Interview with "Brothers & Sisters" creator Jon Robin Baitz

AE: Do you think also that because you came with that attitude — that of course the gay character is going to have his sexuality be as played out as everyone else’s — that your own attitude affected the executives' attitudes, and got into the DNA of the show, and was part of why the audience was so accepting and unsurprised by the sexuality of this character?
JRB: I think yes to both. I think there were certain ways in which the network and studio were very, very trusting of my take on where we were — and other [ways] where they weren’t so willing. But certainly one area [they were comfortable with] was the presupposition that I live with, which is that we’re all the same thing. That there’s this basic human condition.

I just couldn’t bear the thought of if I was going to do [a gay character on the show] for there to be the merest hint of ghetto-ization. Him being a sort of side character, introduced as merely the comic relief or campiness. Which we’ve seen done really, really well and to great comic effect, and even more done in sort of a way that was beautifully relevant by Will & Grace. But I thought this could be something different. As much as I admire Will & Grace.

AE: And Max Mutchnick [co-creator of Will & Grace, also interviewed for our upcoming article] said really nice things about you and the character.
JRB: Oh, that’s so sweet. Well, you might find this extraordinary, but we grew up in the same building.

AE: Oh, get out!
JRB: Yeah. He was little Max below me. What are the odds of that?!

AE: I feel like whether it’s gay people coming out or creating a show with gay characters, if you feint or seem coy or embarrassed about it at all the audience picks up on that. And if you don’t, and it’s completely egalitarian, the audience’s reaction is completely unsurprised.
JRB: Yeah. Egalitarian is the word I’ve used again, and again, and again. And you know since what’s happened in the world is everybody’s got someone they love in their orbit that is a homosexual. Everybody. Whether they like it or not, whether they admit or not. But so much of the culture has grown to the point where they have to face the irrefutable truth in front of their eyes that someone they love is gay, and it is no longer okay to shun them. It’s no longer acceptable.

And certainly [the Walker family on Brothers & Sisters] is incredibly evolved, which is one of the things I’m proud of. They have a deep sophistication. And one of the things I think made the show work was it was sort of manna for people to hear conversation again on television in which thoughts were fully formed.

AE: I also think that what you’re saying about them being sophisticated in terms of the gay content, I think it’s also very realistic that not only the Walker clan but the McCallister clan who is largely Republican is very accepting, and protective even, of their own gay brother.
JRB: And I know those people. And so do you and so do all the readers at AfterElton, know these people whose Republicanism doesn’t include bigotry.

AE: What else do you think happened right that helped this gay character be successful?
JRB: It couldn’t have succeeded with an actor who had any reluctance whatsoever. Because in Matthew Rhys there’s this fabulous combination of openness, availability, intellect, humility, arrogance, self-deprecation, introspection. He has underpinnings of Hamlet to him. And underpinnings of Monty Python too. And occasionally the out of control qualities of Lenny Bruce. And I think he’s wildly educated about the self — his self. And so it was very useful. We cast it very well. And I think that went right.

Also there might be something sort of Welsh about him, he’s such a convivial man, that the notion of being embarrassed by [the character’s] sexuality couldn’t have been further from the truth.

AE: And the original actor — Jonathan Lapaglia [who played Kevin Walker in the original pilot]?
JRB: I think even in discussions before he did it there was a sort of informal list of dos and don’ts, wills and won’ts.

AE: Were these in terms of sexuality?
JRB: Yes. He just wasn’t comfortable. And you know, I loved Jonathan. And we both admitted that the fit was very, very rocky. And it just wasn’t that perfect marriage between an actor and a part. He had a kind of tension about it. We were very frank with each other about it. And he professed to understand what happened.

Joanthan LaPaglia (l) and the origianl cast of Brothers & Sisters

AE: Did any of the other actors who’ve played Kevin’s love interests — have they had issues with the intimacy?
JRB: No, not at all. You know Jason Lewis is again an evolved, thinking, sensitive man. And Luke MacFarlane is a brave, bold, athletic, curious actor who has a lot of training. You know, he came out of Julliard, came out of the theater. So those two in particular were entirely comfortable with the entire business.