One of Mexico’s most prominent — and openly gay — actors, Polo Morín had a turbulent time at the hands of a blackmailer who leaked his nude photos, before being outed when his email was hacked and images of him with his then partner were posted to his Facebook account. But with the past behind him and a prominent new role in the big-screen adaptation of the novel Red, White & Royal Blue, Morín is now gearing up for global stardom
Words Cliff Joannou Photography Kosmas Pavlos Fashion Joseph Kocharian
It’s a splendid summer morning as we decamp to Surrey for Polo Morín’s debut Attitude cover shoot. The Mexican actor is currently in the UK shooting the film adaptation of the hit book Red, White & Royal Blue, so Attitude has whisked him away on one of his few days off to take full advantage of that rare thing: an unspoiled run of good weather in the UK. The location is a friend of Attitude’s stunning garden and pool, and Morín is here with his partner, Bernardo. As we settle in, the couple soak up the view of the rolling green fields, a far cry from the film studio he’s been rehearsing at in central London.
Art is imitating life for Morín after being cast in the project based on Casey McQuiston’s best-selling novel. In it, Alex Claremont-Diaz, the half Latin/half white son of the first female President of the United States, falls for Henry, a British prince and third in line to the throne. Their affair plays out in secret, with the book featuring several very sexual scenes — until the situation is leaked to the media and their relationship is exposed to the world.
Although Morín doesn’t play the lead role of Alex in the film, the character’s story resonates with his own experience when in 2014 a blackmailer extorted him for money before eventually releasing nudes taken during a webcam session. Only the images of Morín were shared, so it wasn’t apparent that the then closeted actor was engaged in a sexual act with another man. “They couldn’t see who I was with,” says Morín. “I thought, ‘Yeah, well, I was masturbating. We guys masturbate. So sorry for that.’”
The exposure didn’t seem to harm his profile. That is, until he was outed in December 2016 when his email was hacked and photographs with his then boyfriend Lambda Garcia were posted on Morín’s Facebook profile. “It was just a bunch of photos of us travelling. We were in Spain. They hacked my emails and got the photos, and then hacked my Facebook account and published them as if I was coming out. Which, h
