NEW YORK, September 3, 2025 – On the heels of filming a big-budget Hollywood feature (David Fincher’s Once Upon a Time in Hollywood sequel), a soapy, fandom-oriented Netflix drama (My Life with the Walter Boys season 2), a queer coming-of-age drama (Tommy Dorfman’s directorial debut I Wish You All the Best), and a series of music videos with his close friend Conan Gray, Corey Fogelmanis spoke with Teen Vogue’s Associate Culture Director P. Claire Dodson about life post-Disney, and taking on the world.
On taking on new roles, post-Disney:
“It felt like I had a lot to prove,” he says, alluding to the reality that post-Disney roles didn’t come right away. “It also felt like I had a lot to learn, too… There was a long moment where it was like, ‘Oh, you need to show people what else you can do before they’re going to let you do it.’”
On portraying queer characters in his last three roles:
“It’s important to me that I am a part of things that are good for people, and are affirming, and also just help people see all the sides of something,” Fogelmanis says. “And so, I love, as an artist, that I’m doing these different things all the time, and that it’s not just this stereotype of ‘gay best friend.’”
On his Walter Boys character having a bigger presence and making some bad decisions:
“Nathan is very much susceptible to the attention of others,” Fogelmanis says. “It was hard to justify, actually, some of those things that I do… I remember when I first got those scenes, I was talking to Jaylan and we were trying to figure it out because we almost didn’t really get a chance to see them be a thing that long, and is it a missed opportunity or whatever? But I like that we get to see someone that’s not perfect because there’s so many different types of gay people, and I think it’s important that you see them in happy relationships and see them love right and love wrong and make mistakes.”
On making music videos with Conan Gray, and rumors about their relationship:
“He was like, ‘I had this idea, and if you want to do it, I would love to do it with you.’ I was like, ‘Absolutely yes.’ I was such a big fan of him. We had actually tried to do something together for his last album, but it just didn’t work out. It was kind of just perfect how it did end up happening. The music is just so great, exactly what I love from him, which is just so personal and vulnerable. I was very honored.”
On seeing his friend and Girl Meets World co-star Sabrina Carpenter thriving:
“I’ve always just loved what she makes,” he says of Carpenter. “I’ve always been the biggest fan of her music, and just who she is as a person. I’m so happy that now she’s in a place where she can do whatever she wants. It’s so fascinating to learn about her industry and how you don’t get the budget to make your video unless your label really kind of sees the numbers of people supporting it. Now she can make the videos she wants to make. She can make the live show that she envisions in her head a reality.
On his role in Tommy Dorfman’s I Wish You All the Best and seeing possibilities in the world:
“This experience of being scared to let someone in… That feeling of putting someone on a pedestal and really admiring this person that you’re with, and wanting to just feel different about yourself,” Fogelmanis reflects. “I feel like so much of the movie is about getting to a place where you feel sturdy enough to give back the love that you’re receiving… I couldn’t believe that she’d written those words. Because I felt like she was writing my life.”
STORY LINK:
CREDITS:
Photographer: Bea Oyster
Groomer: Courtesy of Laura Costa
Assoc. Culture Director: P. Claire Dodson
Culture Editor: Kaitlyn McNab
Teen Vogue is the young person’s guide to conquering (and saving) the world. Part of the Condé Nast portfolio, Teen Vogue covers the latest in celebrity news, politics, fashion, beauty, wellness, lifestyle, and entertainment. teenvogue.com
