Lashana Lynch Didn't Know Matilda's Miss Honey is a Queer Icon

Lashana Lynch didn’t know she was stepping in to play a queer icon when she signed on to do Matilda the Musical.

In 1996, the character of Miss Honey — a kind teacher who stepped in to support young, odd Matilda while she was neglected and mistreated by her parents — became an important figure to many LGBTQ+ kids, both for the safety and understanding she signified, and because Embeth Davidtz’ portrayal spawned no small number of sapphic crushes.

The beloved Roald Dahl book Matilda was based on went on to inspire a stage musical, which was eventually adapted into a Netflix movie and released on the platform this month.

Lynch, who previously starred in Captain Marvel as a character many fans read as queer, became the latest actress to step into Miss Honey’s shoes, tackling a role she recently admitted to Entertainment Weekly that she didn’t initially realize was so important to the LGBTQ+ community.

“It wasn’t something I was aware of until I saw some comments on social media and I thought, ‘Oh my gosh, this is a revelation to me,’” she said. “One of my queer friends said to me after I got cast, ‘Oh my gosh. She was like my gay icon when I was growing up.’”

Lynch had further questions for her friend, seemingly wanting to make sure she was doing right by the character and what it had meant to so many people, but she also had this insightful take on Miss Honey to share:

“When there’s a character that is beloved, that represents everything to you and can speak to all people, all races, all sexes, all walks of life, then that is the perfect character. You don’t have to do anything else apart from just being, and every community is going to get what they need from this one person.”

“That’s really special,” she added. “That’s a secret weapon. If you can have a character like that in every film or every play or every book that everyone from every walk of life can take something from.”