Chance Perdomo Has a Lot to Say About His Pansexual Character on SabrinaIn 1996, with beloved Nickel
Chance Perdomo Has a Lot to Say About His Pansexual Character on Sabrina
In 1996, with beloved Nickelodeon series Clarissa Explains It All already under her belt, Melissa Joan Hart saw her fame skyrocket even further as the titular character in the ABC hit series Sabrina the Teenage Witch. The show ran until 2003, and has been sorely missed by many since. Thankfully, on October 26, Sabrina will return to our screens in a reboot — this time, starring Mad Men’s Kiernan Shipka.
Netflix’s Chilling Adventures of Sabrina is a darker spin on the ‘90s classic, including tales of murder, mystery, and necromancy. Several characters from the original series are back in this reboot, including Zelda, Hilda, and Salem, but a major new addition to the world of Sabrina is Ambrose Spellman — Sabrina’s pansexual cousin who begins the series under house arrest. Ambrose, played by actor Chance Perdomo, is a gifted necromancer and faithful member of the Spellman family who always has Sabrina’s best interests at heart. We sat down with Perdomo to discuss the new series, his character’s pansexuality, and his future goals.
It’s been quite a cool process. We take horror elements we didn’t necessarily see in the classic Sabrina. At the same time, we harken back to the original series with some the familiar elements. Like my character Ambrose, as tortured as he is living under house arrest, he is a loving, warm individual and family comes first for him, always. Whenever Sabrina gets into trouble, she always goes back to her family. Aunt Hilda and Zelda will do whatever they can to protect her. Well, Zelda protects the Spellman name, but they both protect the Spellman family. Mix in a bit of Buffy the Vampire Slayer, True Blood, and the creators of Riverdale, and you’ve got a sexy, funny, scary, smorgasbord that really works. As an actor, you watch things back with gritted teeth and you’re biting your nails, but this is the first thing I’ve seen where I’m not seeing myself. Like everyone else, I’m immersed in it despite knowing everyone in it. From that perspective, I say it works.
It’s freeing. Excuse my French, but it’s not like that typical teen shit. It’s not white, heartthrob, shirtless, laying down in the woods, goes hunting to bring back a pelt skin — that story we’ve seen over and over again. It’s freeing to be able to play more accurate representation. Netflix is a global brand, so they cater to their global audience, which means accurate representation of people as they exist. That’s not all white male hunks running around to save the princess. We have what would’ve been the princess as a strong, independent female character. Ambrose, being the Alfred to her Batman, is pansexual and what we call in the Western world, an ethnic minority. So being pansexual and an ethnic minority is a narrative we haven’t necessarily seen played out on TV with depth. You can kind of go, Oh he’s this, he’s that, buzzword, buzzword, ta-da! Sabrina presents each character as they are in the world — multifaceted individuals. Ambrose specifying that he’s pansexual is important to his story arc. We don’t waste time or make a big fuss about it to the audience. We drop you into it. They’re not telling you Ambrose. They’re showing you Ambrose. There’s not as much information out there regarding pansexuality as there is about other parts of the LGBTQ+ community. I think maybe that’s why they had to specify in the beginning for audiences that aren’t as necessarily aware.
