Olympo's Agustín Della Corte says he feels "proud" to play a gay character

26 June 2025, 10:12 | Updated: 26 June 2025, 16:13

Olympo's Agustín Della Corte reveals why playing gay rugby player Roque was important to him. Picture: Netflix

By Sam Prance

Agustín Della Corte worked professionally as a rugby player before he became an actor.

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Agustín Della Corte has opened up about playing Roque Pérez in Olympo and why his story personally affected him.

Agustín Della Corte is quickly becoming everyone's favourite new star thanks to his performance as openly gay rugby player Roque Pérez in Netflix's Olympo. Roque trains at the HPC where the show is set and much of the drama in the Olympo revolves around Roque's career and his on-off relationships with closeted rugby players on his team.

Now, Agustín Della Corte, who was a professional rugby player irl, has revealed why he was so drawn to the series.

Read more: Olympo ending explained: Here's what happens to Amaia, Roque, Zoe, Cristian and Sebas
Read more: Olympo season 2: Release date, cast, plot spoilers, trailers and news

Watch the Olympo trailer

Speaking with Gayety, Agustín explained that Roque helped him get in touch with his own emotions. He said: “Roque gave me access to a vulnerability I hadn’t explored in myself. There’s this idea that rugby players have to be tough, but some of the most sensitive men I’ve ever met were teammates. Roque breaks that stereotype.”

Discussing representing the LGBTQ+ community on screen, Agustín said: "I felt proud and very responsible to carry the LGBTQ+ flag in this story. Because while there are other LGBTQ+ characters, Roque is the one who faces the most difficulties in terms of his sexual orientation."

Agustín went on to say: "I’m really happy these kinds of topics continue to be addressed in fiction, because what’s happening in the real world shows us that it’s still necessary.

Whether in sports or any other field, a person’s sexual orientation is often given more weight than any other value, like, in this case, their athletic performance.”

Agustín Della Corte and Juan Perales in Olympo. Picture: Netflix

Elsewhere, Agustín told Edge Media Network that he had no concerns about playing a queer character. He said: "That was no concern at all. I was, from the get-go, very comfortable with the idea – so, nothing negative there. I felt proud to be able to put it on me, and it was an extra challenge that I just loved."

Before starring in Olympo, Agustín played rugby professionally for Uruguay and even competed in the World Cup in 2019 before retiring from rugby in 2020 and turning his focus to acting.

Agustín Della Corte made his acting debut in Society of Snow in 2023. He's since had roles in Linda and Papeles.

Olympo is the 27-year-old's first time acting in a Netflix show.