Michael Muhney of "The Young and the Restless" on Playing Heteroflexible, Machiavellian and More!

AE: Soap operas are known for being pretty steamy, and the first encounter between you guys left a lot to the imagination. Is there going to be something more between you guys coming up? A kiss perhaps?
MM: There might be some more interactions between Adam and Rafe, but I can tell you that what I have read in comments of random people online and going to forums and whatnot, the interesting thing that kind of opened my eyes to the way that this was shot and what has aired, I've been very concerned and curious and interested what gay men are saying about this.

You want to do something in way that is respectful, but if you're going to tell a story, someone has to do something wrong and there are going to be moments that are despicable or manipulative.

And what I like is that the reactions I've read, and maybe I'm biased and I'm only remembering what I want to remember, but people were saying, "I'm a gay man and I like the ambiguity and that it left a lot to the imagination, because after watching it, in that moment or later on in the day, we're going to realize that we'd just watched a scene where someone was being lied to and manipulated and deceived, and the other person is faking emotions." That's an even more ruthless thing to show.

If you leave some things to the imagination, you wonder what really did happen between them. You don't know. If you just see them buttoning up some clothes, you wonder how far was Adam willing to take it? Was he willing to go full force and let down his guard or was he guarded and not as emotional as Rafe? Or was Rafe more guarded, trying to protect his emotions?

When you leave something to the imagination, you give the viewer the opportunity to fill in the blank. However, in the future, those blanks are going to be filled in by what you see on screen.

Y&R showrunner Maria Bell

AE: The thing that's so nice about the era we live in, I don't know how much you're aware of this, but right now there are more gay characters on daytime television than there have ever been, which makes it easier for there to be a character like Adam. I think gay men like seeing different representations of themselves, and even characters who aren't "gay" but get involved in a gay storyline and aren't exactly nice or ethical. Were you aware at all of the number of gay characters on daytime and where you fit now in what's happening?
MM: No, on my radar, my gaydar, I had not been aware of any broken down demographics on soaps.

For me, I don't like putting people in neat little boxes that you can check off: You're black. You're white. You're gay. You're straight. You're a woman. You're a man. I think people like their own unique identities, that they're not defined by a single word in Webster's or something that you fill out when you're voting. I think there are a lot of gay men out there who have had encounters with or talked to someone who's met a man who will claim that he's straight, but then they're like, "Wow. Well, what I did with him last night didn't show me that he was straight."

I think what's interesting about Adam is that he's not clearly one thing or another. Or perhaps he is clearly straight, but you can now have on daytime television — or even primetime television — a man who is straight but will go to the length that he went to in this scenario, and therefore, you're redefining what a straight man is, or what this particular character is, and showing the world that there are all types of people, and all sorts of characters being represented on this how. That makes it a more realistic show, because you have a more eclectic group. I think Adam contributes to that melting pot.