I was lucky enough to interview Dan last spring for an article I had to write for +UNC School of Journalism and Mass Communication Diversity in the Media class.
The assignment was to write a feature article on a prominent +#LGBT figure in the media. I was addicted to Scandal and had read "Does This Baby Make Me Look Straight?," so Dan seemed like the obvious choice. It couldn't be that hard to get an interview with him, right?
I wasn't thinking clearly, because, he was "kind of" out of my league.
But, who knew all it would take was one tweet?
After some email correspondence and an interview, I turned in my class assignment about a prominent Hollywood producer and actor, and as of last Thursday, a three time Emmy nominee!
Congrats
to Dan on his Emmy nomination and a big thanks for a Hollywood actor and producer of his scale
for helping out an amateur journalism student on a class assignment.
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Does This Role Make Me Look...Gay?
Just
like any middle-aged man, Dan Bucatinsky’s life is a constant juggle to balance
marriage, children, work, and an attempted assassination of the President. The
later only occurs on television, but as far as the rest, Bucatinsky’s art has
recently been imitating his life.
Every
Thursday night, America tunes in to see +Shonda Rhimes (executive producer, +Grey's Anatomy) universe of
fascinatingly complex characters push their ethical boundaries in the nation’s
capital on +ABC Television Network soapy drama, Scandal.
Bucatinsky plays James Novak, a White House reporter married to the White House
Chief of Staff with dreams to adopt a child.
The show
has received critical support for its portrayal of diverse characters with
equal weight given to each storyline. Bucatinsky’s character and on-screen
husband portray the struggles of a gay couple seeking to adopt a child in the
US.
“I think
this role on Scandal is a great
opportunity to introduce many who don't know gay people to a couple ‘just like
them’ - if you can forgive, you know, the attempted murder and election rigging
and lying and cheating,” said Bucatinsky.
Bucatinsky,
who is married with two children in real life, has experienced many of these
same tribulations, and recently published stories of his own humorous
challenges in last summer’s Does This
Baby Make Me Look Straight?
Bucatinsky’s
candidness with his personal life did not begin when he started acting; he stepped
out to pursue his Hollywood dreams, while stepping into the closet with his
sexuality.
“I was
convinced I had to keep my ‘personal life’ private in order to be a truly
respected actor,” said Bucatinsky. “I feared I would not be hired and that the
roles would be limited and limiting.”
Now, 20
years later, Bucatinsky has no need to fear unemployment. Besides his work on Scandal, Bucatinsky is a consulting
producer on Grey’s Anatomy as well as
Lisa Kudrow's producing partner on Web
Therapy, a +Showtime comedy recently picked up for a third season.
Bucatinsky
works in a powerful circle of Hollywood’s most successful writers and producers
who all have considerable spheres of influence.
When
asked what role
scripted television plays in shaping public opinion of the LGBT community,
Bucatinsky pointed to entertainment.
“Television
can play a powerful role in portraying characters that are true-to-life, complex,
honest, open, political, etc. I think it happens best when it comes in the
form of entertainment - and happens inadvertently rather than in a forced
agenda.”
Bucatinsky
feels fortunate to play a character with so many similarities to his own
experiences and hopes his role will inspire others.
“I would
hope that the role acts as inspiration to many. That's all any of us can hope
for in life, I believe, to inspire others in some way. And hope that they,
in turn, will inspire others.”
Bucatinsky
continues to use these platforms to advocate for important issues in the LGBTQ
community including marriage equality, adoption, and programs encouraging LGBTQ
youth (+The Trevor Project).
