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AE: Do you find that the response from your homosexual fans has been greater since you've been openly gay? 
EM: I definitely have gay fans. I have a guestbook on my website, and I get posts from gay men all over the world. I can't believe it, but Bones is in Croatia, France, Hungary — and so many of my posts are from overseas. I get a lot of posts and emails from people who say it means a lot to them that I'm out. They saw it online that I'm gay and then they started watching Bones, which is cool.

AE: What about your straight fans?
EM: The response I get is great. I get emails from women even though I'm openly gay, so I don't think the fantasy is ruined. I've read responses from fans online where they say, "I know he's gay but it doesn't change the fact that I think he's really cute," and "I don't care if he's gay; I still want to have his children."

AE: You've played quite a few gay characters. As a gay actor, do you find that your gay fans react with the same enthusiasm when you're playing a straight character?
EM: I haven't experienced that. I've done interviews with a lot of gay magazines and online publications, so the gay people definitely know I'm gay. I don't think that playing a straight character affects that in any way. I've seen on the internet where sites have listed that I'm not playing a gay character but I'm openly gay so they recommend that gay people watch Bones. That's the kind of gay support that I've seen. When they list what gay people should watch they say, "Watch Bones because of the gay actor."

AE: Both Neil Patrick Harris (How I Met Your Mother) and T.R. Knight (Grey's Anatomy) play heterosexual characters with romantic lives. Do you think mainstream America is finally getting past the idea that gay men can play straight romantic roles?
EM: Grey's Anatomy's ratings certainly haven't dropped. [Laughs.] If I was not out right now, I would look at T.R. and Neil and think, "It's safe; the waters have been tested and it's safe," and I'd be coming out now if I wasn't already. I hope a young actor in New York or in Los Angeles will look at all three of us and think, "Wow — I do not have to lie to get work." After all, there are straight actors who are unemployed too.

AE: Is it difficult for you in any way to play straight roles? Do you feel any less comfortable doing love scenes with women? 
EM: No. I've had more chances to play opposite women since I came out.

AE: What's your take on the Isaiah Washington controversy? Have you ever encountered a situation like that and could you work with a fellow cast member making inflammatory anti-gay remarks on the set?
EM: I've really never had that experience. In New York I was in the theater, which is kind of an insular environment. I haven't had to deal with any slurs or anything like that. My cast knows I'm gay and they don't have a problem with it, and my boss doesn't have a problem with it and he knows. No one's bothering me on the set or calling me names.

I'm grateful to be open about my life [and to] have such a great job and a great career, and I'm thankful to be working with such a good cast who are very supportive of each other and are really great actors. We all like to work together and have a great time. I know that not all experiences are like that, and I feel very blessed to be to be working with them.

AE: Your character on Bones recently got a much-needed makeover. As a fabulous gay man, do you ever feel like you'd like to kick his fashion sense up a notch?
EM: Yes! I'm trapped in that lab coat a lot. I actually wear some pretty cool clothes under the lab coat but you can't really see them.

AE. Are you more at home in New York or Los Angeles?
EM: I like L.A. but I do miss New York. I thought I would spend the rest of my life in New York so this is an exciting time that I didn't see coming. I told my agent when I was thinking about coming to L.A.: "If you're going to get me auditions then I'll come out. But if I'm not going to get auditions and I'm going to be miserable, I'd much rather be miserable in New York than in L.A. "But I like it here. I like the open space and how much more room I have. And having a car is kind of cool."

AE: How do you find that the gay scenes differ in both cities?
EM: I'm not really a big club guy. When I first came out, I used to go to clubs in New York. One thing that's different is that when I'm doing musical theater in New York, I feel much more like I'm in a gay environment. I [am] used to working with a lot more gay people. I think pretty much everyone on the set of Bones is straight.

AE: Do you find you go out less since you and your partner got together?
EM: That's right. I've known him 13 years, but we weren't a committed couple at first. Once we settled down about nine years ago, I stopped really going to bars. I really enjoy being at home with him.

AE: Last question. If you could play opposite any male actor in the next hottest gay thing since Brokeback Mountain, who would you pick?
EM: I've always had a long-standing crush on Nathan Lane, but I don't know that we'd be good at doing Brokeback Mountain.

AE: Well, maybe you could do Brokeback Broadway?
EM: [Laughs.] This is the kind of question you ask me that two hours after the interview I have a good answer for. I think T.R. Knight is cute, and one of the people on my website message board recently said, "I'm a woman and I have no problem with [Eric] being gay and as a matter of fact, I fantasize about Eric and T.R. Knight being together." So, I wouldn't mind doing something with him.

Bones airs Wednesday nights at 8 p.m. EST on Fox. New episodes return on March 14, 2007, or catch previous episodes on Fox On Demand.

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