A few months ago, word leaked that the character of Zach on the hit series Heroes, and portrayed by Thomas Dekker, was to be de-gayed. Back then, series show runner Bryan Fuller and even series creator Tim Kring told the press from day one, Zach was to be gay - with the idea of Zach’s coming out was supposed to be symbolic of a need for Claire to "come out" about her special abilities, Fuller told Pop Gurls last month.
Dekker now has spoken about this for the first time, just as FOX will announce next week that he’ll be the star of The Sarah Connor Chronicles - a TV series set between Terminator 2 and 3. He wrote on his myspace site that he has no problem being gay...er...wait...playing a gay character -as he did at age 12, 15 and 17. And that he never demanded -nor did his manager -that Zach become the poster boy for straight guys who love-their-best-friends-but-they-only-see-them-as-best-friends-forever.
"I, nor my management have ever had any kind of problem with creating a gay character," Dekker wrote. "To me, acting is about being prepared to play all kinds of roles and it is an honor and a challenge to portray anything that comes my way."
And it seems, Dekker never saw the character of Zach as gay, just an "outcast who was in love with Claire." (Hello, if this is not so gay, what is?)
But, Fuller -who is openly gay- disputes these claims and further told Pop Gurls that “his manager threatened to pull him from the show because he was up for the John [Connor] role in The Sarah Connor Chronicles and she didn't want him playing a gay character because it might affect FOX's interest in hiring him. It got really ugly. I was very upset by it -- I was not happy about it at all."
"So we were definitely going down a route of making [Zach] the gay character", Fuller went on, “and having him have a big role in (Claire’s) life and sort of teaching her to come out about her ability and embrace herself and actually sing the coming out metaphor and the gay metaphor in that instance as a fun piece of storytelling.”
The Zach character has since vanished form the show, with no plans to bring him back.
Dekker also insists that him leaving the show has nothing to do with the controversy that erupted, although both coincidentally happened around the same time. But once again, Fuller disputes this claim, saying that the show runners didn't "want to get hung up on the fact that one actor's management felt that it was a career killer for him to play a homosexual. We had episodes planned for him to be in, and she pulled him from the show altogether. So that's why he sort of disappeared."
Personally, I believe Fuller. As gay man -who during his time on Star Trek: Deep Space Nine and Star Trek: Voyager - who could not touch on the whole subject of homosexuality, why would he say these things? When he created the Showtime series Dead Like Me, he always intended the father to be gay, but he left the show after the first six episodes due to issues with the cable network and the character never came out. His short lived Wonderfalls, which aired on FOX for 4 episodes, also featured a lesbian character (and one that made FOX very nervous).
Of course, this is all smoke and mirrors in the true Hollywood style.
But, I’m still betting on Fuller.
popgurls.com
Dekker now has spoken about this for the first time, just as FOX will announce next week that he’ll be the star of The Sarah Connor Chronicles - a TV series set between Terminator 2 and 3. He wrote on his myspace site that he has no problem being gay...er...wait...playing a gay character -as he did at age 12, 15 and 17. And that he never demanded -nor did his manager -that Zach become the poster boy for straight guys who love-their-best-friends-but-they-only-see-them-as-best-friends-forever.
"I, nor my management have ever had any kind of problem with creating a gay character," Dekker wrote. "To me, acting is about being prepared to play all kinds of roles and it is an honor and a challenge to portray anything that comes my way."
And it seems, Dekker never saw the character of Zach as gay, just an "outcast who was in love with Claire." (Hello, if this is not so gay, what is?)
But, Fuller -who is openly gay- disputes these claims and further told Pop Gurls that “his manager threatened to pull him from the show because he was up for the John [Connor] role in The Sarah Connor Chronicles and she didn't want him playing a gay character because it might affect FOX's interest in hiring him. It got really ugly. I was very upset by it -- I was not happy about it at all."
"So we were definitely going down a route of making [Zach] the gay character", Fuller went on, “and having him have a big role in (Claire’s) life and sort of teaching her to come out about her ability and embrace herself and actually sing the coming out metaphor and the gay metaphor in that instance as a fun piece of storytelling.”
The Zach character has since vanished form the show, with no plans to bring him back.
Dekker also insists that him leaving the show has nothing to do with the controversy that erupted, although both coincidentally happened around the same time. But once again, Fuller disputes this claim, saying that the show runners didn't "want to get hung up on the fact that one actor's management felt that it was a career killer for him to play a homosexual. We had episodes planned for him to be in, and she pulled him from the show altogether. So that's why he sort of disappeared."
Personally, I believe Fuller. As gay man -who during his time on Star Trek: Deep Space Nine and Star Trek: Voyager - who could not touch on the whole subject of homosexuality, why would he say these things? When he created the Showtime series Dead Like Me, he always intended the father to be gay, but he left the show after the first six episodes due to issues with the cable network and the character never came out. His short lived Wonderfalls, which aired on FOX for 4 episodes, also featured a lesbian character (and one that made FOX very nervous).
Of course, this is all smoke and mirrors in the true Hollywood style.
But, I’m still betting on Fuller.
popgurls.com
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