If You Think the Creators of "Big Love" Regret Creating Alby Grant, Think Again

When Big Love debuted on HBO back in 2006, it was with no small amount of controversy. Some criticized the show for potentially making polygamists look sympathetic, while also possibly sensationalizing the subject of group marriage. Meanwhile, The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints voiced concerns over how the show would depict Mormons. In 2009, church leaders accused the show’s writers and producers of being insensitive toward their religion, as well as blurring the line between the LDS Church and the show’s fictional characters.

Then there was the fact that some viewed the show, created by two gay men, Mark V. Olsen and Will Scheffer (partners in real life), as a thinly veiled allegory for gay marriage. Additionally, some gay viewers were troubled by the fact that the show also made one of the series’ central villains the “pathologically closeted” Alby Grant (Matt Ross), who wasn’t only amoral and ruthless, but who also cruised public restrooms, which in turn led to his being savagely beaten in the first season.

While some saw Alby as a condemnation of, and the logical outcome of, Mormonism’s homophobic beliefs and treatment of gay people, others saw just another show with a creepy, gay villain with a dead boyfriend.

Big Love came to an end Sunday night, and to mark the occasion, AfterElton.com caught up with Olsen and Scheffer to discuss their feelings about Alby, whether the show was a metaphor for gay marriage and much more. It's a frank and interesting conversation and both men took the opportunity to talk about some issues they had never before addressed.

AfterElton: Let’s talk about how Alby wound up. First he murdered Verlan, and then tried to murder Bill Henrickson before finally being arrested. A few episodes before that, there was a moment that seemed to encapsulate his character.
Mark Olsen: There is a very poignant moment that he has with his mother and that goes straight to that character and to the gay issues and gay content of that character where he’s so frustrated. He tells his mother, “This is not the life that heavenly Father intended for me. I’m not intended to be hiding out in safe houses. You know how hard I’ve struggled. You know how hard I’ve tried to be good.”

It just speaks to his impossible situation of him being gay in such a repressive environment. That’s actually the long and the short of it.

AE: Given how villainous and twisted Alby is, how do you personally feel about him?
MO: My heart goes out to him. He’s one of those characters, kind of like Nikki, he can be bad or mean or one of those character where you just want to know, why? I feel like he’s just trapped in incredibly sad circumstances. I don’t write him off as a crazy person. I’m far too invested in his soul and what has happened to him in his life to do that.
Will Scheffer: I feel incredibly sympathetic towards Alby. The only truthful way to portray that particular character in that particular situation was not in a very pleasant way. He was not going to be able to escape the upbringing that he had and the context of his life.

Mary Kay Place and Matt Ross

Harper Smith/HBO

I don’t really have much time for criticism of a gay character who is such a villain because to me it was something subversive that we did. Even having a character commit suicide, you know that hearkens back to some of the 1950s melodramas like A Children’s Hour. It seems like it is accurately representative of how the gays are still treated in Utah in the Mormon culture and certainly in the fundamentalist culture. It seems like something fresh to me about going back to that portrayal rather than going retro.
MO: There were some forks in the road in the writer’s room about what to do with that character. Do we use him and show that no matter how much life throws at you, no matter how much adversity you deal with, one can still triumph and find good? Because that is one model that is a legitimate choice. Or do we get more realistic and a little bit less idealistic about it and portray him the way we did.

Again, we opted for the choice [we did], particularly in the day and day where people seem to be dismissing gay rights saying, “Oh, why do you need to have gay marriage when you already have civil unions? You want special rights!” And we kind of wanted to say, “Wait a minute! There is still a whole world out there, think of the tragedies…
WS: Think of Matthew Shepard.
MO: We want to remind the world that just because there is progress on either coasts and in Iowa, there are larger issues at play here. It’s a tough position but we felt a responsibility to remind the world of that.