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AE: What is your reaction to those on the religious right who view this character and this storyline as immoral? Just this morning I read about a bunch of them being upset by the Public Service Announcement.
VH: Yeah, I read about that, too, and I think I want to bite my tongue. (Laughs) The thing that the PSA is saying is to be an ally and a friend. I think that if these people are having such a big deal with having a gay character on a show that has adulterous people on continuously...I mean, they have lying, cheating, and you never hear anything about that. You never hear people saying this is immoral behavior. But when you have these parents trying to get this kid to love himself for who he is, and people say these things, it's ridiculous. The PSA's not asking for anything more. It seems sad they can't even go that far. Another thing—why do they care? Why do they care about how someone else lives their life?

AE: We could have a long discussion about that.
VH: It's interesting because I don't see why they care. It's not their business.

AE: I agree. On another topic, obviously soaps have all sorts of relationships between the characters—especially romantic ones. Do you expect Luke to fall in love at some point? Would you be disappointed if he doesn't?
VH: I signed a contract so there is the potential I'm sticking around for a long time. So I feel like that actually it would make sense that Luke would meet somebody. I don't know with being a soap how far they would be willing to go with that. I think it would be kinda cool to play. I don't know if there has ever been a gay guy with a boyfriend on a soap opera. I don't think there has. It would be cool to be a trailblazer. I can tell you that much.

AE: Lucas over on GH, played by Ben Hogestyn, is also gay but seems to have disappeared somewhat. Are you grateful you're on this show and part of such a prominent family?
VH: Yeah, I am. It would be very easy to tell this story for shock value and to put that feather in their cap that we have a gay character on the show and then not use them. I've never seen GH, but they just won an Emmy for best show, so they must be doing something right. But I'm very, very grateful to be on ATWT. And to be working with such a great group of actors and the writers have been writing my character so well. The producers have been nothing but positive and supportive. Everybody has been so cool.

AE: So talk about how Luke's parents react to his coming out.
VH: Lily has a hard time of it. Holden is much more accepting.

AE: I like that. Not the usual thing we expect.
VH: Martha Byrnes—who plays Lily—and I talked about it because she doesn't feel that Lily is a homophobic character. It's just that she feels very betrayed by Luke that he would lie to her about Jade and that he would trust Jade over [his] family. So she feels the fact he felt she would hate him for this makes her feel like she doesn't know him the way she thought she did.

AE: Which I think is a very common and very believable reaction. Fits quite well with those characters.
VH: And that's what we we're going for. Trying to make it as believable and—well, it is a soap opera so there has to be some bombastic stuff—but we're trying to make it as much of a true life story.

AE: Holden, your dad, seems very real in that he's a parent who is going to love his kid no matter what, but it really does seem like he was hoping for your character is going to be straight. That's why he's been willing to let Jade (Elena Goode) hang around. How does your character feel about that fact?
VH: Well, we shoot about a month in advance. So I have to go back to what we're airing right now. I think Luke's one problem is that he tells his parents [he's gay] and expects them to automatically not have any issues with it. It's a shock to them, especially to Lily, and I think that is where her issues are coming from. Luke is seeing that as her not accepting him and instead of sitting down and talking to her, he starts fighting her immediately.

With Holden, Holden is the one who comes right out and says we still love you, we want you to be happy, it doesn't matter who you love. So I think Luke is very grateful toward Holden and Holden's acceptance. Whereas I think he sees himself and Holden, and even Lucinda, his grandmother (Liz Hubbard) he sees the three of them against Lily. So he is trying to rally everyone to his side again, because in his mind, he and Lily are in a bigger fight than they are.

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