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Ryan Phillippe on His Trip to a Gay Bar and Being TV's First Gay Teenager

The Advocate’s Brandon Voss sat and talked with Ryan Phillippe about his sexually objectified physique, the impact of playing TV's first gay teen, Jay Leno's “gayest look” gaffe, and the homophobic humor in his new movie, MacGruber.

Complete interview at Advocate.com. But before you go, a few choice quotes:

Those films in the ’90s certainly earned you a big gay following.

And thank God for that. I’m very aware and appreciative. Because I started my career playing a gay teenager on One Life to Live when I was very young, I’ve always had a heightened sensitivity to that response, and I’m definitely considerate of that audience.

One Life to Live recently aired daytime television’s first gay sex scene. How much same-sex affection could you show when you played gay teen Billy Douglas?

Me and the guy who played my boyfriend might’ve held hands once or twice, but that was it. The age of those characters had something to do it, but things also weren’t as liberal in 1992. Still, I felt lucky to play the first gay teenager on television—not just daytime but television, period. What was so amazing about that for me was the response I got through fan letters that my mother and I would read together. Kids who’d never seen themselves represented on TV or in movies would write to say what a huge support they found it to be. One kid said he’d considered suicide before seeing a character like him being accepted. I also heard from a father, a mechanic, who hadn’t spoken to his son since he came out. When our show came on in his shop, it gave him some insight and understanding as to who his son was, so it opened up communication between them. As much as you can write off how silly the entertainment industry can be, it can affect change and make people see things differently. That’s beautiful.

While promoting Stop-Loss in 2008, you discussed your One Life to Live role on The Ellen DeGeneres Show and The Tonight Show with Jay Leno. Those were two very different interviews, huh? KEEP READING >

Ryan Phillippe: Shirtless Men's Health Guy

A shirtless and ultra-hot Ryan Phillippe is featured on the May cover of Men's Health hitting newsstands on Tuesday. Inside, Ryan talks about his breakout role as a gay teenager on One Life to Live, his divorce from Reese Witherspoon, working with Kristin Wig and Will Forte on “McGruber,” and his mentor Clint Eastwood. Ryan is also hosting Saturday Night Live this coming weekend - can't wait!

Click any of the pics for a better view - then CLICK HERE for a better view of the cover (and that body!), and a few more choice quotes from the interview.

On his breakout role at age 17 as a gay teen on One Life to Live:
“I would worry, ‘What will the people at school think?’ And they shunned me in a lot of ways,” Phillippe recalls. “But it ended up being an incredible experience and such a time of growth for me.”

On getting older:
“I thought the most experience you had, the more certain you would be about life,” the 35-year-old star says. “But I’m finding the opposite, man. I’m more in wonder and confusion than I was in my 20s.”