{"id":462486,"date":"2025-12-21T16:03:14","date_gmt":"2025-12-21T16:03:14","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/462486\/"},"modified":"2025-12-21T16:03:14","modified_gmt":"2025-12-21T16:03:14","slug":"i-love-la-star-jordan-firstman-says-heated-rivalry-is-really-hot","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/462486\/","title":{"rendered":"‘I Love LA’ star Jordan Firstman says ‘Heated Rivalry’ is ‘really hot’"},"content":{"rendered":"

NEW YORK \u2013 Jordan Firstman<\/a> needs a vacation.<\/p>\n

The irreverent multihyphenate is struggling to come down after a prolific 2025: releasing comedy album \u201cSecrets\u201d; directing his first feature film, \u201cClub Kid;\u201d and appearing in Season 2 of FX\u2019s since-canceled \u201cThe English Teacher<\/a>.\u201d Most notably, he\u2019s broken through as part of HBO\u2019s hustle culture comedy \u201cI Love LA,\u201d which wraps its inaugural season Sunday (10:30 pm ET\/PT).<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m in my work era. I feel very stimulated,\u201d Firstman, 34, says brightly during a sit-down early this month. \u201cI definitely want to take a week off, and I need to figure out what the best use of my time is. Half of me wants to go to Korea and get a new face, and then the other half is like, \u2018I should sleep.\u2019 Two very \u2018I Love LA\u2019 problems!\u201d<\/p>\n

Jordan Firstman says ‘I Love LA’ is both ‘modern’ and ‘confronting’<\/p>\n

Created by Rachel Sennott, \u201cI Love LA\u201d follows an aspiring talent manager named Maia (Sennott) as she tries to wrangle her chaotic influencer bestie, Tallulah (Odessa A\u2019zion). Firstman plays millennial stylist Charlie, who pals around with the girls when he\u2019s not contending with New Age pop stars or an ex-boyfriend\u2019s sex tapes.<\/p>\n

Throughout his career, Firstman has been sent his share of scripts with \u201coffensive, poorly written gay characters.\u201d But he\u2019s grateful that Sennott, a close friend, entrusted him with someone \u201ccomplicated\u201d like Charlie, who\u2019s forced to confront himself and what his priorities are.<\/p>\n

\u201cHe has a major shield around him through his ability to be cutting and sarcastic and judgmental, and throughout the season, he sheds a bunch of layers,\u201d Firstman says. \u201cHis journey feels very spiritual to me.\u201d<\/p>\n

Some critics have dismissed \u201cI Love LA\u201d as \u201cvapid<\/a>,” \u201cexhausting<\/a>\u201d and “self-indulgent<\/a>” in its depiction of terminally online social climbers. Firstman notes there have been countless film and TV characters obsessed with money and status, many of whom didn\u2019t receive similar levels of vitriol.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s interesting the way people perceive ambition when it\u2019s filtered through women and gays (working) in what a lot of people think is this superficial industry,\u201d Firstman says. \u201cBut then they can watch shows like \u2018Succession,\u2019 which is about objectively way worse people. You see so many tales of ambition \u2013 like Timmy (Chalamet) playing ping-pong \u2013 and that\u2019s somehow more valid to them than getting a brand deal.<\/p>\n

\u201cYounger people are resonating with this show because they understand how hamster wheel the world feels right now,\u201d Firstman continues. \u201cThis is what we have to do to stay alive, whereas 10 years ago when \u2018Girls\u2019 came out, you could flounder more. We\u2019re fighting to pay rent, and everyone is just trying to chase something. That is why the show feels so modern to me, and there is going to be a knee-jerk reaction when something is so confronting.\u201d<\/p>\n

He understands firsthand the pitfalls of internet stardom. During the 2020 COVID lockdown, he went viral with his hyper-specific impression videos that caught the attention of Ariana Grande and Katy Perry.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt definitely felt a bit lonely, because it feels so big in the moment and then it\u2019s forgotten about so fast,\u201d Firstman recalls. \u201cPeople are there like, \u2018We love you! You\u2019re our favorite person!\u2019 And then they\u2019re not there anymore.\u201d<\/p>\n

He\u2019s leaned on comedian friends including Benito Skinner (\u201cOvercompensating\u201d), who also found fame on TikTok and Instagram during quarantine.<\/p>\n

\u201cIf I get a brand deal, I\u2019ll be like, \u2018Is this too corny? Can I do this?\u2019\u201d Firstman says. \u201cOr when people are hating on me – we both, as gay guys, know the game of gays on the internet. The second you get any modicum of success, they\u2019re going to turn on you. I\u2019ve been through so many ups and downs with that.\u201d<\/p>\n

Why it’s ‘complicated’ to watch gay hockey show ‘Heated Rivalry’<\/p>\n

Firstman recently ruffled feathers with comments about HBO Max\u2019s hockey hit \u201cHeated Rivalry,\u201d telling Vulture<\/a> that the show\u2019s depiction of gay sex was unrealistic. He was somewhat more complimentary days before that interview published.<\/p>\n

\u201cI watched it and it\u2019s complicated, as a writer,\u201d Firstman says, grinning. \u201cYou\u2019re like, it\u2019s not good! But it\u2019s also really hot. You\u2019ve got to give it to them, like, that\u2019s OK, too! Let people have fun.\u201d<\/p>\n

A Long Island native, Firstman grew up loving the works of Stephen Sondheim, Woody Allen and Paul Mazursky: \u201cNot a lot of Gen Z have those references, so I\u2019m able to have a different point of reference than a lot of this stuff going on.\u201d<\/p>\n

Firstman has had numerous “diversions” as a standup, musician and TV writer. The actor has long felt comfortable in his body, he says, and in the 2023 indie film \u201cRotting in the Sun,\u201d he performed unsimulated sex on camera.<\/p>\n

\u201cI’ve always been a very sexual person,\u201d Firstman says. \u201cI definitely did it in a really intense way in \u2018Rotting,\u2019 although my feature (\u2018Club Kid\u2019) is not super-sexual. I wanted to take a step back from that. You get wrapped up in that persona and it does get boring.\u201d<\/p>\n

He feels that Hollywood \u201chas not even begun to skim the surface of a lot of issues going on with gay people.\u201d \u201cClub Kid,\u201d for instance, \u201cis a very emotional story for me\u201d about party drugs and the ways they can \u201ccreep into your life.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI Love LA\u201d was picked up for a Season 2, and he hopes that Charlie will continue to be \u201ciconic\u201d and even \u201ca little crazier.\u201d (\u201cThere’s something an audience likes about seeing me embarrassed and humiliated.\u201d) He also doesn\u2019t take work for granted, and wants to keep \u201cfostering a community\u201d in the industry and beyond.<\/p>\n

\u201cYou can\u2019t burn bridges,\u201d Firstman says. \u201cYou have to be well-liked because those are the people giving you the jobs. I’m such a s—talker … I\u2019ve learned you can’t do that.\u201d<\/p>\n