Posted on 08/27/2006 6:38:56 PM PDT by presidio9
He is blessed with dazzling good looks and starred in one of the most successful sitcoms on television. But when you've spent almost a decade playing the most famous gay man in America, it's not easy to branch out to pastures new, as Eric McCormack is finding out. McCormack, who played Manhattan lawyer Will Truman in the hugely popular Will and Grace, would like to move in to films and as an Emmy-award winning actor, with perfect comic timing, undoubtedly has the ability to do so. But no one will hire him.
'I have this big pink cross to bear,' he said yesterday in Edinburgh where he was attending the International Television Festival. 'I absolutely loved playing Will. There was nothing hard about it. It was wonderful. But the only downside is the aftermath. 'I meet all these film executives who tell me how much they loved Will and Grace and say they never missed an episode. Then they say, "so what can we do for you?" What they could do for me is hire me to play someone else.'
His new series, Lovespring International, has taken him behind the camera for the first time, though he does make a guest appearance in the second episode.
Already shown in the States, it will be screened in the UK on Sky early next year, but Edinburgh audiences were treated to a sneak preview yesterday. The improvised comedy is about a supposedly elite dating service. It is run by a neurotic crew of seriously dysfunctional characters, who are determined to find love for their clients, even although they don't have much success in romance when it comes to their own lives.
McCormack, who is
(Excerpt) Read more at arts.guardian.co.uk ...
I guess if you didnt want folks to think you was gay you shouldnt act like a gay guy for ten years.
Gosh, I just feel so bad for him.
ping
I always like it when an article tells me how famous an actor or character is, and I have no idea what they are talking about. :-)
Pinning a gay lable on a straight actor who played a gay character is about as bright as asking Keifer Sutherland to handle terrorists because his character does it on camera.
The title made it sound like an article about GEORGE Will.
I thought, "Just because a guy wears a bow tie doesn't mean he's gay."
But he acted gay so well.
Always good to ping scripter these days, too.
Gosh, my heart just bleeds for that actor. All these years promoting "gay" as normal and natural and just plain down home, and now he's painted lavender.
(Sniff, sob...)
Awwww, poor baby!
Never saw the show, and I have absolutely no idea who this guy is, but I doubt it's because he's been typecast that he can't get the roles he wants.
He should try playing a cowboy.
Uh, Eric?
Actors on sitcoms get typecast all the time. Go cry to Urkle and Screech.
How much were you earning per episode of your freak show? I hope you invested some of that.
This is like Woody Harrelson's Lament:
"I played a complete idiot for 8 years on 'Cheers' and now no one takes me seriously!"
(granted, he's done plenty to confirm that suspicion)
"You must have missed the Lonesome Dove series where McCormack played Francis Clay Moesby..."
I did niss that, but it sounds good.
He also played "The Music Man" on Broadway a few years ago. Since Will & Grace just ended, it might take a while for him to get another good part. It really can be difficult for actors to overcome an association with a sucessful role.
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