Entertainment

Who Plays Donald In 'Trainwreck?'

by Jaclyn Anglis

You probably know that Amy Schumer's much anticipated film Trainwreck just came out. You might have even gone to see the movie on opening night. But chances are that there may have been one or two faces in the movie that you did not immediately recognize. For instance, the actor who plays Donald. Ezra Miller plays Donald in Trainwreck , and he is definitely someone worth knowing about.

Before he got his role in Trainwreck, Miller was already pretty established in the acting world. Although he is not necessarily an A-list celebrity, he is known for playing the titular character, a fictional school shooter, in the psychological thriller We Need To Talk About Kevin. He is also known for playing Patrick, a high school senior who welcomes an introvert freshman under his wing in the romantic drama The Perks of Being A Wallflower. Clearly, the actor has already gotten his feet wet in a variety of different roles, and being in a raunchy comedy like Trainwreck can only boost his already impressive resume, especially with the likes of Amy Schumer to help give him a leg up. But if that was not enough, Miller is set to make history by way of acting. And technically, in terms of casting, he already has.

Miller has been cast to play The Flash in the new Justice League live-action superhero movie, which is due out in 2018. The casting announcement, which was made back in 2014, was historical because Miller is the first out LGBTQ actor to play a superhero in a franchise blockbuster. Though the X-Men series does have a few gay actors, one of them, Sir Ian McKellan, plays a villain, and the other one, Ellen Page, was cast into her role before she publicly came out as gay. Miller's casting is a big step forward for superhero movies (and really, movies in general), which have long been criticized for lacking in diversity and representation. And it is refreshing to have someone represented who is so open about his experience. As Miller told Out magazine back in 2012,

I’m queer. I have a lot of really wonderful friends who are of very different sexes and genders. I am very much in love with no one in particular. I’ve been trying to figure out relationships, you know?

While Miller may not have found The One yet, he has certainly found his passion on the set of movies, and is creating enormous room for growth in an industry that so desperately needs it. Of course, 2018 is a long time to wait for fans eager to see Miller as The Flash, but it has been rumored that he will make cameo appearances in Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice, which comes out in 2016 and Justice League: Part One, which comes out in 2017.

We will have to stay tuned to see if he does. In the meantime, you can enjoy the actor in Trainwreck, which is out in theaters now.