinced your mother to let them sleepover. Their parents have been called and confirmed that your mates are allowed to stay over. For tea, your mam has made a myriad of oven pizzas, cut them up and created a quasi Pizza Hut buffet in the kitchen. Due to the speed run from hang out to sleepover, there hasn’t been time for a trip to Blockbuster to pick out the perfect movie for the evening - you’re left with whatever is playing on children’s television that night.
But the film is perfect - you laugh, you cry, you gasp along with characters who are struggling with issues you and your friend group find yourself facing. Maybe there isn’t a Blockbuster cast (or budget) but you and your girl gang agree, it’s the best movie you’ve seen all year.
John Early, who grew up being the only boy allowed at these sacred screenings, was heavily influenced by works like Death Of A Cheerleader and The Face On The Milk Carton in the making of his debut directorial feature Maddie’s Secret. As well as directing, writing and producing the film, Early stars in the titular role - giving us a straight laced, nuanced ingenue performance for a 98 minute runtime of utter perfection.
Playing a cis woman as a cis man in the current climate could be a point of contention for either side of the political spectrum and while Early confirms to me he is fully aware of the possibility, when watching the film, it becomes clear that Early is playing Maddie with not only the conviction necessary for it to play unproblematically - “My personal trainer, who is so not of my world, naturally, saw the trailer and was like, ‘You really forget that you're playing a girl’” Early notes - but with love and adoration for women. In particular, the women who took on similar roles in the much loved, made for TV movies of his youth.
It makes sense then that joining the comedian for his cover interview is none other than Kellie Martin, the actress who was arguably the biggest household name for the genre in the 90s. Below, the duo dissect the intricacies of making movies for at home audiences, the struggles of depicting eating disorders on screen and the similarities between Martin’s filmography and Maddie’s Secret.
Any orders of The Besties Issue placed on or after 25/06/26 will include a physical copy of Non Threatening Boys* featuring John Early.
If you would like to purchase an individual copy of this issue, you can also do so here.
