HOLLYWOOD, Calif. — With his character on ABC’s “Brothers & Sisters” about to walk down the aisle in one of the very few gay marriages played out on network television, Luke MacFarlane is opening up about his own sexuality.
In an interview with Toronto’s Globe and Mail Tuesday, the 28-year-old actor reveals that the upcoming episode, which will be the show’s season finale airing May 11, holds special importance to him by publicly revealing that he is gay for the first time.
“From a standing outside perspective, and also as someone who is gay, I think that it’s a very exciting time,” MacFarlane says. “How exciting that we’re saying, ‘This can be part of the cultural fabric, now,’ because it is two series regulars, two people that you invite into your home and you see every week. It’s telling of the beginning of more waves and I’m very proud of that.”
Behind his excitement, however, is a certain fear that he admits exists by coming out for the first time.
“I don’t know what will happen professionally … that is the fear, but I guess I can’t really be concerned about what will happen, because it’s my truth,” the Canadian-born actor says.
“There is this desire in L.A. to wonder who you are and what’s been blaring for me for the last three years is how can I be most authentic to myself — so this is the first time I am speaking about it in this way,” he adds.
The actor says he’s hopeful that the episode revolving around his character Scotty Wandell’s marriage to lead character Kevin Walker will be appreciated for the love story — and nothing more.
“It’s not about two people being gay, it’s about two people who love each other and who have decided to commit to each other for the exact same reasons any other couple would get married,” he says.
