Mean Girls star: Gay characters are much more complex now
Mean Girls star Daniel Franzese has claimed that gay characters have become better-written since he appeared in the cult classic film.
The actor appeared in Mean Girls as ‘too gay to function’ Damien – and a decade on, is set to make a comeback in the second season of HBO’s gay drama Looking.
The 36-year-old will play Eddie in the show – a HIV-positive man who runs a homeless shelter for gay teen runaways.
He told the New York Post: “The [gay] roles that are being written now are different than they were 10 years ago. They’re complex, intriguing people, whether gay or not.”
He added: “What got me over my nervousness of playing Damian was that it wasn’t cliché and it was forward-moving.”
The actor says that his Looking character will do more than just make quips – hooking up with Agustin.
Of potential hook-ups, he said: “You know, I really didn’t care, because it’s a dice to roll with all hot numbers on it.”
The Mean Girls star came out last year, in a letter to former character Damien.
He wrote: “When I was cast in the role of ‘Damian’ in Mean Girls, I was TERRIFIED to play this part. But this was a natural and true representation of a gay teenager – a character we laughed with instead of at.
“However, I did turn down many offers to play flamboyant, feather-boa-slinging stereotypes that always seemed to be laughed at BECAUSE they were gay.
“How could I go from playing an inspirational, progressive gay youth to the embarrassing, cliched butt-of-a-joke?”
The actor also recently recorded a viral parody of a Sam Smith song, racking up over 1 million views with a ballad about trying to get a gay one-night-stand to leave.
