Queerty Query: Ryan Danz

ryan danz

Ryan Danz was the sexy, funny, and lovable contestant on this year’s Martha Stewart: The Apprentice. He recently caught up with Bradford Shellhammer and chatted about Martha hitting on him, who should have won, and his love for The Gays. We’ll have a Q&A with his castmate Marcela on Monday.

Hi Ryan. How were your holidays?
The Holidays are still taking place, I think I’m on night 4 of Chanukah. I spent Xmas with Howie (from the show) and our wives. We were so exhausted from the finale, the after party, and the after-after party that we just decided to marinate at his place in NJ and go out to dinner in the city (NYC).

Lets talk Martha. How much do we love her?
We love Martha. Although we don’t love her comments about the cast in Business Week, but she has always been very kind to me. She even made a point on national TV to tell both me and Marcela that we were the most attractive of the contestants. Which really doesn’t have much relevance, but it’s always nice to hear. I wasn’t sure, but it felt like her foot was rubbing against my leg when she was saying that. I should have followed up with that one.

Seriously, do you read Martha’s magazines and books?
I don’t read Martha’s magazines. I did however read her rules for business. Some were right on the mark, some were rather obvious: to be a great leader you must have great leadership qualities. I thought ‘hmm…you don’t say???’

At first we were shocked that a straight man would want to work at MSLO. What motivated you?
I wasn’t shocked at all. I didn’t see this as working at MSLO, I saw this as working next to one of the most powerful business PEOPLE in the world. Learning and sponging as much information as I could. I was motivated just based on the simple fact that never again in my lifetime will I have an opportunity to study and learn at the proverbial feet of the master.

After the jump Ryan talks about his gay fanbase.

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You were definitely The Gays favorite to win. How do you feel about being a sex symbol for a bunch of homos?
I love the gays. Before this whole thing started I had no idea that I would develop a fan base or get emails or be written about by anyone, let alone The Gays. However, while the show was airing and after, the amount of love I get from the Gays has been overwhelming. I enjoy every minute of it and I could care less if a fan is gay, straight, bi, confused, or a virgin. To me, the people that enjoy rooting for me on the show are good people not because of the church they go to, the car they drive, the locale of their home, or the person they wake up to in the morning. And I’m honored to be a sex symbol for The Gays. The Gays should know that one of my closest friends and I were Ace and Gary (The Ambiguously Gay Duo) for Halloween two years ago. It’s also the gays that are going to my website, www.ryandanz.com and buying and ordering the head shots that I have for sale. The best part (according to The Gays) is that they can request what I write to them when I sign the picture. You should see some of the requests I get, most of which I’ll write, but a few of them I had to ‘reword’ the messages. It’s all in good fun.

Heck, what does your wife think?
My wife loves it. She’s one of the coolest chicks I know and we’re both just enjoying this. I think it’s lame when people make any issue based around someone’s sexuality. Before I was on TV I worked at my father’s law firm. Its been his life’s passion to represent ‘the little people.’ Often we represent women, minorities, gays, blacks etc. in employment disputes where they are treated differently (fired, harassed, etc.) just based on some trait that has nothing to do with their job performance. I got a lot of pleasure in seeking justice on behalf of those people.

What is next on your plate?
I have a few things: working with Tide and the tidetogo.com people on making appearances and marketing the tide to go pen. I have an agent in LA who is looking into getting me hosting work, I have offers to join large companies and do sales related work, and of course my bestest friend from the show Marcela and I are always talking about doing something together that would highlight our amazing friendship and our on-screen chemistry. She’s a rock star and if the only good thing that came out of this experience was meeting some of the people I did, I would be a very, very lucky guy (Marcela, Howie, Dawna, Amanda, even crazy JIM!). I also have a bunch of request from ‘people’ that want me to do a calendar. I just don’t know who would be interested in seeing me with my shirt off surfing, exercising, posing in a fireman’s uniform, or baseball uniform for that matter…any ideas?

Is Marcela really as cute as she looks? Is Jim really a psycho?
Marcela is as cute as she is a good cook. Jim is not psycho as much as he is ‘on.’ Jim and I are good friends and what you see on TV is just a very small % of who he really is. When I see him or talk to him on the phone he always asks about my wife, how she is doing, what she is wearing…(wait a second…. that JIM!!)

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Any let down now that the wave of TV fame has subsided?
No let down, I was actually glad it ended, its time to move up and move on…its just a stepping stone on my way to the top!

Was Dawna the right pick?
Besides me? Absolutely. I said from episode 1 she was the one to beat. She embodied all the things that an apprentice should have and she deserved to win. I deserved to be runner up, but that’s another question entirely.

Do you ever read blogs? If so which? (And yes, we know you’re not our demographic.)
I don’t read blogs b/c I have a good feeling that most people love to attack on the blogs and in the beginning of the season, some of the girls read some very hurtful and personal attacks based on things not at all in their control, like their looks or their weight. At that point I decided that the emails fans sent me would be the only things that I would give any validity and time to.

Any message you’d like to send to your gay fans?
Gays: thank you, thank you, thank you for watching me on the show, for rooting for me, and most importantly for sending me your thoughts and awesome remarks. I hope that we can continue rooting for each other on TV or film in the near future and if you really want to make me happy then go to www.ryandanz.com and order a headshot and help me put an Hermes bag under my wife’s menorah this year!!! Um, hello. It’s only the hottest bag this year!

Holla!!

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