Actor Sean Maher makes his mark on NBC with Playboy Club in Chicago this month. Having worked on the small screen in such shows as Firefly, Party of Five, and CSI: Miami for the past 14 years in the closet, Maher was private about his life with partner of nine years, Paul, and two children. Playing a similar character on television mirrored this in the '60s and encouraged his decision to be more open with a subject that is still kept quiet by many actors even today.
Windy City Times talked to the actor right after he came out publicly to Entertainment Weekly recently.
Windy City Times: Hi, Sean. Is this your first interview with a gay publication?
Sean Maher: It is.
WCT: I'm honored!
SM: I did some interviews yesterday but it was just about my gay-ism. It is all of my recent news.
WCT: It must be nice not to worry about your big secret.
SM: It was so funny walking here because normally when I am on my way to meet a journalist for my work I was always so worried that question was going to come up. I always had to navigate around it. It is so liberating to have it all out in the open and have nothing to hide.
WCT: Do you want to participate in activism now?
SM: I do. I want to step out more in the forefront fighting for the causes that I believe in. I think it is about leading by example. It is sharing my story and my family that I am so incredibly proud of. There is only beauty and love in that. There is no shame in that. There is nothing to hide. Instead of stepping forward to fight, fight, fight, I'm stepping forward and accepting myself as not the normal family but a beautiful family.
WCT: A "Modern Family!"
SM: Yes, pun intended! It is a cliché but I can have a white picket fence back in L.A. We have a very domesticated life. I don't think there are a lot of examples out there. Bringing some awareness to it by leading by example is one of the best tools.
WCT: You must really relate to your character on The Playboy Club and it's such a good part. You don't see parts like that every day on television.
SM: Yes, it is amazing. My manager sent it to me. It was one of the very first pilots I read. He said, "Don't look at the lead role. There is another role in there, ironically named Sean." I read it and thought I have to do this! They were just going to hire a local actor out of Chicago.
It was what they could afford with the budget. I had gotten too involved in the story and the Mattachine Society. Ironically, the creator, Chad Hodge, used to live in my building years ago. We had a mutual friend who is the producer, Neil Meron. I emailed them and got the part when they saw me. I actually flew myself here. It was a matter of money and I offered to do it to get the part.
WCT: You really worked it!
SM: I really did, which is so not my nature at all. I am not aggressive. I just loved the role and did the best I could. Now the role is getting to be bigger than they expected it to be. I am so grateful for the role.
WCT: Let's talk about the Mattachine Society, whose meetings your characters attend on this show. I don't think many people know about that group, including myself.
SM: Me neither. I thought everything started at Stonewall and it was the beginning of the gay movement.
WCT: So this was all underground?
SM: It started in 1949 in Los Angeles by two men. It was underground and secret meetings. They were raising money and awareness and it started to spread out. The first Chicago chapter did start in 1961. Since that is the year in the pilot this became the very first homophile movement. It was the one place the homosexuals could go and be themselves. They could feel that they had rights and needed to be heard. I love the underground aspect of it all.
WCT: I heard it was mainly men in the society.
SM: Yes; [there were] not a lot of women. There are a few women in the show that Chad put but there were rarely more than a couple of women.
WCT: I did some extra work on the show so went behind the scenes already.
SM: You did? Did you go inside the club?
WCT: No, I filmed outside in an outdoor café.
SM: It is amazing in the club. I was in awe the first time I stepped in it. The only other set I liked this much was the Firefly set. From some angles you look around and don't even know you are on a soundstage. There are so many levels and it gets packed with all of the background.
WCT: When is filming over?
SM: We are on episode five. They have ordered 12 in the initial order. October is [episodes] eight and nine, so over by the holidays.
WCT: You are a New Yorker?
SM: Yes, I am.
WCT: Chicago can be a smaller New York City.
SM: I love it here. I secretly want the show to become a huge hit and we can stay here. It is a fantastic place to raise kids. The thing about Chicago is that you do have suburbia about 15 minutes away.
WCT: Would you want to do comedy in the future?
SM: I have never done a comedy but would love to. I have done a lot of television and enjoy the hour-long dramas.
WCT: You had some of that when appearing on Drop Dead Diva for Lifetime Television.
SM: Josh Berman, the creator, loves to use gay icons such as Rosie O'Donnell and Liza Minnelli.
WCT: Now one you can be one, too!
SM: Thanks. I am just happy to be on the show and hope people tune in.
The Playboy Club airs every Monday on NBC. Get your key to it at www.nbc.com/the-playboy-club with listings and details.
