Nicholas Rodriguez talks about being a part of the gay storyline on “One Life to Live”

Broadway actor Nicholas Rodriguez was only supposed to be on One Life to Live for a few episodes. How lucky we are that his character of Nick Chavez has been extended and will get more involved with Kyle (Brett Claywell) who is trying to move past his relationship with Oliver Fish (Scott Evans).

Rodriguez did a lengthy interview with AfterElton.com posted last week. Here are some excerpts:

AE: What does it mean to you as a gay person to be playing this part? Do you think you can bring something to it that a straight actor could not?
NR: I’d like to think so. There’s a lot of pressure. I’m incredibly proud to be playing this role. Unlike the roles of Kyle and Fish, I’m walking into the scene playing a gay character. Both of them have kind of come out, but I get to say, this is who a gay man is and this is how I think a gay man thinks. It’s a lot of pressure. People didn’t know me before, so they’re only getting to judge me based on this. In a way, there’s a kind of pressure and obligation to represent. I’m definitely putting a lot of my personal experiences into Nick because I think it fits with this storyline.

AE: How so?
NR: I’m obviously coming into this couple who people are already rooting for and have a history with, and it could easily be so cliché. I could so easily be “the other guy.” At the same time, being an out man playing an out man, I’m trying to infuse a lot of compassion towards Oliver. I don’t want to just look at him as the competition. I want it to be like, “I’ve been there. I know exactly what he’s going through.” We don’t all come out at the same time or under the same circumstances. He’s not a bad guy; he just hasn’t figured it out yet. Do I want him to be with Kyle? No! I want to be with Kyle. But at the same time, it doesn’t have anything to do with us, with Oliver and Nick. It’s about chemistry and finding the right way. He’s just not out yet.

It’s so easy in Soap Opera Land to go for the first choice, like to be the jealous boyfriend. Like, “I’m gonna cut a bitch!” But I get it. These guys have history. They have to work it out. If I’m going to be with Kyle, he’s going to have to work out his stuff with Oliver, and I’m going to have to be there. Let’s be realistic. That’s how it happens in the gay world. We all know that our exes stick around.

AE: How does it feel to be doing something groundbreaking by bringing a first all-guy love triangle to a soap opera?
NR: At first I was a little scared, I have to be honest. We all were. Not scared, but apprehensive. Like, “Oh God, is this the way we want our career to go?” Because, let’s be honest, it’s not the easiest path right now. But the second you do it, it just feels so good. When we’re doing it, and Brett and I talk about this all the time, we’re being honest. These are real emotions.

If we can put that in American homes, people who may not know another gay person, people that live outside of New York and California, if they can like us as real people, then we’re really making a difference, especially with some of the stuff that’s coming up.

AE: Give me a hint or tease about what’s coming up in the next few weeks with Nick and Kyle.NR: I don’t know how much I can say, but I’m really excited to be sticking around for a little bit. My character is a leader for the Llanview Gay and Lesbian Alliance, if that tells you anything. We now have a Gay and Lesbian Alliance in Llanview, so you can expect to see a little more activism on my part, and the relationship with Kyle really progresses. They become a real, deep, caring relationship. That affects Fish, obviously, and the three of us have to deal with it. None of us are going away, at least immediately, so we either have to become friends and deal with it or move on. There’s some really great stuff that I’m really proud of and I wish I could talk about. I get the scripts and I’m just like, “I’m going to do what?” It’s really that level 10 excitement. “We’re going to do that on TV?” I get excited every day about going to work.