Gays of our Lives (May 26, 2009)

AE: What's it like getting back those acting chops after all this time?
TB: Well, here's the thing, man. I don't really want to act. I just want to be, and that's why I haven't really pursued acting. What I'm really excited about is I don't think this role coming up is going to require a lot of acting. I think it's going to play on my real emotions across the board. There are some significant emotions that I haven't dealt with, and this show hasn't dealt with.

AE: I read in an interview where you said you would only be interested in coming back to the show if they used real elements of your life, like your art and your sexuality. Do you know if the show is going to go in that direction?
TB: I'm not allowed to answer that question and the truth is I'm not certain. I've not seen any scripts that are definite.

AE: Did you have any input into the story at all?
TB: I believe I did.

AE: I'm sure you know this, but you're the first openly gay male actor to be out on daytime television.
TB: Isn't that just amazing? In seventy years? That's just astounding that it's taken this long.

Out lesbian Clementine Ford plays Mac on The Young and The Restless

AE: It is pretty amazing, because I'm sure you know as I do, there's a lot of—
TB: A lot of closeted actors.

AE: Exactly. Some that are very popular in soaps. But what's changed now to make this possible? There was a time when it wouldn't have been possible to hire someone who was openly gay.
TB: There are two different answers there. From a personal level, after my brother killed my mom in '89, I went through a lot of personal grief and trying to figure out who I was. The most important thing was coming to terms with truth, with my sanity, which is all based in truth. Years ago, I decided wherever my career goes, I'm not going to lie about anything.

Perhaps I'm in a different position than other actors who really have an actor agenda. I don't have that anymore. I have more of an artist agenda. From the Young and the Restless point of view, I believe that time passing, and it being 2009, and us having so many reality TV stars who are gay, and Ellen coming out, and so many role models after Elton John. It's a new era. The young people don't have the prejudice that their grandparents had. There's been a lot of support from homosexuals on screen in the past ten years.