Monday 22 February 2010

After Elton Interview: Matthew Rhys and Luke Macfarlane

 
This interview is from afterelton.com
AfterElton.com: Your characters came along when gay and bisexual men were starved to see themselves represented on television, especially as couples. Now that you've got some time and distance, what was it like dealing with the intense reaction and expectations at the time?
Matthew Rhys: Primarily I was very buoyed by the fact that we had this very positive reaction from the get-go. That's always very heartening to hear. That's owed primarily to Jon Robin Baitz and the way he wrote Kevin very specifically from the beginning. There wasn't meant to be that much emphasis or definition through his sexuality. That's what was refreshing.
Luke Macfarlane: He was the brother, not the gay brother.
MR: Yeah. The lawyer.
LM: Not the gay lawyer. People do want to know the writers consider storylines. They pay attention to what's happening in politics and they do want to represent the characters now in perhaps a more ... I don't know. I don't think it started off that way. As the characters have grown, I think there's been more attention paid to how to portray them as decent and good.

AE: Do you even think about the weight of the expectations as one of the few gay couples on television? A lot of people tune in to the show specifically to see you guys, and are really invested in your relationship and how it's going to develop and how they can relate to it.
LM:
I don't think you really can. I met recently with someone who is working on the case in California, the Proposition 8 case, and he said to me, "You know, your names and your characters always come up in our meetings as a representative of good gay people in the media. But I think as an actor, you really can't take that into consideration. It's nice to hear, but it doesn't help our work.
MR: Without shirking, I always think it's the writers who bear the responsibility. They're the ones who forge ahead and do it up for us. We're just very fortunate to say the words. 

For more of the interview Click here

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