Alert the presses! Sean Hayes is GAY! Yep, we know you’re shocked to learn that the man best known for playing over-the-top Jack McFarland on Will and Grace is actually gay.
In an interview with the gay/lesbian magazine The Advocate, Hayes, who has been notoriously mum about his sexuality, openly admits he is gay…finally.
The 39-year-old actor sat down with the mag for an article titled “I Am Who I Am,” and shared a bit of his upbringing, which included playing classical piano and auditioning for commercials, beginning at age 5 or 6. “Looking back, it was probably for some extra money,” says the youngest of five siblings raised by their divorced mother in Chicago.
When he began playing Jack, everyone wanted to know if Hayes was gay. “There were like 50 commercials where I was the husband or the nerdy boy or whatever, and then I became famous for playing this gay guy,” he says.
“When I play a gay character I want to be as believable as possible. And when I’m playing a straight character I also want to be as believable as possible. So the less that people know about my personal life, the more believable I can be as a character,” was the kind of stock answer he began to give so as not to jeopardize his chance of landing straight roles.
Although his sexuality was an open secret in Hollywood, he repeatedly refused offers to be interviewed by The Advocate, so the magazine ran an article titled “Sean Hayes: The Interview He Never Gave,” which clipped quotes he’d given to other publications over the years, making him look silly for pretending no one knows he’s gay.
“Really? You’re gonna shoot the gay guy down? I never have had a problem saying who I am,” Hayes states in the current interview.
“I am who I am. I was never in, as they say. Never,” he insists.
“I feel like I’ve contributed monumentally to the success of the gay movement in America, and if anyone wants to argue that, I’m open to it. You’re welcome, Advocate.”
That sarcasm and anger cover up years of genuinely hurt feelings. “Why would you go down that path with somebody who’s done so much to contribute to the gay community?” he asks. “That was my beef about it. What more do you want me to do? Do you want me to stand on a float? And then what? It’s never enough.
Asked if he still hangs out with the old Will & Grace gang, Hayes replies:
“Every day. Every day we sleep together, every day, we live in the same house,” he says with manic enthusiasm. “We’re just like the cast of Friends. We all love each other and we all get along, America. Everybody can sleep now!”
Then he calms down and gives a serious, if brief, answer: “I do love all those guys and I do miss them very much. I talk to Megan a lot and I e-mail with Deb and Eric sometimes.”
Hayes gives us a tiny glimpse into his personal life:
“I spend time with a special someone in my life,” he says. But after years of being burned, he won’t say another word about him or the quiet life they lead. “That’s it. That’s all I need,” he says. “I don’t need events. I don’t do a lot. I live my life like an 85-year-old man. I’m just quiet. It’s fantastic.”
Read the entire interview at The Advocate