Jason Bateman: I've never met a dumb gay guy

The current issue of The Advocate has an interview with Jason Bateman conducted by Brandon Voss. In the interview for their Big Gay Following feature, Bateman discusses his gay following, some of his gay roles and his relationships with gay men (no, not those kind!).

Regarding his short-lived sitcom, Some of My Best Friends (a show I wish lasted longer) where Bateman played a gay man, he suspects the problem was being on the wrong network: 

There are certain networks that are better for liberal fare, and CBS, at least at the time, was not leading in that race as far as their audience and demographic. If it had been on NBC, on a more liberal night -- like a Thursday -- it probably would’ve had a better shot. Will & Grace was certainly having a good time there. 

I remember thinking at the time that CBS seemed unsure about what to do with the series. It spent a long time in development and when it finally debuted, I had a hard time finding it on the schedule every week.

Bateman also reflects on another gay character, Captain Reggie on the "Gays in Space" sketch on Saturday Night Live, which played to gay stereotypes: 

Jason Bateman: That was a lot of fun, though. With that type of burlesque sketch comedy, one wants to take any character to the utmost extreme, cliché, and offensive place you possibly can... 

Brando Voss: Trust me, I know some Reggies. 

Jason Bateman: I know a few too -- and they’re some of my best friends... I’ve been surrounded by the best and the worst of the gay community. But I’ve always said that I’ve never met a dumb gay guy. You’ve got to be smart and insightful to know what’s going on with you and then live by it. It takes a lot of balls to walk proudly as a gay man, especially outside of the more liberal cities like Los Angeles and New York. 

He also makes a note about rumors about his sexual orientation which he attributes to his comfort with gay men, including a tendency to flirt with gay men. 

I’m so flirtatious with gay men anyway. They usually have great senses of humor, so I just get my flirt on, and they’re probably not enjoying my humor as much as I’m enjoying theirs... I do enjoy my time around homosexual men, to the point where people have thought I’m gay for years. I had to get myself a wife just to prove otherwise. 

I guess that's one tactful way to talk your way out of a gay rumor. As we saw when Enrique Iglesias serenaded a gay man at G-A-Y, we're still not used to seeing straight men being comfortable around gay men. So Bateman's "I just enjoy your company" manages to address the rumors without suggesting any offense at being perceived as gay... or adding a patronizing "Not that there's anything wrong with that."

Bateman also offers a teaser when Voss suggests that his gayest project was an Ice Capades special Bateman hosted with Alyssa Milano: 

Oh, no, there’s more, Brandon. You need to search deeper. 

Okay, this calls for some digging. Somebody's got to still have a box of saved mailings from the Jason Bateman fan club. It sounds like there's some undiscovered gem of so-bad-it's-good in his history.

As always, that's just a sample of the goodness found in the full interview, so check it out.