AE: Do you think that being openly gay has been a detriment to your acting career, or has it helped, or has it had no net effect at all? CJ: [Pauses] I think it's been a detriment, probably just a little bit. Had I not been out and open, I think I might have gotten some movies that I screen-tested for. People may have said, “The dude's gay; how are we going to market this?” But it's not an issue for me, because being out is very freeing.
AE: On the plus side, you might perhaps not have been cast as gay hero Mark Bingham in United 93 if you weren't out.
CJ: Possibly – although the director didn't know anything about me. I think one of the main reasons I got the part was that I was the biggest guy who auditioned; Mark Bingham was 6'5” and I'm almost 6'4”.
AE: If Hollywood gives us another big, gay love story like Brokeback Mountain and you were cast in one of the leads, who would you want to play opposite?
CJ: Hmm, that's a tough one. [Starts to say someone's name, then stops:] I won't say him, because I don't want it to be weird the next time I see him. [Pauses, then comes up with another name:] Ewan McGregor. I'd do a love scene with him any day. Or Hugh Jackman. I've never met him, but he said some lovely things about me in the press when I was in All Shook Up – and we have the same agent. He's an idol of mine, for sure.
AE: I'm guessing that, in terms of theater work, your being out has been a non-issue.
CJ: That's right. Here, your reputation is everything. People know if you've got the goods, if you're easy to work with, and if you can get the job done. Besides, it's New York theater. Everybody's gay!
AE: Are you in a relationship?
CJ: Yeah, for almost eight years. He's a very private person. I don't think anyone could find any pictures of him. He says he's like the Amish; he doesn't like to have his picture taken, because he feels like it's giving away part of his soul. He's a medical physicist, really brilliant and funny. He's the brains behind the operation.
AE: Do you ever feel like you're a sort of poster boy for gay actors?
CJ: Chris Sieber and I were talking about this. Every time they mention either of us in the press, it's always “openly gay Christopher Sieber” and “openly gay Cheyenne Jackson.” It's a little reductive and, after a while, it's like, “Yawn.”
AE: Yet it's understandable that people focus on it, given that so few actors are out -- especially leading man types.
CJ: Sure. I liken it to the experience of a black friend of mine. When he was growing up, there were almost no black people on television; but occasionally, there would be a black family in a commercial or something, and when that happened, his whole family would run in and gather around the TV. To me, that's lovely and precious and sad at the same time.
When I was a little kid, who were the gay people on TV? Charles Nelson Reilly, Paul Lynde, maybe Liberace. So I understand why the gay community wants to embrace actors who are out. People want to be represented.
AE: Right after you open in Xanadu, you're going to leave for 10 days to do a reading of a new musical called Red Eye of Love at the Eugene O'Neill Theatre Center in Connecticut. What's up with that?
CJ: I committed to that a long time ago, so I had to keep my word. I think it will be fun. It's going to be hard to open in Xanadu and then go away three days later, but I have two great understudies, Curtis Holbrook and Andre Ward. They played the part before I came on.
AE: On your blog, you recently wrote, “I AM STRANGE AND WEIRD!” Is that true?
CJ: Well, yes. I think I have ADD [Attention Deficit Disorder], though I was never diagnosed. I have insomnia, and it's hard for me to sit still for a long time. My mind is always “tick, tick, tick.” People don't expect me to have a weird sense of humor, but I do. I'm very eccentric
AE: You recently played the title role in concert performances of It's a Bird...It's a Plane...It's Superman in L.A. and New York. If you could possess one super power, which one would you chose?
CJ: To fly, for sure. I'd also love to be able to be invisible, because I like to eavesdrop.
AE: They're reviving Terrence McNally's The Ritz on Broadway next season. Did you go in for that?
CJ: I had two appointments to audition, but I just couldn't swing it. I literally had three days to go into Xanadu, and that was one of the hardest things I've ever done in my life – not only to remember my lines and songs, but to not die on my skates.
AE: Was All Shook Up a fun experience?
CJ: It was amazing, but it was so hard. I had to sing 17 songs, and I was never offstage. Once they put a billboard of your mug in Times Square, it becomes a little surreal. You've just got to focus on what you have to do.
ah man..........
before i was a judy garland fan, i was a total olivia newton-john worshiper. I actually went out and bought rollerskates after buying xanadu and watching it way too many times....
....good times. i may have to just see it on b-way. ;-)
Cheyenne is now my new
Cheyenne is a beautiful man
Hey -- How About Some Props to the Original !
I think the original Xanadu is getting a bad rap. It's most definitely so bad it's good. And the score is incredible. "Suspended in Time" is one of the best things Olivia Newton-John ever did. Yes Michael Beck's a piece of wood that escaped from the Twin Peaks "Log-Lay's" clutches. And Gene Kelly seems really lost. But it's a great memento of the now-long-gone Pan Pacific Auditorium.
And isn't interesting that director Robert Greenwald (who REALLY doesn't want to talk about Xanadu, and believe me I've tired) has gone on to become one of the most successful liberal documentarians of our time? Look up his credits on the IMDB.
I'm Buying Tickets...
First I want to say that when I log out I'm going straight to broadway.com to buy tix for our visit to NYC in September. I was gonna wait 'til I read the interview. Very nicely done, Mr. Portantiere, very nice indeed.
Second, you'll never hear anybody who's sat through the 12,218 hours of 1973's Lost Horizon seriously badmouth
XanaxXanadu. The very gay audience (of which I was one) who sat thru that disaster in SF in order to watch the sneak preview of The Way We Were howled and moaned and groaned despite the fact that a half-dozen studio suits responsible for it were in the audience.Finally, Ehrenstein's post blew me away. I'm a huge fan of Greenwald's documentaries and blog site but I'd never made the association.
Actor Cheyenne Jackson
I can't wait until Hysteria comes out. He's a really talented actor. He has a great personality; you can see it in every picture and interview.
Since there are no pics of Cheyenne's boyfriend on the net I can only guess what he might be like from guys he's attracted to. He's moderatly hairy, dark hair, slightly rugged looking, average to solid build, charming, and enjoys playing practical jokes. "He's the brains behind the operation." LOL He's obviously smart too.
Here's Greenwald's Latest
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2007/07/09/film-hits-fox-coverage-of_n_55514.html
And don't go badmouthing Lost Horizon. The screenplay was by Larry Kramer.
Yes, Larry Kramer!
And Ross Hunter paid him so much money for it he was able to buy his One Fith Ave condo and found ACT-UP. So it may have been a lousey movie, but it was more than worthwhile in the long run.
XANADU--So bad it's good
I agree with David Ehrenstein re: the original film gettin a bad rap.
I happened to meet one of the producers of XANADU on Broadway and when he first told me about the show back in 2001, I was totally psyched! Then when I learned they were CHANGING the entire story, I became a little skeptical.
The idea that the other muses were being incorporated into the story just about sent me over the edge. "They can't do that!" I kept insisting that ANYONE who's a fan of the movie is going to HATE this... It will NOT work!
But my partner FORCED me to go (and he even HATES the movie) and as much as I hate to admit, I LOVED it! It was SO much fun. Unfortunately, we didn't get to see Cheyenne Jackson's performance so we're thinking about going back... 6'4" Enough said!
As a gay actor, myself, it's SO nice to FINALLY see someone who's not afraid to be "Out and Proud." And if Cheyenne's going to lose out on roles because of it, then those people don't deserve to work with him!
Still, I don't think the original XANADU is nearly as bad as everyone keeps saying. What's wrong with making a film that's FUN?
Cheyenne's a definate improvement...
Over Michael Beck, who, if I recall, was best known as the lead in "The Warriors"(the female lead was a graduate of my old High School...many, MANY years before I attended, thank you.) Hardly the right guy for a light romantic fantasy.
Oh, and in the category of "How the fuck did I let HIM get away from me?", a classmate of mine named Mark, who I had a crush on, told me when I returned from summer vacation that he'd seen "Xanadu" and liked it. At the time I didn't make too much of it because I hadn't seen the film, and although I really, really wanted to believe he was gay AND interested in me, I assumed that wasn't the case either way.
It wasn't until years later when I saw it on TV that I thought to myself, "Okay, Mark WAS gay after all! Damn, I shoulda tried to step our friendship up a notch of 20!"
I've been kicking myself about that ever since.
I found a framed copy of the original movie poster in the office at my place of employment, displayed against the wall behind the computer. I'm DYING to know who owns it. A few days ago it was moved to a spot on the floor below the desk.
Whether this has to do with my habit of singing "Xanadu, you neon lights may shine...for YOU XANADU-U-U!!!!" ever time I saw it, I cannot say.
Oh, and though I've never seen "Lost Horizon", I do have the Fifth Dimension's recording of "Living Together, Growing Together", and try to find an excuse to sing it whenever applicable...which requires a good deal of creativity on my part. :)
Out actors like Cheyenne Jackson