Garrett Clayton opens up about being a gay actor in Hollywood.
As we reported in August, the Disney star officially came out in a touching Instagram post where he discussed his movie Reach.
In his first interview since revealing his sexuality, the 27-year-old says the industry pressured him to stay closeted.
Related: Let Garrett Clayton & Crew Take You ‘Back To The ’90s’!
He told Gay Times:
“One of the first things somebody who was instrumental in starting my career did, they sat me down and they said, ‘Are you gay?’ And I could feel the pressure of the question, so I was like, ‘Yeah, I’m gay, or bi, or whatever,’ because suddenly I could feel that there was something wrong with that in this person’s eyes… They looked at me and said, ‘No one wants to f**k the gay guy, they want to go shopping with him, so we’re going to have to figure this out.’ It turned into this situation where I’d get calls and they’d say, ‘You still need to butch it up’. I literally had to change everything about myself at that point, otherwise I was never gonna make it.”’
Because of this criticism, the Teen Beach Movie thespian changed his mannerisms in order to fit in.
“That was so conflicting because here’s somebody offering you your dream, but they’re telling you that you’re not good enough the way you are. You’re talented, but who you are isn’t good enough… So they had me changing the way I walked, the way I spoke, the way I dressed, the way I answered questions. It got as petty as them saying, ‘People need to see that you’re into sports because they’ll think that’s more masculine, so why don’t you go buy a sports hat, take some pictures in it, and make sure people see you in it.”‘
Despite his attempts “to butch it up,” The Fosters alum still received flack from casting directors and his costars.
“There’d be calls after I went into casting offices like, ‘Hey, this is how gay casting thought you came across today, so here’s what you need to do to fix it’. I even had cast members screaming drunkenly in the middle of a room, ‘Who here thinks Garrett is gay?’ and then yelling at me for not having come out yet.”‘
Ultimately, the pressure to conceal his true identity took a toll on Garrett’s mental health.
“I convinced myself that I was the problem, and I got into a really dark place for a couple of years. Then I went to therapy for about a year and a half to really sort through all the things I went through growing up and the situations I found myself in while in Hollywood. I got to work through all those conflicting things.”
When Clayton did come out, he did so at a time when he was ready.
“The decision to come out was finally feeling comfortable as me. I just felt like, ‘OK, I’m finally ready to do this’, and I think that’s the most important thing to take away from this is that everyone has to do it when they feel comfortable.”’
The actor is currently in a relationship with screenwriter Blake Knight.
See pics of his cover and spread (below):
[Image via FayesVision/WENN.]
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