AE: You're just hoping that by playing it this way and having it be revealed he's straight that it will break down people's assumptions about being gay.
BJ: Yeah, that would be really cool if it did. If people were like, not every man has to be a man. I just got married and I pretty much planned our entire wedding. I made our wedding cake. Does that make me any less of a [man?]

AE: Good for you. You sound like the perfect guy to play this role. I have to say after reading the book and getting ready to talk to you, I was thinking Okay, I think they might be trying to do something good here and make a point about stereotypes, but what if it comes across as offensive?
BJ: I'm exactly on the same page. I was thinking “What if it comes out and what if I am just playing that stereotype and what if I am offending someone? But I really hope there will be a balance there.

AE: I think the other worrisome thing that some gay people might react to is the idea that the comic relief comes from the guy who is perceived as being gay because we've seen that so often.
BJ: Exactly.

AE: Does Ken have heroic moments in the movie?
BJ: Yeah, he does. I push someone out of the way of beverage cart racing down the aisle. I also have a moment with a snake in the galley. People are stuck in the galley, and I come in and push them out of the way and there is a snake on the floor. I pick it up and nuke it in the oven. That was a scene they added after they tested it [the movie], and apparently I tested really well, and they just wanted to add a little more stuff for me. It's a fun scene too because Ken sees the snake on the floor, and since they changed the movie to an R, I get to swear a little bit. I see the snake and say, “Oh, f*** me” which is totally something Ken would say.

AE: You seem pretty aware of the issues involved with this character. What accounts for that? Is that part of being a Canadian? Or just you?
BJ: I think for me personally it just has to do with experiences I had growing up. A good friend of mine in high school was gay and came out. Then I was also a resident advisor at Simon Fraser University and we did a lot of training involving a lot of different types of people. And you learn to have an open mind about things. That's one of the greatest jobs I've ever had. But I've always been open and fine, and I know that I'm not the most masculine person in the world. I'm not the most feminine either, but I'm to a point where I'm comfortable with who I am and I know who I am and those traits that I have.

AE: I see by your other credits you were also on The L Word. It lists you as Man in stairwell. I'm curious, did you draw on your own experiences in stairwells or did you have to do research?
BJ: (Laughs) Man in stairwell was my ass on the L Word having a sex in a stairwell with a woman. I did it because of the director. I didn't even have a line. That's all I do is have mock sex and they gave me my little pouch to wear. And it broke while we were filming and I was standing there holding myself and I said “I told you it didn't fit”. That was my experience on The L Word.

AE: And I bet it's going to be a crazy week for you.
BJ: Yeah. I don't think any of it has really hit yet. Even talking with you. It's just like I'm talking with a friend. Tonight I'm going to the premiere and walking down the red carpet. I've never done that before. It's still not in my head. It's weird. It feels like a different reality.

AE: What was it like working with Sam Jackson?
BJ: You know that dream where you got to school and you're naked? It's like that except I was in my underwear. I kept thinking how embarrassing it was my working with him, but then I thought I like hanging out in my underwear. Eventually, I realized I was fine how I was and okay that I was here working with these people. And I'm actually talking to you in my underwear right now.

AE: (Laughs) I think our readers will be amused to know I interviewed you in your underwear. I'll have to explain it was over the phone though.
BJ: Your article can open “Bruce James was lying gracefully in his suite in West Hollywood in his underwear.” They're blue by the way.

AE: (Laughing.) Boxers or briefs?
BJ: Briefs.

AE: Good to know. I think we'll leave it there! Thanks for the interview and good luck tonight.
BJ: Thanks!

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