Joseph Gordon-Levitt: The Advocate interview

Joseph Gordon-Levitt, an actor who has never shied away from a gay role or gay-themed project, is interviewed by Brandon Voss for The Advocate.

The star of last year’s terrific romantic comedy (500) Days of Summer co-stars with Leonardo DiCaprio and Ellen Page in the new flick Inception.  I interviewed Joseph at the premiere of Stop-Loss in which he co-starred with Ryan Philippe and Channing Tatum but my fondest memory is meeting him at Outfest about five years ago.

It was around the time he had starred in Mysterious Skin and I had no idea who he was (I did not watch 3rd Rock from the Sun) but the guy I was seeing at the time had a small role in Skin with Joseph and asked me to take a photo of him with the actor.

Anyway, here is a portion of Brandon’s chat with this talented young actor:

When you appeared as Eric’s gay buddy on a 1998 episode of That ’70s Show, you and Topher Grace shared the first gay kiss on North American prime-time TV. Did that feel like a big deal, or was it just another gig?
Oh, I was totally proud of that, and I still am. It was a great bit, and it got a great reaction. More than anything else, though, I remember that it was written very well, because the emphasis wasn’t on it being gay but on making sure the scene worked and was funny. It was great that it showed people it was just a normal thing.

More importantly, was Topher a good kisser?
[Laughs] Probably one the worst kissers I’ve ever kissed. You know, he’s a dude, and girls are awesome to kiss, I gotta say.

You made your professional stage debut in 2001 when you replaced Gale Harold in Uncle Bob off-Broadway as the sexually confused nephew of a gay man with AIDS. Because you’ve tackled so many gay roles and gay-themed projects, were you ever concerned about people assuming that you’re gay in real life?
No. Public perception is something you can’t worry about because it’s a loser’s game. There’s nothing positive that can come from paying attention to that kind of thing—not just wondering whether or not someone thinks you’re gay but also worrying what people will think of who you’re dating or what you drive. I just do my best to ignore all that shit. I love acting, but the funny thing that’s happened recently—like, within the last 100 years—is that actors have become famous figures. The people whose personal lives were out in public used to be royalty. Especially in the 20th century, since the United States doesn’t have royalty, those two concepts got blended: Hollywood became the castle and actors became royalty. I’ve never identified with that. I’ve always identified more with the vagabond bards and storytellers who were anonymous. It wasn’t about them; it was about characters they played and the stories they told. As for my personal life, I care very dearly about the people in my life, but people who I don’t know don’t know me.

Here is a LINK to the full interview!