Recently out Sean Hayes is among the
five actors nominated for a Tony Award in the Best Actor in a Musical
category.
In his Broadway debut, Hayes plays
Chuck Baxter in the Broadway revival of the 1968 musical Promises,
Promises.
Audiences delighted in Hayes' antics as
he played campy Jack McFarland on NBC's Will and Grace for
eight years but questioned whether the actor who played gay was gay
in real life. Last month, on the cover of gay glossy The
Advocate, Hayes announced he is.
It was the coming out that wasn't,
because Hayes claimed he was “never in.”
“I am who I am,” he said. “I was
never in, as they say. Never,” he insisted, adding that he never
faked a straight relationship.
And he told the magazine that he lives
his life rather plainly: “I spend time with a special someone in
my life. That's all I need … I don't do a lot. I live my life
like an 85-year-old man. I'm just quiet. It's fantastic.”
Besides Hayes, the actor-musical
nominees were Kelsey
Grammer (La Cage Aux Folles), Chad Kimball (Memphis),
Sahr Ngujah (Fela!), and Douglas Hodge (La Cage Aux
Folles).
The 39-year-old Hayes stars opposite
musical icon Kristen Chenowith in Promises, Promises.
The 64th annual Tony Awards
will be televised June 13 from Radio City Music Hall on CBS.
Gay Entertainment Report is a feature
of On Top Magazine and can be reached at
ontopmag@ontopmag.com.