Taylor Napier Didn’t Work This Hard To Hide It Under A Sweater
For three seasons, actor Taylor Napier brought the warrior Maksim to life in the fantasy series The Wheel of Time. Playing a loyal warder in a loving and sexual queer throuple, he quickly became a fan favourite. His character’s relationship with Ivhon and their Aes Sedai, Alanna, was a powerful and rare representation of bisexuality on television.
While the Prime Video series has now concluded, Napier’s dedicated fanbase remains. In a recent photoshoot with photographer Ramon Christian for Out magazine, the actor, who is queer, showed a new side of himself, trading his warrior armour for speedos.
Hard work deserves to be celebrated…
Many were thrilled to see the results of Napier’s physical dedication. Does he mind the attention or being seen as a sex symbol? Not at all. He embraces the chance to display the effort he puts into his health and fitness.
“I loved it. I go to the gym a lot. I work out a lot, and I don’t do that to put a baggy sweater over my body,” Napier tells Out.
He sees it as a way to honour his commitment.
“It is nice to be able to show off the hard work and be able to celebrate everything I put into being healthy, but also, honestly, a little bit my vanity.”
Finding the balance between art and brand.
With a growing profile comes the complex world of social media. Napier is candid about the pressures of maintaining an online presence and curating a personal brand that keeps followers engaged.
“It’s a weird kind of cross-section of this version of yourself that you have to put out there, and you have to sell your brand, in a weird way. And you have to kind of decide what your brand is,” he explains.
He recognises that for some people, the focus is on sexy photos, while for others it might be cooking or just being relatable. Napier acknowledges the challenge of this performance. He notes that a social media persona “is this one side of yourself that you’re trying to promote.” He feels it can sometimes be a bit tricky, as it might appear to downplay the craft he and other actors bring to their roles on screen.
