Wilson Cruz, of Logo’s ‘Noah’s Arc,’ is making his first D.C. club appearance at Club Lime on Friday, Dec. 22. (Photo courtesy of Logo)
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Friday, December 15, 2006
Being
an
out
gay
actor
in
L.A.
isn’t
easy,
but
with
a
successful
career
in
television,
openly
gay
actor
Wilson
Cruz,
known
for
his
roles
on
“My
So-called
Life”
and
the
recent
gay
hit
“Noah’s
Arc,”
continues
to
work
and
play
in
Hollywood.
Taking
a
break
from
the
West
Coast
gay
club
scene,
Cruz
will
be
appearing
in
D.C.
at
the
Southwest
dance
spot
Club
Lime,
on
Friday,
Dec.
22,
at
11
p.m.
“I
love
D.C.,”
Cruz
says.
“I
love
the
fact
that
the
African-American
and
Latino
gay
community
are
very
active
here.
And
for
me,
who
is
a
little
bit
of
a
political
junkie,
visiting
the
Smithsonians
and
all
the
memorials
is
always
a
highlight.”
Though
this
is
Cruz’s
first
time
headlining
a
club
event,
the
Los
Angeles
resident
is
not
generally
inclined
to
spend
his
weekends
reading
in
bed.
“I
can’t
really
say
I
have
a
specific
scene,”
says
Cruz.
“I
went
to
a
very
cool
place
downtown
[in
L.A.].
It
was
mixed.
Straight,
gay,
bi,
black,
Latino,
Asian,
very
cool
music.
That’s
more
my
scene.
When
I’m
in
New
York
I’ll
go
to
the
Roxy,
I’ll
go
out
with
my
brother
in
Hell’s
Kitchen.
I
like
to
have
a
good
time,
I
like
to
get
my
groove
on
every
now
and
then.”
Lime,
formerly
known
as
Abyss,
is
a
straight
club
that
hosts
one
gay
night
each
week
called
Fresh
Fridays.
Ivan,
the
president
of
Trade
Promotions
and
organizer
of
Fresh
Fridays,
has
previously
hosted
events
at
other
D.C.
venues,
including
Club
Five,
Republic
Gardens
and
Fur.
“Our
events
are
trying
to
keep
a
balance
between
the
gay
community
and
keeping
a
flavor
of
DL/Trade,”
said
Ivan,
who
goes
exclusively
by
his
first
name
because
of
his
conservative
day
job.
“We
like
Wilson
because
he
has
not
been
overexposed.
This
is
his
debut
to
the
D.C.
club
scene.
He
will
be
meeting
and
greeting,
probably
doing
autographs,
showing
his
support
for
the
event.”
CRUZ
FIRST
GAINED
national
fame
as
the
gay
teenager
Rickie
Vasquez
on
the
much
loved
1994
ABC
sitcom
“My
So-Called
Life.”
When
the
show
was
cancelled
in
1995,
Cruz
went
on
to
roles
in
movies
and
TV
shows,
most
notably
a
stint
on
Fox’s
’90s
drama
“Party
of
Five.”
The
actor
recently
re-emerged
with
a
guest
role
on
the
popular
Logo
show
“Noah’s
Arc,”
which
is
about
a
group
of
gay
black
men
in
L.A.
Cruz
played
Junito,
an
HIV-positive
doctor
who
is
a
love
interest
to
one
of
the
show’s
leads.
Though
Cruz’s
time
on
the
show
is
over,
he
thinks
the
show
is
only
going
on
to
better
things.
“It’s
a
big
deal
to
see
a
gay
person
on
TV,”
Cruz
says
regarding
“Noah’s
Arc.”
“It’s
an
even
bigger
deal
when
you
see
a
gay
person
of
color,
and
here’s
a
whole
cast.
I’m
done
with
it,
but
I
think
they’re
continuing
to
find
their
way
and
it’ll
just
get
better.”
Cruz’s
next
big
project
is
his
movie
“Coffee
Date,”
which
has
already
been
released
in
L.A.
and
will
be
given
theatrical
showings
in
D.C.
in
the
future.
(The
movie
had
a
brief
showing
in
D.C.
at
this
year’s
Reel
Affirmations
Film
Festival.)
“Coffee
Date”
is
the
story
of
a
straight
man
named
Todd
(Jonathon
Bray)
who
strikes
up
a
friendship
with
Cruz’s
gay
character
Kelly
after
meeting
him
for
a
blind
date
under
the
assumption
that
Kelly
is
actually
a
woman.
“It’s
about
a
friendship
that’s
created
between
a
gay
man
and
a
straight
man,”
Cruz
says.
“I
loved
doing
it,
because
I
think
it’s
a
conversation
about
the
relationships
we
have
with
straight
men,
and
how
complicated
they
can
be.”
THOUGH
CRUZ
HAS
continued
to
find
worthwhile
dramatic
roles
he
recognizes
that
things
are
not
always
so
easy.
“The
harder
part
of
being
a
gay
Latino
actor
is
the
gay
part,
not
the
Latino
part,”
he
says.
“There’s
this
whole
practice
within
Hollywood
where
they
prefer
to
hire
straight
actors
to
play
gay
roles
because
they
think
it’s
harder
or
more
impressive
when
it’s
really
not.
“It
can
be
a
challenge
for
someone
like
me
to
find
work.
Knock
on
wood,
I
haven’t
gotten
any
bad
reviews
yet.
Once
I
get
the
job,
I
try
to
be
as
authentic
as
I
can.
I
tend
to
be
pretty
assertive
when
I
look
for
work,
I’m
not
laying
down
or
rolling
over
for
anybody
at
this
point.”
Cruz
has
been
out
since
the
days
of
“My
So-called
Life,”
when
the
portrayals
of
gays
and
lesbians
in
the
mainstream
media
were
much
less
prevalent
than
they
are
now.
Though
progress
can
be
slow,
Cruz
is
confident
that
things
have
gotten
better.
“The
kids
who
were
watching
‘My
So-called
Life’
are
now
adults
and
are
dictating
the
conversations
that
we’re
having,”
he
says.
“I
think
they’re
much
more
open
today
about
these
issues.
You
watch
something
like
‘Brothers
and
Sisters’
where
the
[gay]
character
is
having
sex
and
kissing
a
man
on
screen.
In
‘My
So-Called
Life’
that
wasn’t
an
option,
even
on
‘Will
and
Grace’
it
wasn’t
an
option.
I
think
the
audience
is
saying
we’re
not
as
close-minded
as
our
parents
were
—
we
know
the
real
deal.”
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