Early on in HBO Max’s new comedy, Our Flag Means Death, one of the pirates loses their fake beard.
In the new feel-good series, Vico Ortiz plays a gender non-conforming character who’s credited as both Jim and Bonifacia.
When the show starts, Jim is presenting as a man so they can live their dream of being a pirate in the 17th century. That all changes when their fake beard and wax nose are foiled, but they go to lengths to make sure their fellow pirates still see them for exactly who they really are.
“They’re not trying to act like a man or act like a woman, they just are,” Vico explains.