Wilson Cruz, Jonathan Bray and Jason Stuart ( left to right ) in Coffee Date._______
Wilson Cruz, one of the relatively few openly gay actors in Hollywood, long ago left behind little Rickie Vasquez, the character he played on the seminal teen angst drama, My So-Called Life. His versatile career has included stage work and film. Now the young heartthrob is starring in the indie movie Coffee Date, a sweet gay comedy of errors opening this Friday for a one-week run at the Landmark Century Centre Cinemas.
Following are highlights from our wide-ranging interview:
Windy City Times: How did you get involved with Coffee Date?
Wilson Cruz: I heard about the movie because I had some actor friends who were going in on it and I thought, 'This is weird, I wonder why I haven't gotten a call about this movie?' but I left it alone. I figured they were going to hire some white boy—
WCT: Or some straight guy to play gay.
WC: Exactly. So I left it alone but then I ran into Jason Stuart at the Out Fest Film Festival here in L.A. and he was like, 'You know, there's this movie that I'm doing and you'd be great for it and I'm going to have them call you' and they did. They sent me the script and I met with ( writer-director ) Stewart Wade and I auditioned for ( executive producer-co-star ) Sally Kirkland and it happened. Apparently they were trying to get ahold of me and they had wrong information.
WCT: You know a lot of these 'We-Ho' ( West Hollywood ) gay comedies have raised the bar on full-frontal male nudity. Was there any of that, 'Wilson, would you possibly … kinda … ?'
WC: Well. No. Thankfully [ laughs ] it was never an issue with Stewart. There was a point, actually, where we didn't even see as much of the love scene between the two men as there is now. There was much less in the original cut of the movie. It was never really about that in this movie. I think Stewart also came to me with a lot of respect and he knew that wasn't going to happen. [ Laughs ] It's hard enough for people to come to terms with seeing Rickie Vasquez without his shirt on let alone anything else.
WCT: That would probably be a shock to those teen girl fans of My So-Called Life. Has the climate changed at all in Hollywood since you first came out? You're a trailblazer in that area, you know.
WC: I think the climate has changed. A lot. We can point to the people who have come out recently—like T.R. Knight and Neil Patrick Harris. I think it's harder to be in the closet, period. For me it was a very personal decision. It was about the kind of life that I wanted to lead. It wasn't about the work. The decision to come out cannot be about your career. The decision to come out has to be a very selfish, personal one. For me it was about, 'I want to fall in love and I want to have the kind of life where I work and can share that with the person I'm with' and have a real life. Because for me, my work is informed by my life. I don't understand how I could live this false life and still bring honesty and integrity to my work.
WCT: What do you mean by 'selfish?'
WC: When I say 'selfish,' I mean that you're not doing it as a political statement or for the community. You're not doing it for those reasons because they fall away after a month or two of people patting you on the back and telling you, 'Thank you.' That feels wonderful and you feel like you've done something for your community but in the end you have to do it for you.
WCT: Yes, for you.
WC: Otherwise, when it becomes difficult—and there are times when it does. I've sat here and thought, 'What if?' I haven't regretted it but I've thought of what my life would have been had I not come out. Or when you hear about roles you didn't get you have to sit here and say, 'Is it OK that I'm not playing that role?' and I have to be able to say, 'Yes, it is OK with me. I'm fine with that because I have all this other instead.' You know what I mean?
WCT: Sure. I know a lot of straight actors have taken up the 'challenge' of playing gay but I'm wondering as an openly gay actor, turning the tables, what are the challenging roles for you?
WC: Well, I think the most challenging work has always been onstage. It was not easy doing Angel in Rent—that was a dream come true for me and eight shows a week is not easy work to do. As far as challenging roles I'm developing something now that I'm hesitant to talk about but there's a role that I've always wanted to play and it's probably never going to happen because it's going to be hard to make. I've always thought about making a movie about Prince.
WCT: Let's talk about your TV stuff for a minute. You've done several episodes of Noah's Arc and now you're featured on a new show, I understand, Rick & Steve: the Happiest Gay Couple in All the World?
WC: Yes, that's for Logo actually. I've been done with it for so long I keep forgetting about it. It's not going to air until next summer because it's animated—it's actually stop action so it takes about a year to get done.
WCT: That sounds great. Now getting back to Coffee Date. Let's titillate our readers for a second. What would it take to get Wilson Cruz to go on a coffee date with someone? What should they put in their profile to interest you?
WC: You know I like people who have an eclectic mix of interests. We can go out on a Saturday night and see a Broadway show and wake up Sunday morning and watch Meet the Press. That's fascinating to me. I love a person who reads a lot. I love a good book.
WCT: What are you reading right now?
WC: I'm reading The Audacity of Hope by Barack Obama.
WCT: Our Chicago guy.
WC: He's my hero. He's everything I politically aspire to and if he runs for President I'm going to leave acting for a little while and work for him. I've done that in the past—I've worked on many political campaigns and I would work for him in a minute. I think he's exactly what this country needs right now. I think we're desperate for it. So that's what it would take—somebody who would work with me for Barak Obama. That's who could get me on a coffee date. [ Laughs ]
Coffee Date will play in select theaters starting on Dec. 15.
