ENTERTAINMENT WEEKLY: Your characters coming out had a lot of resonance in your personal life.
[Laughs] And then walk away from them.
It was really cathartic.
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Were you out prior to the show?
I didnt tell my parents until after we got picked up as a series.
I came out to my dad in Christmas of 94.
It did not go well, and he kicked me out of the house.
I ended up living in my car and some friends couches….
I would call [my mom] during those few months, and tell her I was okay.
But I never told her where I was.
There was really very little she could do.
What did your dad say?
Uh, Get out.
He couldnt deal with it.
He didnt want to deal with it.
And was disgusted with the whole thing.
But it was actually because of [MSCL] that we reconciled.
He ended up watching it and calling me.
Which was about…exactly a year later.
[Laughs] I am my fathers son, after all.
On the show, Rickie was also kicked out of his house.
Was this inspired by your experience?
[Creator Winnie Holzman] and I recently talked about this.
A lot of stuff happened like that on that show.
The school-dance episode couldve been taken out of my life as well.
You mean that scene at the dance when Rickie totally cut a flamboyant rug?
For a brief moment, Im just throwing caution into the wind.
Did you also have straight girls awkwardly crushing on you in high school?
[Laughs] Yeah, but you know what?
I was still figuring it out.
I had crushes on straight girls, too!
That was such a sweet crush on the show.
And she says, you know, that she knew.
And it says a lot about what those relationships are like with straight girls and gay men.
Theres a bond there.
Do you have a favorite scene?
I do love the last scene when I finally say out loud that Im gay.
And I love the little scene with Jared in the Christmas episode.
I run into him at the grocery store, and he asks me if I need to go somewhere.
Here is Rickie at his darkest moment, and heres someone else telling him about his darkest moment.
Yes, what made the show so great were the hot-button topics.
Rickie was abused, he was gay, he was also Latino.
Its still pretty rare.
And when I see that little boy on that show…
I think hes my gay child.
Or Rickies gay child.
Although they havent even said hes gay yet.
I fell on the floor laughing so hard.
Hes a brilliant character, and I think [Mark Indelicato] is doing the most amazing job.
They want to escape.
I also love the way Winnie incorporated the adults into the show.
We all think that we grow out of these teen emotions, but we dont.
We just deal with the same issues all over again, in different ways, as adults.
Then why didnt people watch the show?
It was too honest.
They want to escape.
Where do you see the impact in TV shows today?
I see definite hints of it inFriday Night Lights, which I love.
First season, they were so subtle.
And [My So-Called Lifealum] Jason Katims is writing on that show.
It just feels like the Texas cousin toMy So-Called Life.
The way its shot.
Just the angst of it all.
A lot of your cast was starting out career-wise.
Was it a little like deer-in-the-headlights on set?
It was very easy to shoot.
It was probably the most efficient set I think wed ever been on.
And its because we knew how good it was and wanted to live up to the material.
Everyone was taking it seriously, but it was still fun.
Wed have sleepovers at Claires.
And Devon Odessa [who played Sharon] and I would always hang out; she was my buddy.
Wed always end up at A.J.
Langers [Rayanne] house and her mom would cook for us.
It was likebeingin high school.
Do you keep in touch with anyone?
We all run into each other.
I ran into Jared Leto at restaurants around town.
Claire and I ran into each other at an awards ceremony.
Its like running into old war buddies.
There was all that talk of Claire not wanting to renew her contract.
How did that feel when it was going down?
The thing is, the producers kept all that from us.
We didnt know if that was true or not.
We just kinda knew that the ratings werent great.
I actually didnt find out that was true until an article, I think, in your magazine.
Up until that point it was all speculation.
But even as speculation, didnt it bum you out?
I was angry, I was disappointed.
But, you know…she was 15.
Its a lot of pressure to put on a 15-year-old girl.
And everyone was telling her she was going to be a movie star.
What would any of us do?
Then there was a rumor that MTV mightve picked it up.
We talked to Winnie periodically.
Yeah, like nerd Brian Krakow becoming a rapist onFelicity!
Oh, Nisha, you got closure.
But Brian wrote that letter!
And Angela knows it.
And she still drove off with Jordan.
But thats the best part.
