‘Firebird’ Review: Steamy Gay Drama Rells Rsia’s Homophobic Past – IndieWire

Contents:

• 'FIREFLY,' 'PLAYBOY CLUB' ACTOR SEAN MAHER REVEALS HE'S GAY
• 'PASSAG' DIRECTOR NOUNC 'DANGERO' NC-17 RATG ON A FILM PICTG A GAY LOVE STORY
• THE FILM PUT DON’T WANT THE WORLD TO SEE: FIREBIRD, A GAY LOVE STORY ABOUT FIGHTER PILOTS
• ‘FIREBIRD’ REVIEW: STEAMY GAY COLD WAR DRAMA RELLS RSIA’S PAST ATROCI
• GAY WATER, A NEW NNED CKTAIL, WANTS TO BE THE ANTI-BUD LIGHT

'FIREFLY,' 'PLAYBOY CLUB' ACTOR SEAN MAHER REVEALS HE'S GAY

Firefly alum and Playboy Club actor Sean Maher has worked steadily Hollywood for 14 years, and durg that time, he ma the choice to be closeted about his personal life as a gay man — until now.

"At that moment, I didn't thk to say, 'Oh, I'm gay, ' bee right before I left New York [where he went to llege at NYU], I had my manager tell me: 'You need to get a girl on your arm or people will start talkg. ' I remember tellg him: 'I'm gay.

'PASSAG' DIRECTOR NOUNC 'DANGERO' NC-17 RATG ON A FILM PICTG A GAY LOVE STORY

"I'm thkg, What is the potential that if they ught wd that they had st a gay lead actor that they would fire me?

THE FILM PUT DON’T WANT THE WORLD TO SEE: FIREBIRD, A GAY LOVE STORY ABOUT FIGHTER PILOTS

So that sort of started the ia of, okay, well, I'm workg a lot, I gus I'll jt keep that gay part of my life on the back burner for now.

Two mentors of his are Craig Zadan and Neil Meron — a pair of powerful and openly gay producers behd movi like Hairspray and Chigo, as well as TV shows like Lifetime's Drop Dead Diva — wh whom he has worked wh on two TV movi, ABC's Brian's Song (2001) and A&E's Weddg Wars (2006). " In Weddg Wars, Maher actually did play a gay character — a sry posn for a gay actor attemptg to appear straight.

‘FIREBIRD’ REVIEW: STEAMY GAY COLD WAR DRAMA RELLS RSIA’S PAST ATROCI

" Although there have been famo s of homophobia Hollywood (ex. Knight a gay slur on the set of ABC's Grey's Anatomy and was subsequently fired), Maher says he never enuntered much hostily — mostly bee he was never out and was very apt at actg straight. "Although I wnsed a lot of , whether be makg fun of gays or gay jok.

That was part of the reason that I didn't e out earlier — bee there was an energy on set, and I felt like my beg gay would have offset that, pecially wh the crew. "What would she thk if I said, 'Oh honey, you n't e wh me to work bee they don't know I have an adopted dghter and they don't know that I'm gay.

GAY WATER, A NEW NNED CKTAIL, WANTS TO BE THE ANTI-BUD LIGHT

19, his character is volved wh lnchg the Chigo chapter of the Mattache Society, an unrground gay-rights group om the '50s and '60s. When are we havg grandkids up, but there is actually two thgs we're hidg: There's the gay thg for both of , but then also the Playboy Club thg. “Beg gay was a crimal offence.

” Rebane knew he was gay at the age of ne. ”Remarkably for a film wh such overtly gay ntent, several exterr scen were filmed Mosw. “After that, ” adds Prr, “there was a plat about beg ‘homosexual propaganda’.

Of urse, be apparent Luisa will play the role many women have played such queer stori – the one where she will be llateral damage of fallg love and marryg a closeted gay guy. What I mean is that Firebird, the more openly gay character, Sergey, is able to live a paratively more fulfillg life as a theatre actor than Roman, who cid to rema the closet to ntue servg the ary. Life would have been very different for Roman and Sergey if they weren’t born or didn’t fall love wh each other durg very homophobic tim.