Actors/Actresses: August 2006 Archives

We just read about Eric McCormack's concerns about being typecast as a gay man after his eight years as fussy Will Truman on "Will & Grace." He should be heartened by the fact that two other talented actors who played gay on a series for several years are now the straight leads on new drama series that premiered on Fox in the last two weeks.

Kerr Smith, who played gay high school then college student Jack McPhee on "Dawson's Creek" for five seasons and averaged about one same-sex smooch per season. He is now playing passionate and cocky defense attorney Tom Nicholson on "Justice." I watched last night because the current issue of TV Guide actually singles Smith out and gives him one of their "Jeers" for what they say is bad acting. I disagree with them completely! He was just fine in the role although it is tough for anyone to play opposite a sensational Victor Garber who has found the role of a lifetime as an arrogant media-savvy law firm head.

Smith has never stopped working since "Dawson's" went off the air in 2003 as one of the lead's in last season's NBC drama "E-Ring" and also had a recurring role on "Charmed."

Meanwhile, "Queer as Folk" standout Gale Harold is playing FBI agent Graham Kelton on Fox's "Vanished" and his character is worlds away from Brian Kinney on "Q as F." On that racy Showtime series that ended its five-year run last year, Harold had about one sex scene per episode with his Brian Kinney being something of the town stud. Seeing him in such a different kind of role on "Vanished" shows me just how good an actor he is.

I think both shows are worth checking out and I am impressed by these straight actors who took on gay roles, played them for all they were worth, and now have moved on to other roles.

So much for being typecast!

Oh no, here we go. Erik McCormack is saying that he's become typecast after playing a gay man on "Will & Grace" for eight years. He tells the British newspaper The Observer: 'I have this big pink cross to bear,' he said while attending the International Television Festival. 'I absolutely loved playing Will. There was nothing hard about it. It was wonderful. But the only downside is the aftermath. I meet all these film executives who tell me how much they loved Will and Grace and say they never missed an episode. Then they say, "so what can we do for you?" What they could do for me is hire me to play someone else."

I'm not too concerned about this dude. First of all, he got to kiss guys like Taye Diggs (pictured, right) and Bobby Cannavale and even went steady for three episodes with Patrick Dempsey (they just hugged, never kissed). Besides, he's extremely talented, can sing and dance on Broadway, and is industrious enough to create his own thing like the current "Lovespring International," a show airing on Lifetime about a fictional dating service which McCormack exec-produces. The show has a few gay characters too!

The thing is, he wants to move into films. Since he wasn't a big film star before his sitcom, he shouldn't expect too much. I just hope he doesn't end up sounding like Harry Hamlin who played gay in 1982's "Making Love," like his second lead role in a film, then complained that he never got a lead in a major studio movie again. And now he's on "Dancing with the Stars." But he forgets, there was that whole "LA Law" thing and being named People's "Sexiest Man Alive" that could have brought him back to leading man status.

Back to McCormack, a married father of a four-year-old son. He is just going to take a break from acting.

'People think of me as the character and while I loved playing Will, I need to give myself and the audience a break,' he said. "I really want to branch out. I'd love to do a film. But it's not easy. I need to find a way in, probably an independent film. I just need to find that one film that will change people's minds about me.'

Now, I know there is a way to write this post without admitting that I was once a regular viewer of "Saved By The Bell" but I have Mel Gibson fatigue and don't quite have my wits about me. Obviously, I wasn't watching the silly show for Screech or even the adorable Elizabeth Berkley, Lark Voorhies and Tiffani Theissan. It was all about Mark-Paul Gosselaar (Zach) and Mario Lopez (Slater).

And they both have grown up so well. Gosselaar has gone on to well-deserved adult stardom in "NYPD Blue" and "Commander in Chief" with Mario Lopez finding many different ways to stay in the show business spotlight. Lopez played openly gay Olympic swimmer Greg Louganis in the television movie "Breaking the Surace" but has rarely had the chance to shine in such a great role since. Instead, he's become a popular host on such shows as "The Other Half," "America's Most Talented Kid," "Miss Teen USA" and "Pet Star" and even spent a year hosting a Los Angeles morning radio show.

But, clearly, Lopez has a face, and body, for television - not radio.

And both will be on display in the third episode of "Nip/Tuck" when it begins its fourth season on F/X. Lopez has been cast as an "infuriatingly fit" plastic surgeon who meets Julian McMahon's character at the gym. They then have what has been described by TV Guide as "a homoerotic encounter." I'm not sure what's in store but one thing I do know: we're not at Bayside High School anymore!