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People who were gay were pitied and ridiculed by my parents - they had no modern sense of people being allowed to be who they were.

I had played many gay characters before, but they were finite - guest characters in TV shows or characters in plays.

Yeah, I had gay friends. The first thing I realized was that everybody's different, and it becomes obvious that all of the gay stereotypes are ridiculous.

I graduated from high school in '62 and I didn't know any people who were gay. I'm sure there were people, but I didn't know any. For years and years, I guess, I was very uptight about being a gay actor. I thought it would make me less hirable.

When I started, there was more of a cultural assumption that many readers would find gay characters irrelevant or repugnant.

I think the least stereotypical gay character on television is probably Matt LeBlanc on 'Episodes.' He just plays it so straight-faced. They never talk about the fact that he's such a huge gay person.

I've played a couple of gay characters onstage, and it's always been something I'm comfortable with. I grew up in a family and a culture that doesn't have stigmas about sexuality.

When I was a kid, there were hardly any gay story lines or characters on television that I recall. Then when I was in college, 'Will & Grace' started up.

I kind of cheer the presence of any gay characters at all - I think the more we can saturate television with any gay character or lesbian character or transgender character, I think that's a really great thing. We're kind of getting past the fact that they're the punchline or that they're the novelty.

When I was in high school I got involved in the fringe theater scene in Chicago, and I met some openly gay people. I could see that it got better, that they were happy and loved and supported. I saw with my own eyes that it got better.