The Top 50 Gay TV Characters. Vote Now!

Do we have to write the first and last name of each character (Jack McPhee), or the name of the character and the show (Jack - Dawson's Creek).

I went with the my favorites as criteria for best. I figure if they were influential to me, they were probably influential to others.

The trip down memory lane included:

Rickie from My So Called Life. I think he was the first gay character I saw on TV (hell, first gay person I "knew").

Jack from Dawson's Creek: it was a teen on screen who was coming out when I was. That was appreciated.

Jack and Ianto: The Captain on Dr Who, and Ianto on TW. But not the Captain on TW, because I swear they were not written as the same character. Start giant debate _____ NOW!

QAF characters: I never saw season 1, which I heard less than good things about, but I liked the show in the following seasons. And they, the characters, were interesting, with story lines beyond coming out stories.

Question for the editors: Do reality show characters count as characters? If so, Danny and Pedro from their respective Real Worlds.

My picks were important to me for many reasons: Breakthrough for the genre (Captain Jack), realistic portrayals or impacted me in some way. Here is my list:

1.) Oliver Fish (Scott Evans, OLTL)

2.) Kyle Lewis (Brett Claywell, OLTL)

3.) Jack Harkness (John Barrowman, Doctor Who/Torchwood)

4.) Justin Suarez (Mark Indelicato, Ugly Betty)

5.) Mickey Maguire (Ciaran Griffiths, Shameless)

6.) Marc St. James (Michael Urie, Ugly Betty)

7.) Marshall Gregson (Kier Gilchrist, United States of Tara)

8.) Kurt Hummel (Chris Colfer, Glee)

9.) Luke Snyder (Van Hansis, ATWT)

10.) Michael Novotony (Hal Sparks, QAF US)

I was unsure if I should have included Christian Mann (Thore Schölermann) and Oliver Sabel (Jo Weil) from the german soap Verbotene Liebe. I know I included some foreign picks but they are all from english-speaking countries and I know in the last poll it included a couple of foreign imports. Now that I think about it I wish I had. THey have had a huge impact if the a US network is planning to adapt their story for american audiences. 

No matter what I feel these polls are indicators of current trends, and at least we have more (and arguably better) choices to choose from than we did 2 1/2 years ago.  I can't wait for the results! 

but I'll answer again here. No reality competitors or other real people. Characters only. Please give the characters first and last name to avoid confusion, but if you only know first name or the character only has a first name, then give the name and the show they were on. Also, foreign TV characters fine whether they are English speaking or not.

This is an awfully good list of gay television characters, and it's not just restricted to US television. This list is made up only of English-Speaking series.  I can't vouch for it's accuracy, but it was a good reminder about some series.

 http://home.cc.umanitoba.ca/~wyatt/tv-char1970s.html#1971

I can't believe I forgot about Mr. Humphries from Are You Being Served? or Lt. Gruber from Allo, Allo. For Shame!

Naturally though, I had to give a nod to our German friends. :)

I completely forgot to vote for Cpt. Jack Harkness and Ianto. I wanna do mine over lol jk. I'm sure he will get top spot anyway.

I voted for the foreign characters, i.e. Fer and David of Fisica O Quimica, and Carsten and Lenny, GTBT (German). I'm really loving those shows. It seems that the characters on the aforementioned shows have more depth than many of the real gay people I've met... jk... not really though.

(This editing your post after you post feature is awesome... Yay for proofreading!!! :-))

xoxoPEACE&LOVExoxo

The most important gay tv characters to me are:

1)Jack McPhee (from Dawson's Creek): The show ran from 1998 to 2003 when I was between 10 and 15 years old, and Jack was the first male gay character that I saw on tv; both, the character and the show, helped me a lot in accepting myself and understanding that I am a healthy and normal person.

2)Will Truman and 3)Jack McFarland: no one can deny how important Will & Grace and these two characters were for the representation of LGBT people on tv. And even while being very stereotypical portraits of gay men, they managed to be two of the funniest and most loveable and memorable characters in tv history.

4)Keith Charles (from Six Feet Under): I think Keith is important for how different he is from any other gay character we've seen on tv (or film) and he is probably the richest and most complex gay black character that I know.

5)Jack Harkness: I love Jack because he is not a sidekick, a villain or a victim; he is one of the very few gay (or bi or omnisexual) action heroes that have been written, and he just kicks ass.

6)Maxxie Oliver (from Skins): Maxxie is the only gay teen character that I can think of that didn't have a coming out story, he just was a pretty cool kid who happened to be gay, and was happy and comfortable with that.

I think that's it for me, those are the only male gay characters that are trully important to me. I just realized, there are a lot of gay Jacks.

Rickie Vasquez - My So-Called Life

David - The Tracey Ullman Show

Kyle Julian - General Hospital: Night Shift

Eric Whitlow - General Hospital: Night Shift

Justin Taylor - QAF

Emmett Honeycutt - QAF

Noah Nicholson - Noah's Arc

Alex Kirby - Noah's Arc

Marco Del Rossi - Degrassi: TNG

Luke Snyder - ATWT

For upping the number of characters on the list to 50 this time - and for encouraging us to vote for character significance and impact over current faves and hotties (even though I'm sure the current faves and hotties will do just fine.)

And to get people thinking outside the box, I'm gonna pimp my choices. From past shows:

Donald Maltby (L) and Cliff Waters (R), Brothers

If you've never seen the show, check out this clip for a ridiculing of a conversion therapy meeting, followed by a discussion of gay marriage - and then remember that this aired on Showtime in 1984.

Will Truman (L) and Jack McFarland (R), Will & Grace

Brothers' Donald could have been the prototype for Jack, and Will was a somewhat-less-aimless version of Cliff, but Will and Jack earn their own places on my list for proving that Americans could accept and embrace out gay men in their primetime network shows.

Keith Charles (L) and David Fisher (R), Six Feet Under

Probably the best example of a gay couple being treated exactly the same as the straights on their show that's ever been on television - and I especially appreciated that the interracial component of their relationship was one of the least controversial aspects.

As for current shows:

Mitchell Pritchett (L) and Cameron Tucker (R), Modern Family

It's still early in the show's run, and I'd definitely like to see a bit more physical affection between Cam and Mitchell.  With gay adoption being such a hot-button issue in many areas though, I'm very glad to have this little family unit as a weekly reminder that parenting is parenting, whether gay or straight. Simon and Phillip from It's All Relative almost took this gay parenting slot, but I have a feeling that Modern Family will run quite a bit longer, and will have the longer-lasting impact.

Lafayette Reynolds, True Blood

Nelsan Ellis gets the lion's share of the credit for turning Lafayette into one of the most interesting characters currently on television. He's outrageous, abrasive and high-strung, but he can also touch your soul when he lets you see the depth of the effects of his damage. I can't wait to see where his story takes him next.

Marshall Gregson (L), United States Of Tara

I debated putting Justin Suarez from Ugly Betty in this spot because this is the last year for his show (and because I've had a soft spot for him since episode 1.) But Marshall won out for two reasons - first, because he's officially out as a gay teen - and second, he aggressively goes after what he wants (as seen in the above screencap.)

Happy voting everyone!

Or maybe I'm just getting old and remember too much.  In semi-chronological order my favorites are: 

1. Steven Carrington - Dynasty. Either one. This is the character I came out with.

2. William - Tracy Ullman Show. I still remember tearing up when Tracy Ullman was talking about what to call her (biological) dad's lover. "You're my William."

3.  Rickie Vasquez - My So Called Life -- the first and still one of the best portrayals ever of a gay teenager. And played by an out actor too.

4. Carter Sebastian Heywood - Spin City -- one of the few out African-American characters on a major TV show.

5. Tobias Beecher - Oz. Amazing character development over the course of the series. This is a toss up with his lover Chris Keller.

6. Omar Little - The Wire -- there's never been a character like Omar. Hearing "The Farmer In The Dell" still gives me the creeps.

7. Kurt Hummell - He's adorable and talented and out. The coming out scene with his dad made me cry.

8. Mark St. James - Ugly Betty - Great character development over the course of the series. Adorable and witty.

9. Marshall - United States of Tara - An out teenager and nobody makes a fuss. His crush on the fundy preacher's son was sweet and very touching.

10. Ianto Jones - Torchwood - Ultimately I find him more interesting and appealing than Captain Jack.

Honorable Mentions

Anna Madrigal - Tales of the City - she was a bisexual man before becoming a woman.

Jodie Dallas - Soap. Yes, he ended up dating women, but a regular gay character was a breakthrough for 1970s TV.

Waylon Smithers - The Simpsons. A breakthrough for animated TV.

Justin Suarez -- Ugly Betty -- when he comes out, Justin will bump Steven Carrington out of my top ten.

It disturbs me that nobody has mentioned Omar Little! C'mon guys he was awesome!

You all are probably too young to have seen "thirtysomething" but David Marshall Grant had a recurring role as Russell Weller, the first realistic gay character I can remember. The "controversial" episode with him and his boyfriend reading the morning paper in bed was big news and the episode was excluded from re-runs.

There are so many characters I love. The only one that really moved me is my number one the others I just love for some reason or another.

Rickie Vasquez - My So-Called Life

Scotty Wandell – Brothers & Sisters

Jack Harkness – Torchwood

David Fisher – Six Feet Under

Keith Charles - Six Feet Under

Mark St. James - Ugly Betty

Roman Wild – Alles was zählt

Vince Tyler – Queer as Folk UK

Mickey Maguire - Shameless

Carter Sebastian Heywood – Spin City

 

I also like

Leon Carp - Roseanne

Mitch & Cam – Modern Family

Kevin Walker – Brothers & Sisters

Justin – Ugly Betty

Kurt Hummel – Glee

Marshall – The United States of Tara

Seriously not having Stewey on this list would be a crime!

 

My other picks are Keith & David from Six Feet Under, Sam Adama from Caprica Kurt from Glee, Mitch & Cam from Modern Family and Lafayette from True Blood.

 

Oh and though they don't count for this list, Willow and Tara should get an honorable mention as the best, most well-rounded, fully-realized LGBT characters EVER.

but I'd like to remind the AfterEltoniverse about a few characters who may not be as obvious as the Lafayettes and Jacks:

--Sal from "Mad Men" may be gone, but he was wonderful

--Anyone from "Rick and Steve" (thanks, Logo!)

--Simon from "Beautiful People" (cute!)

--Lt. Dangle from "Reno 911" (hilarious!)

--Barca from "Spartacus" (hardcore!)

 

"Go, or go ahead and surprise me."  -- Rufus Wainwright

Sal (Mad Men)

Officer Cooper (Southland)

Alby (Big Love)

Omar (The Wire)

Marshall (United States Of Tara)

Mickey (Shameless)

Dale (Big Love)

Prince Jack (Kings)

Calvin (Greek)

Heath (Greek)

Since no one probably even remembers my choice I'll howl in the dark for Sidney Shorr. Sidney, the lead of the TV-movie Sidney Shorr: A Girl's Best Friend and its spinoff series Love, Sidney, was the first gay lead character in American television history, back in 1981. Despite the best efforts of NBC to de-gay him, Sidney remained gay throughout his two seasons on the air. No one remembers Sidney, even scholarly works neglect his status as the first, but I remember.

Michael, is there any chance I could convince you to increase the number of nominees permitted to 12 or 15? Much to my surprise, a quick "off the top of my head" list has more than a dozen names on it. (And I don't even watch the Spartacus, Caprica, Brothers & Sister or even the soaps.)

I already don't know who to eliminate, and I haven't had a chance to give this some serious thought.

So, what do you say?

It only took me a couple of minutes to write a list and then another 15 minutes to trim it down to 10! Put me in a pretty good mood too, it reminded me what varied representation we've had over the years; long may it continue!

My choices:

1)Omar Little - The Wire

2)Mickey Maguire - Shameless

3)Nicholas Brocklehurst - The State Within (the closest to a gay James Bond I can remember seeing)

4)Jack Harkness - Torchwood (he had to be on the list somewhere!)

5)Warren Jones - This Life (much as I hate to split up Janto)

6)Ianto Jones - Torchwood

7)Simon Doonan - Beautiful People

8)Harry Stark - The Long Firm

9)Keith Charles - Six Feet Under

10)Ian Gallagher - Shameless

I've got one honourable mention that I didn't put on the list because it was only really implied that he was gay and that's Mike Watt from Spaced. I was very close to booting Ian Gallagher off the number 10 slot for him. Who couldn't love a Territorial Army Sergeant/Lollipop Man who reads 'Oranges Are Not the Only Fruit' in the toilet!

We can do a version of this poll with movie characters?

1. Jack Harkness (Torchwood)

2. Ianto Jones (Torchwood)

3. Luke Snyder (As The World Turns)

4. Noah Mayer (As The World Turns)

5. Jack McFarland (Will &Grace)

6. Chris Keller (Oz)

7. Brian Kinney (Queer as Folk)

8. Noah Nicholson (Noah's Arc)

9. Ricky Davis (Noah's Arc)

10. Alex Kirby (Noah's Arc)

Kitty

I gotta get inside of you, so when will that be? ~George Michael - Too Funky

I did my favorite female picks earlier today at Afterellen and it wasn't nearly as difficult as this was. There is was hard to pick 10, here it was hard to narrow the list down to just 10. Here's my top 10, in no particular order:

• Jack McFarland
• Billy Douglas
• Keith Charles
• Marc St. James
• Omar Little
• Jimmy McCallister
• Oliver Fish
• Kyle Lewis
• Rickie Vasquez
• Christopher Keller

Ones I wanted to discuss specifically that I voted for.

 

Kurt Hummell - Glee - I wish we could vote for storylines rather than characters, because I really want to vote for the storyline between Kurt and his father rather than just Kurt himself.)

 

Marshall Gregson - United States of Tara - It's refreshing to have a gay teen character whose screen time isn't taken up by a coming out story. He's already out and it's not a big deal to his family. His father's biggest reaction when Marshall tells him that he's falling for Jason is: "Oh, s--t. You've got it bad, don't ya? [...] Oh, son. Nothing like love."

 

Emmett Honeycutt - QAF (US) - Anyone who tries to tell me Emmett is a stereotype needs to re-watch the series again, because his third dimension is one of his most defining traits. There's depth to Emmett, and realness, and Peter Paige took what was in the script and made it breathe.

 

Ianto Jones - Torchwood - I actually voted for him not based on the reasons other people probably did, but because of the scene where he tells his sister about Jack. I think it's...hm...interesting, I guess, would be as good of a word as any, that he tells her that he's not gay or bisexual, but that it's, "Just Jack." I think it's interesting to see a character for whom his relationship is not about gay or straight, or what genitalia someone has, but that he's passed beyond that level. For Ianto, it's just...this spirit that he's in love with, so it doesn't matter if Jack is male, female, Dalek, or Time Lord. The encasement of that spirit doesn't matter to him. Jack's body parts are just the tools Ianto uses to show his affection, not something to be taken into consideration in loving him. I don't really know if that's a step forward, or if it lends credence to that, "Gay people choose to be gay," nonsense, but I do think it's interesting to see a character like that portrayed on TV.

...posted a story about this poll and failed to include the AfterEllen poll. After they were shamed (by me first, although they pulled my post) they revised the story but not the headline.

The character of Jodie Dallas portrayed by Billy Crystal on Soap was very important to me when I was just coming to terms with my sexuality as a teenager in the late 1970s. The show was met by protests from religious groups offended by it's content. And granted they made some changes to the character later that seemed odd, but I was glued to the tube every week to see an actual gay man on a weekly series. I long for a reunion special, but I doubt it will happen. The stuff on Soap is considered tame today, but in it's day it was juicy stuff played for laughs.

Happily voted,feels like it's been agesss since I came here! And one of the characters I choose is dead hehe is that alright? People fear what they don't understand.Thats why homophobes are so scared of gay people.

My nominees are as follows: 1) Captain Jack Harkness (John Barrowman, Doctor Who/Torchwood) 2) Ianto Jones (Gareth David-Lloyd, Torchwood) 3) Captain John Hart (James Marsters, Torchwood) ...and I took a little liberty with these last two, as they were never technically "out": 4) Spike (James Marsters, Buffy/Angel) 5) Angel (David Boreanaz, Buffy/Angel) ...but everyone knows they were really a couple, at least at one point in ancient history. Everyone knows that, right? It's not just me...? ;)

My fave characters do not apologize for who or what they are... and most of them also get to have a sex life instead of being the neutered fairy (even Kurt gets a boyfriend coming up on Glee!)

Buddy Cole (Scott Thompson, The Kids In The Hall)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LqQCyAQBgXY 

Stuart Alan Jones (Aidan Gillen, Queer As Folk (UK))

Mitchell Pritchett (Jesse Tyler Ferguson, Modern Family)

Scotty Wandell (Luke Macfarlane, Brothers & Sisters)

Marc St. James (Michael Urie, Ugly Betty)

Jack Macfarlane (Sean Hayes, Will & Grace)

Cliff Waters (Paul Regina, Brothers)

Lafayette Reynolds (Nelsan Ellis, True Blood)

Lee McDermott (Kevin Rahm, Desperate Housewives)

Kurt Hummell (Chris Colfer, Glee)

I know he's controversial, but Brian Kinney is still the top for me (and the fact that so many people trash him every time he's mentioned proves he struck a nerve and that the nerve is still resonant and relevant). He remains the most uncompromising gay character, and yet he seems also to be the one with the most crossover appeal. Even denouncing straight people's hypocrisy and unfairness he manages to seduce them all over the world, and he makes new fans every day.Gale Harold just did a Tennessee Williams play in L.A. at a 99 seat theatre for a few weeks, and only Thursday through Sunday (rave reviews, by the way). Anyway, the fans he made as Brian Kinney flew in from (by my count) Australia, Spain, Germany, Japan, Italy and Finland. And those are only the countries I know about.