While the 28-year-old Falahee admits to enjoying some attention, he is the first to point out that \u201cI\u2019m a sex<\/a> symbol with the help of great makeup and lighting experts making me look a certain way on TV\u00a0and magazines.\u201d He also sounded a note of caution with respect to the experiences of women<\/a>: \u201cI\u2019ve been discussing it with the women<\/a> close to me. I obviously can never understand how women<\/a> can go through life that way [being objectified] but I can see a glimpse of what that experience might feel like and it\u2019s not a nice one.\u201d Still, \u201cnine times out of ten, it\u2019s all good fun.\u201d<\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n The character of Connor Walsh, who is gay<\/a> and has an HIV-positive boyfriend, has \u201c100% open[ed his] eyes to the LGBTQ struggle and I can\u2019t stress that enough,\u201d Falahee explained to\u00a0Fault<\/em><\/a>. He identifies as straight, something he had only clarified directly because of the 2016 election result<\/a>, and also as an avowed LGBTQ ally:<\/p>\n I\u2019m still not over how the much of an impact the show has made and a lot of that is Connor\u2019s character and his importance to fans. It\u2019s emblematic of my straight privilege, but I never thought his character would be so important to the LGBTQ community. When the finale came out and [insert significant plot point here!], seeing the Twitter reaction was so overwhelming and I was just overjoyed at how meaningful the character is to people.<\/p>\n Going into this, it was never written on the page that \u201cConnor Walsh is a homosexual,\u201d so when it came to the first love scene I just thought, \u201cWow, this guy<\/a> is willing to do whatever it takes to get ahead\u201d and now I know that was the heteronormativity in my mind back then that was rationalizing this whole aspect of his character.<\/p>\n It wasn\u2019t until [series creator] Pete Nowalk was like \u201cOh no, Connor is gay<\/a>\u201d that I\u2019ve been really trying to become a student of the history of LGBTQ rights and learning more about the struggle of those in the past and in the present day.\u00a0 <\/span>I asked Pete and my friends for a reading list on LGBTQ history because one of my favorite aspects about being an actor is that I\u2019m continually having to learn about things I\u2019ve been very uneducated on in the past.<\/p>\n The outpouring of love from the fans was so gratifying and humbling for me. Receiving messages from fans saying \u201cConnor & Oliver helped me come out to my parents\u201d is deeply rewarding and to be any small part of the courage needed to come out will forever be a blessing to me.<\/p>\n You can see more of Falahee, and Connor Walsh, before too long: How to Get Away with Murder<\/em> was recently renewed for its fourth season.\u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n The post Jack Falahee: It\u2019s \u2018Good Fun\u2019 Being a \u2018Sex Symbol\u2019 and \u2018Rewarding\u2019 Playing a Gay Man<\/a> appeared first on Towleroad<\/a>.<\/p>\n<\/a><\/p>\n
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