“There had never been a gay teenager represented on television up until that point: It’s before Will & Grace, it’s before Ellen came out, it’s before any of that stuff. I remember the fan mail that we would get, my mother and I would get, from gay teenagers or from parents of gay teenagers who found a way in to relate to or talk to their child through the show. Entertainment media can do those things, it can make people think differently or see a different side of something and I do remember and appreciating that — even back then when I was only a teenager myself. But in terms of like the larger view, I didn’t have a full understanding of how important it could have been, but I’m proud to have done it, I’m proud that that’s something I can say was a part of my career.”Ryan Phillippe to Too Fab, reflecting on playing the first ever out gay teen on TV. Phillippe played “Billy Douglas” on the ABC soap opera One Life to Live from 1992-1993; it was his first professional acting gig.
https://youtu.be/IbXYSMP6XX4
IDoNotHaveToAgreeWithYou
Clearly his dad’s pants made him gay.
tdh1980
I was 12 years old when this storyline hit the airwaves. My mother used to buy “Soap Opera Digest” and “Soap Opera Weekly,” and I remember reading the advanced word about it. I spent my summer afternoons thereafter glued to the TV. I thought he was so dreamy.
Captain Obvious
His character in Cruel Intentions seemed pretty gay also.
SumSay
Either you’re joking, or you’re thinking about Joshua Jackson’s character Blaine. His scene with football-jock Gregory (a young Eric Mabius) is a hard scene to forget. I often put it on replay whenever I watch it ;).
Celtic
Ryan Phillippe is VERY hot as an adult man. I also love the shows he stars in. They can be someone edgy and violent, but Ryan’s intensity telegraphs off the screen to the viewer. Ryan also is a highly disciplined athlete. Perhaps Ryan is a “switch hitter”. How awesome would that be! I have seen him in “Shooter” and “Secrets and Lies”. Talk about INTENSE! WOW!
OzJosh
First gay teen on TV in the US perhaps. Other countries – the UK and Australia to name two – were there a decade or two earlier.
MediaGuy
Ryan Phillippe is SO gay, and I don’t get it how people’s gaydar doesn’t sound like a nuclear plant meltdown with this guy. Seriously, he looks and sounds SO gay. Gay. Gay. Gay. Gay. Gay.
Sluggo2007
Your point is . . . ?
Kenover
You say that like it’s a bad thing. BTW he doesn’t seem gay at all to me.
HoldenCaufield
Girls, Ryan Phillippe was so hot and wonderful in the film, “White Squall”…you must all see it immediately.