Zane Phillips in a scene from "Fire Island." Source: Photo by Jeong Park/Searchlight

11 Instagram Posts that Prove Why We Love 'Fire Island' Breakout Star Zane Phillips

Timothy Rawles READ TIME: 12 MIN.

In 2022, actor Zane Phillips seriously thought about quitting showbiz and going back to school to pursue something else. Thankfully that plan was waylaid, and he booked a part in the gay rom-com "Fire Island" in the nick of time.

Although one doesn't want to be typecast as a villain, Phillips plays a depraved one in "Fire Island," and his performance is complex and extremely effective. His character Dex is a young, adult content creator who, in order to make a buck, uses others in his OnlyFans sex videos without their permission. That is evil.

But Phillips is also a divine being. Er, at least he plays one in CW's "Legacies," a spin-off of "The Originals," which is itself a spin-off of "The Vampire Diaries." Phillips plays Ben (a.k.a. Prometheus), the demi-god loosely based on Greek mythology, who is eternally doomed to be physically accosted by monsters every day only to heal and have it repeated the next.

In a series first, there is a same-sex kiss between two male characters. It happens when Phillips' Ben and his friend Jed (Ben Levin) realize they are in love.

Speaking of heavenly bodies, Phillips is certainly fit for the part. His Instagram is filled with examples. He isn't involved with any upcoming projects at the moment, but we can feast on his social media feed to quench our thirst.


Home renovations can be daunting. But Phillips seems to be taking it all in stride as his friends watch him do some spackling. Like a crepuscular being, Phillips seems to do his best work glowing in the setting sun. In later photos of this album, the 29-year-old actor partakes in a swig of bubbly to celebrate the end of a successful day at work.


Are they pedal-pushers or petal-pushers? Either way, Phillips looks great in both. This photo shoot gives the actor some fabulous color to work with. From the red pop of his floral blazer to the blue of the Spanish Bluebells in the last picture, Phillips' classic features are among the most beautiful elements of these photos.


If anyone can bring the mustache and aviator sunglasses look back it's Phillips. Here he is not so much interested in his reflection, but we really aren't either. His red silk pajama top is screaming for attention because the focal point in this photo is not above the waist.


In this photo dump, Phillips shows us some behind-the-scenes snaps from his series "Legacies." In the first photo, the demi-god realness comes through with no questions asked. But he warns you not to swipe to the last photo if you are squeamish. It depicts some great special makeup effects in which the skin of his face is peeled off.


You can almost hear the voiceover, "tonight, on Gunsmoke." Whatever old-west television character Phillips is pulling his inspiration from, it is certainly working. These photos show the magic, mood, and transitory effects of color. In the first, we get an innocuous-looking "good guy" cowboy in a red shirt. In the black-and-white photo, Phillips looks like the badass Lee Van Cleef from "The Good, The Bad, and the Ugly."


by Timothy Rawles

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