James Sutton on life after Hollyoaks, OnlyFans and his gay fanbase: ‘I feel sexy for the first time’

James Sutton is a face most gay men in the UK will know, thanks to his role as John Paul McQueen on Hollyoaks.

The actor, now 43, debuted on the Channel 4 soap in 2006 and he had a number of incredibly important storylines in his on-and-off 20 years there, such as John Paul coming out as gay, and tackling homophobia. Sutton’s final scenes for the show aired in February this year, with John Paul leaving to live in Switzerland.

Now, he’s joined content creation platform OnlyFans, and, as he puts it, is writing his own story for the first time in two decades.

PinkNews spoke to James all about life after Hollyoaks, his new venture with OnlyFans (including a top secret project with its streaming service OFTV) and his love for his gay fans.

PinkNews: Why have you decided now is the time to join OnlyFans, and why that platform?

James Sutton: I’ve been considering it for a while. I’ve been sort of watching from the shadows, and I’ve become aware of the success of other creators, people who were doing really interesting things on the platform, thinking outside of the box, and delivering quite varied and sometimes quite valuable content, things around fitness, nutrition, travel, stuff, all kinds of things, sports. And I thought it just seems like the sort of perfect place for me right now. I’ve been writing and publishing on my website for a long time, and speaking, creating content on my social media platforms around health and fitness and mindset, identity, male mental health, and I wanted to reach a bigger audience, and OnlyFans has that. I did a little bit of research, spoke to a few people, and it’s a very safe platform for creators and users, and obviously that’s important to me as well. So it was just a really, really good fit. I really love being of service. I like sharing what I’m doing. I like sharing how I’m doing it and how I balance everything, so it just felt like a good fit. I really like the direction that OnlyFans is headed in. There’s all kinds of different content on the platform. It seems like there’s a real kind of push creatively at the moment, which is really exciting and I’m just really, really pleased to be part of it.

PinkNews: OnlyFans is obviously known for a certain type of content, shall we say. What are you planning on sharing on there?

James: [Laughing] Whatever do you mean? I want to do really, really varied stuff. I’ve got a lot of interest around health and fitness and mindset, identity, self, trust is a big talking point for a lot of my work, and the foundation of a lot of my writing. So I want to produce content around those themes, but also photos and videos, real life, behind the scenes content. Do some live discussions and Q&As, and to document my fitness journey, really, as a 43-year-old man, the things that I do every day to maintain a healthy body and a happy mind. I’ve got a podcast. It’s actually on hiatus at the moment, but it’s all around male mental health, and redefining what masculinity looks like, and opening up vulnerable conversations with men. That’s something that I’m really interested in as well. This platform gives me the opportunity to do all of that. It sounds a little bit trite, but I want to inspire men, men over over a certain age. I want men to realise that building a strong body and a healthy mindset is not unattainable, even in today’s world where I think men are under enormous pressure. You know, economically and structurally, it’s a difficult time to be a man, and I am objectively doing really well. And I think if I can inspire or help or advise or whatever, then I think I’m onto a really good thing. It makes me feel really fulfilled to share the good things that I’ve put into into practice in my own life with with other men.

PinkNews: You’ve got a big gay following thanks to your time on Hollyoaks, how important is it for you to keep nurturing that? What would you say to those fans wanting a certain type of content on your page?

James: It’s super important to me. I’ve always taken my small contribution to the LGBT community, especially the gay side of it, very, very seriously in terms of my work on Hollyoaks and the character, about playing the stories that I’ve told. So I don’t take that lightly. I’m very, very blessed. I occupy a very interesting position – I’m a straight guy, but I played a gay character for a long time. So I have a unique perspective, I think, on that which is unusual and something that is amazing. It’s been an incredible, incredible part of my life. And in terms of people who are looking for perhaps a different kind of thing, I think there’ll be something for everyone. I don’t think anyone’s going to leave disappointed. Alongside the sort of more value based content there is going to be content of my physique. There is going to be pictures of me in my pants. I feel incredibly proud, like, genuinely, really proud, of the way I look. I’m 43 now, and this is the first time in my entire life that I felt proud of how I look. And that’s a huge thing for anybody, not just someone like me in the public eye, to have never had body confidence. I think I did one topless scene in my whole tenure on Hollyoaks, because I just didn’t feel comfortable with it. I never took pride in any real aspect of my life. And now that I do, I feel sexy, I feel desirable, and that’s a really new feeling for me. I don’t think there’s anything wrong with showing that off alongside the sort of practices and the reasons behind why I do now.

PinkNews: We’ve seen your recent underwear shoots going viral, you should definitely be proud of how you look!

James: It’s such a nerve-racking thing, doing something like that for me, I know it’s hard to believe, given how much time I’ve spent in front of the camera and the storylines and stuff that I’ve tackled. To do a shoot like that and to share those images publicly is really quite an exposing thing for anybody. I’m human, I’m still lying awake at night and saying, ‘Should I have shared that? Do I look good?’ And the response has been amazing. I’ve got loads more photo shoots booked, as well as a guy coming over from New York. I feel really good. And why not invite people along?

PinkNews: You mentioned the reaction to your recent photos, but how has the reaction been to your OnlyFans page?

James: It’s been so positive, honestly, it’s been really, really lovely. Messages of support and excitement from people on the platform. People have messages and saying, ‘Oh my god, I watched you on the show for years, and that storyline had such an impact on my life.’ And all the lovely things that I really love hearing. It kind of validates my decision. Because it was nerve-racking to launch on a new platform – to do anything really. For my whole adult life, my whole career, someone else has always written the script, someone else has created the story. You don’t have autonomy over that. There’s a sort of safety there in that it’s someone else’s work. Ultimately, I’m the conduit for it, but it’s someone else’s words, someone else’s story. And now, having left the show, the work that I’m doing on my website, writing the content that I’m creating on my social media platforms, now joining OF just gives me complete control for the first time, which is an amazing thing. But it’s also nerve-racking having that autonomy. But ultimately, I suppose, anything worth doing should scare you a little bit. It makes you feel alive, doesn’t it?

PinkNews: Clearly keeping fit and healthy is a big part of your life. You’ve been in the public eye for years, but does joining OnlyFans add any pressure there?

James: No, not at all. Fitness is just part of my life. I’d have this workout routine and this focus on nutrition and positive mindset, positive mental health. I’d be doing all of this even if I was alone on an island with no Wi-Fi and no phone. It’s all intrinsically linked. If you want to have a healthy mind, you have to have a healthy body. I have a routine. I have a structure that doesn’t require any motivation. I built it on keeping small promises to myself every single day and becoming somebody that I can trust. I think authenticity plays a huge part here as well. I’m not maintaining this aesthetic for anybody else. I do it because it’s who I am. And as I said, I think men sharing positivity and support, certainly around things like mental health, positive body image right now, I think that can only be a really good thing.

PinkNews: We spoke a little about the pressure men are facing, like from the toxic ‘manosphere’. How important is it for you to bring a different voice into that conversation?

James: Hugely important. I think it is for all of us, not just me. But I think we all have a shared responsibility to shine a light on positive masculinity, men that are doing incredible things, men that are building communities, being of service, creating art and culture, and above all else, holding space for women to feel heard and feel seen. It’s really important that we provide the counter argument to this sort of toxic ‘manosphere’ and what goes on there. We have to provide the alternative. We can’t just sit here and criticise the Andrew Tates of the world and all that side of it. I think that’s shining a light on men that are doing amazing things, and part of that is redefining what masculinity looks like. I was very lucky. I was brought up by my stepfather. His values are exactly what I would call a quote-unquote real man – patience, tolerance, kindness, strength of character, being a leader in the sense of bringing people together, providing a shoulder to cry on, being just a real, wonderful human being. That’s what I think we need to start teaching our young men and anyone that’s been exposed.

PinkNews: Your friend Sarah Jayne Dunn [who played Mandy Richardson on Hollyoaks] is doing very well on OnlyFans. Did you speak to her before you joined?

James: She’s a gem. She’s been so generous with her time and so kind with me. She only got really positive things to say about being on the platform. She’s built a community. She’s sort of found her voice, sharing her journey and story, and that’s led to her getting so many incredible opportunities. She’s a real force for good, especially for women of a certain age. I think you can trace a lot of Sarah’s success back to joining OF, and not to put words in her mouth at all, but I think she found a lot of strength from being on the platform. A lot of what she does echoes what I’m doing in a way, not just here, but on my website, with my speaking as well. She’s a good egg.

PinkNews: We know you can’t talk too much about what you’re working on with OFTV, but what else have you got coming up?

James: It’s a really exciting thing, a really good opportunity. It’s a really fun new concept. I’m shooting it next week, and really looking forward to it. Moving forward, I’m looking forward to getting my my written work on the road in front of people. I want to get back on stage, my very strange, transferable set of skills from 20 years as an actor, storytelling and using emotion on stage and speaking. Ultimately, I’m a storyteller at heart, and I’ve got this library of work now that I’ve been writing and publishing that I know is really valuable, and I really want to get that in front of people, so I’ve been developing it into some keynote speeches. So the hope is to do a TEDx talk at some point in the next 12-18, months. I just want to get my work in front of as many people, because it’s really valuable, and I think it sits in any room – a corporate room or a men’s group or a wellness festival, or anywhere where there’s human beings. I write about and talk a lot about the human experience and the struggles that we’re all going through, and it’s all lived experience. It’s all practices I’ve put into place in my own life that have made a huge difference, and I want to share that. I think the best way for me to do that, given that I’m not acting at the moment, is to just get on a stage and just see what happens.

James Sutton’s OnlyFans is live now, or to see more from him, follow him on Instagram or head to his website.

OnlyFans has a huge range of creators on the platform, offering fans exclusive behind the scenes content and insights into their lives and routines. Inclusive of creators from all genres, OnlyFans provides creators with the opportunity to control and monetise their content as they develop connections with their fanbase.

This conversation has been edited for length and clarity.

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