Rex Lee plays one of our favorite characters on one of our favorite shows: He's Lloyd, assistant to Ari Gold in Entourage. That's Lloyd, as in gay Lloyd. As in gay and Asian Lloyd. He might as well be missing his legs with all those Hollywood handicaps. But in the second season of the HBO show, he's the biggest comic relief behind Ari himself. And as an openly gay actor, Lee has the perspective on homophobia in Tinsletown most of the industry would rather not recognize.

Lloyd also helps viewers see what working in Hollywood might be like for an openly gay man. For Lee, however, the authentic reproduction of the world behind the camera includes a few aspects that he grudgingly admits belong there--notably the show's use of casual homophobia used as a conversational device.

“The truth is I wish there was less of it, but I also feel like it's pretty realistic,” Lee said of the stray remarks that occasionally pepper certain characters' dialogue. “As far as Ari making homophobic comments--and I know this doesn't entirely excuse it--he's kind of insulting everybody. It's just one comment among the enormous barrage of comments against everybody.

“As far as the boys are concerned, the show gives us a fly-on-the-wall perspective into these guys' lives and they're really uncensored. It's very realistic that these guys who grow up in New York and--and who, in their own way, are a little bit “street” --talk this way. And in the long run, I think I respect the writers for not censoring this element of dialogue.”

Lee is also quick to note that the homophobic sentiments the characters express to each other are never directed at Lloyd.

“Those same boys are very polite to Lloyd whenever they see him. They don't say ‘fag' or ‘homo' or any of that around Lloyd,” Lee said. “So again, I have to think that it's when they're confronted with the gay guy, they're sort of doing their best to be respectful toward him.”

Rex Lee: More Than Just the “Gay” One On TV's Entourage [AfterElton]