{"id":24699,"date":"2015-08-28T18:15:11","date_gmt":"2015-08-28T22:15:11","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.gayfriendschat.com\/socialblog\/actor-darryl-stephens-on-his-struggles-with-being-black-and-gay-in-hollywood\/"},"modified":"2015-08-28T18:15:11","modified_gmt":"2015-08-28T22:15:11","slug":"actor-darryl-stephens-on-his-struggles-with-being-black-and-gay-in-hollywood","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.gayfriendschat.com\/socialblog\/actor-darryl-stephens-on-his-struggles-with-being-black-and-gay-in-hollywood\/","title":{"rendered":"Actor Darryl Stephens on his struggles with being black and gay in Hollywood"},"content":{"rendered":"

Actor Darryl Stephens on his struggles with being black and gay<\/a> in Hollywood<\/b><\/p>\n

During the years that he starred as a gay<\/a> man<\/a> on the TV series Noah’s Arc, Darryl Stephens was quiet about the fact that he was also gay<\/a> in real life.<\/p>\n

It was part of an agreement with the powers that be to not discuss his sexuality with the media.<\/p>\n

‘When we made Noah’s Arc, every interviewer was asking: “Are the actors gay<\/a> or straight?” Now, with Jack Falahee on How to Get Away with Murder, we know straight and gay<\/a> actors can play straight or gay<\/a> characters. It’s less an issue for the press,’ Stephens tells Salon<\/a>.<\/p>\n

‘The culture is changing a lot, and you are seeing 12-13 year-olds coming out. There is no way I could have come out when I was that age.’<\/p>\n

Stephens shares his journey as an out black actor in his new memoir Required Reading: How to Get Your Life For Good<\/a>.<\/p>\n

‘There were a lot of lessons about what people expected of us as black gay<\/a> men<\/a>, and I learned to have a thick skin about how black gay<\/a> men<\/a> are representing themselves. Everyone has an idea of what we should look like,’ he says.<\/p>\n

His character on Noah’s Arc was somewhat effeminate but he’s also played more butch gay<\/a> men<\/a> in the films Boy Culture and Another Gay Movie as well as the TV series DTLA. But because Noah is his most well-known role, Stephens says: ‘I get called in more often for sassy black queen roles. It’s learning to adapt. But I’m more a character than one type.’<\/p>\n

Stephens has the lead role in the currently filming From Zero to I Love You written and directed by his Noah’s Arc co-star Doug Spearman. In the film, he plays a gay<\/a> man<\/a> with a history of getting involved with married men<\/a>.<\/p>\n

‘I love seeing all of the different types, and not prioritizing one over the other. Sissies can be powerful,’ he says.<\/p>\n

‘The term “thug” has been co-opted by conservatives as term for a black male<\/a> – but there is a clear admiration for hyper-masculine depictions of black gay<\/a> men<\/a>. Being black and gay<\/a> in America both come with heavy doses of self-loathing. I think it’s extremely important for people who are taught explicitly or implicitly to think less of themselves, to have an alternate perspective. I wanted to be the best, most realized version of myself.<\/p>\n

‘I have had some self-loathing come up. You have to be honest in processing those moments. One of the gifts of being a gay<\/a> man<\/a> is to express our emotions, and that vulnerability of being raised that we are “less than,” and having to experience that, and work through that, and do it together, is important.’<\/p>\n

The post Actor Darryl Stephens on his struggles with being black and gay in Hollywood<\/a> appeared first on Gay Star News<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Greg Hernandez<\/p>\n

www.gaystarnews.com\/article\/actor-darryl-stephens-on-his-struggles-with-being-black-and-gay-in-hollywood\/<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Actor Darryl Stephens on his struggles with being black and gay<\/a> in Hollywood During the years that he starred as a gay<\/a> man<\/a> on the TV series Noah’s Arc, Darryl Stephens was quiet about the fact that he was also gay<\/a> in real life. It was part of an agreement with the powers that be … Continue reading Actor Darryl Stephens on his struggles with being black and gay in Hollywood<\/span> →<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2466,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[107],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-24699","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-news"],"yoast_head":"\nActor Darryl Stephens on his struggles with being black and gay in Hollywood - GAYFRIENDSCHAT.com<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.gayfriendschat.com\/socialblog\/actor-darryl-stephens-on-his-struggles-with-being-black-and-gay-in-hollywood\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Actor Darryl Stephens on his struggles with being black and gay in Hollywood - GAYFRIENDSCHAT.com\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Actor Darryl Stephens on his struggles with being black and gay in Hollywood During the years that he starred as a gay man on the TV series Noah’s Arc, Darryl Stephens was quiet about the fact that he was also gay in real life. 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