Post by Trublu on Apr 26, 2006 21:17:57 GMT -5
And I say good for him!
Gail Shister | Relieved to be out, 'SVU' star yearns for deeper character
By Gail Shister
Inquirer Columnist
Law & Order: SVU costar B.D. Wong didn't realize how hard it was to be in the closet until he came out of it.
"Much to my surprise, I'm only now starting to understand it," says Wong, 43, the featured speaker at the International Equality Dinner May 6 at the National Constitution Center.
"Not being out to everyone took a toll. It created a double standard. I was trying desperately to show how normal, or abnormal, I was."
The Tony-winning actor (M. Butterfly) - in his sixth season as SVU forensic psychiatrist George Huang - went public with his sexuality three years ago with the publication of his well-received book about the birth of his son.
Following Foo: (the electronic adventures of the Chestnut Man), Wong's literary debut, chronicles Jackson Foo Wong's struggle for life after arriving 11 weeks premature. Born through a surrogate, Jackson will turn 6 next month. Wong and his ex unofficially share custody.
Wong's sexuality is an integral part of his identity, "but it's just one aspect of my being, one in a long list of things I use to describe myself. I'm no more interesting, or less interesting, than most people."
By any measure, Wong is a typical dad. Makes his son's lunch. Takes him to school. Struggles to get him to eat healthy food. "Right now, we're trying to negotiate the whole concept of a vegetable."
Wong also spends an inordinate amount of time on public transportation every day. "Jackson is obsessed with the New York subway," he says. "Going to the subway, riding the subway, talking about the subway. He likes anything that moves."
Wong is under contract at SVU for one more season. He loves the gig because it's shot in New York. Wong is not an L.A. guy. "I don't like the trappings of fame that start creeping up on you as you get more popular."
Also, Wong's schedule allows time for his speaking engagements at universities and conferences. (He averages about three a month.) When he began on the circuit 12 years ago, his focus was strictly Asian American issues, he says. Now his topics include gay matters.
If Wong has any complaints, it's that his über-serious Dr. Huang is arguably the least known of the ensemble cast, which stars Chris Meloni and Mariska Hargitay.
"I long for him to become more three-dimensional," Wong says. "All characters evolve and deepen as times goes on. It's faster for some than others. My guy's function and his proximity to the action of the show make his development much slower.
"As an actor, you yearn for more drama, more input, something personal happening. My character doesn't share his feelings very often. I tend to gauge myself in every episode by the elements of something personal that could, or could not, be brought to it."
Personally, Wong, who is single, has "a brotherly crush" on hunky heterosexual Meloni.
"I look up to him in a very weird way," Wong says. "It's a fraternal, older brother kind of thing."
Wong and Richie Jackson, his partner of 15 years, broke up soon after Following Foo. He acknowledges that the timing "was weird. The sadness of having any breakup was intensified by the events in our lives. At the same time, it informed them."
Location, location. The L.A.-based cast and crew of FX sitcom It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia will go north to south while they're in town next week shooting scenes and exteriors.
On Wednesday, creator-star Rob McElhenney (a Philly guy and St. Joseph's Prep alum), and costars Charlie Day, Glenn Howerton and Kaitlin Olson are scheduled to be in the vicinity of 26th and Thompson, then 28th and Girard.
Three homes in South Philly are on the list for May 4, with two more South Philly spots set for May 5 around 17th and Dickinson and at Anthony's Italian Coffee House on Ninth Street in the Italian Market.
The story line at the cafe has the pals discussing over lunch their court-ordered community service for accidentally burning down a building. (Don't ask.) When they can't cover the check, they bolt.
Sunny, about a group of dysfunctional friends running a loser bar in Philly, launches its second season in mid-June. Ten episodes are ordered.
Aquired from Philly.com. Found by Special_Victims_Unit Yahoo! Group.
Gail Shister | Relieved to be out, 'SVU' star yearns for deeper character
By Gail Shister
Inquirer Columnist
Law & Order: SVU costar B.D. Wong didn't realize how hard it was to be in the closet until he came out of it.
"Much to my surprise, I'm only now starting to understand it," says Wong, 43, the featured speaker at the International Equality Dinner May 6 at the National Constitution Center.
"Not being out to everyone took a toll. It created a double standard. I was trying desperately to show how normal, or abnormal, I was."
The Tony-winning actor (M. Butterfly) - in his sixth season as SVU forensic psychiatrist George Huang - went public with his sexuality three years ago with the publication of his well-received book about the birth of his son.
Following Foo: (the electronic adventures of the Chestnut Man), Wong's literary debut, chronicles Jackson Foo Wong's struggle for life after arriving 11 weeks premature. Born through a surrogate, Jackson will turn 6 next month. Wong and his ex unofficially share custody.
Wong's sexuality is an integral part of his identity, "but it's just one aspect of my being, one in a long list of things I use to describe myself. I'm no more interesting, or less interesting, than most people."
By any measure, Wong is a typical dad. Makes his son's lunch. Takes him to school. Struggles to get him to eat healthy food. "Right now, we're trying to negotiate the whole concept of a vegetable."
Wong also spends an inordinate amount of time on public transportation every day. "Jackson is obsessed with the New York subway," he says. "Going to the subway, riding the subway, talking about the subway. He likes anything that moves."
Wong is under contract at SVU for one more season. He loves the gig because it's shot in New York. Wong is not an L.A. guy. "I don't like the trappings of fame that start creeping up on you as you get more popular."
Also, Wong's schedule allows time for his speaking engagements at universities and conferences. (He averages about three a month.) When he began on the circuit 12 years ago, his focus was strictly Asian American issues, he says. Now his topics include gay matters.
If Wong has any complaints, it's that his über-serious Dr. Huang is arguably the least known of the ensemble cast, which stars Chris Meloni and Mariska Hargitay.
"I long for him to become more three-dimensional," Wong says. "All characters evolve and deepen as times goes on. It's faster for some than others. My guy's function and his proximity to the action of the show make his development much slower.
"As an actor, you yearn for more drama, more input, something personal happening. My character doesn't share his feelings very often. I tend to gauge myself in every episode by the elements of something personal that could, or could not, be brought to it."
Personally, Wong, who is single, has "a brotherly crush" on hunky heterosexual Meloni.
"I look up to him in a very weird way," Wong says. "It's a fraternal, older brother kind of thing."
Wong and Richie Jackson, his partner of 15 years, broke up soon after Following Foo. He acknowledges that the timing "was weird. The sadness of having any breakup was intensified by the events in our lives. At the same time, it informed them."
Location, location. The L.A.-based cast and crew of FX sitcom It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia will go north to south while they're in town next week shooting scenes and exteriors.
On Wednesday, creator-star Rob McElhenney (a Philly guy and St. Joseph's Prep alum), and costars Charlie Day, Glenn Howerton and Kaitlin Olson are scheduled to be in the vicinity of 26th and Thompson, then 28th and Girard.
Three homes in South Philly are on the list for May 4, with two more South Philly spots set for May 5 around 17th and Dickinson and at Anthony's Italian Coffee House on Ninth Street in the Italian Market.
The story line at the cafe has the pals discussing over lunch their court-ordered community service for accidentally burning down a building. (Don't ask.) When they can't cover the check, they bolt.
Sunny, about a group of dysfunctional friends running a loser bar in Philly, launches its second season in mid-June. Ten episodes are ordered.
Aquired from Philly.com. Found by Special_Victims_Unit Yahoo! Group.