An article from Out Magazine

[source]


Where Are They Now: Darren Hayes
By Gregory Miller
The singer and former member of Savage Garden chats about his return to pop, coming out, and why he's so passionate about speaking out against bullying.
Wed Oct 27 2010

Darren Hayes took America by storm with hits like “Truly, Madly, Deeply” and “I Knew I Loved You,” in the late '90s as one-half of the duo Savage Garden. In the new millennium, Hayes has seen a successful solo career that will bring him back into the realm of pop next year. We caught up with the soft-spoken Brit and 2006 Out 100 honoree to chat about the development of his sound, his coming out, and the cause he’s most passionate about right now.

Out: Tell us about your new record.
Darren Hayes: Well, first of all, it’s way too early to even talk about it [laughs]. But it’s finished. It’s coming out next year. So I’ve spent three years working on the album. I haven’t released any of the details in terms of the title or any of that stuff. But I have a YouTube video of the making of it.

How is it going to be different from what we’ve heard from you in the past?
Well, it’s interesting. I can only tell you what other people have said about it. It’s a pop record, and I don’t know that I’ve ever made a pop record really since my first solo album, Spin. I’ve had two really wonderful experimentations, I would call them. My last two records were two of the favorite things I’ve ever done in my life. But they were absolute deviations from the path. The first was a record called The Tension and the Spark. It was pretty dark, to say the least. Critically praised, but commercially perhaps a little confusing [laughs]. Then the last record that I did was the first time I ever did a record independently. I think I had a bit of a chip on my shoulder, in a good way. I had just come out publicly and I had just gotten married to my partner, so I felt like I was in a very celebratory phase, where I just didn’t want to take no for an answer. I broke all the commercial rules. I made a double album when no one was even selling records. I went on tour with a stage production that was probably too extravagant and too expensive for the amount of records I was selling. It was a really fun period for me. But I wasn’t really thinking about that being played on the radio or any of that stuff. It’s taken me three years to make this record, and this record is me kind of rolling up my sleeves as a songwriter and really saying "I’ve been associated with some really successful pop music in the past, and maybe I’ve been a little hard on myself." This record is just me being comfortable in my own skin.

Do you wish people would forget about Savage Garden?
No. It’s so funny -- I totally understand you asking that question, because I’m so comfortable with it and so grateful for Savage Garden. I’m very honest that I wouldn’t be speaking to you if it wasn’t for the success I had as Savage Garden. It was only two albums. I literally just had dinner with Daniel Jones, the other part, when I was in L.A. earlier this year. We still look at that period and feel so lucky and can’t believe it. We really went out on the top of our game. Both records I think sold about 11 million copies each. Both had a number one [single] in the U.S. They changed our lives completely. I’ve never stopped performing the songs in my set. My reaction to the past is that I’m a huge fan of artists like Prince, U2, Madonna who have had very long careers -- who, I’m sure, want to be acknowledged for the music that they’re making today -- and they always play the hits live. There’s a reason for that, and it’s because that’s what brings people together and that’s what makes people connect. I’m very grateful for it.

So you still perform songs like “Truly, Madly, Deeply”?
Yeah, I do. I think there’s only one tour where I didn’t sing [it]. We laughed about this. It was my last show, and I didn’t sing “Truly, Madly, Deeply” for the first time ever. But in general, I do. I change them up a little bit. I always find a way to mash the songs up into a different arrangement. But I’m always very aware of the fact that I’m a fan first. I grew up as a fan of musical artists, and when I went to see their show, I wanted to hear the songs that had brought me to them. I think there’s a certain musical snobbery when an artist decides that an audience has finished with a song. I sort of feel like I don’t own those songs, they belong to the general public. I was in a taxi last week, and the song “I Knew I Loved You Before I Met You” was on the radio, and the taxi driver was singing the song, and he didn’t realize who I was. I look completely different, and I’ve never looked like that airbrushed, dark-haired version of myself on those albums since that period. I had just had a really great meeting about my new album, so I was kind of excited.

Why the three year break since your last record?
Oh gosh. To find something to say, really. I’ve never worked on a timeline, and I think most of my favorite artists have a similar approach to work as me. Every time I finish a record, I’m not sure there will be another after it. It’s like a pregnancy. You write the songs, and then the record is released into the world, and you have no idea how it will perform commercially. That really should never be an indicator of what you should do. You hope it will sell, but ultimately you hope it was worthwhile. And then there’s a period of years of promoting and touring. The truth is, I kind of get burned out. I think I definitely hit a crossroads in my life around 2007 where I didn’t like the state of the music industry, and I wasn’t quite sure where I fit in as an artist at that point. I didn’t want to become a parody of myself. I didn’t want to just put music out for the sake of it to just keep up with the game. Or the worst thing, I didn’t want to just make a desperately trendy record. I’ll be 39 when this album comes out, and I’m not trying to be Katy Perry or Lady Gaga or Justin Timberlake -- artists that I love, but, you know, they’re a decade younger than me or more, and what they’re doing is the sound of youth today. I’m about to be a 40-year-old man, so I had to really absorb that and work out who I was as a person and how I could find something to say that was worthwhile and worth your attention really. It took a long time to find my groove again.

You kept your private life private for quite awhile, but you eventually came out. Do you think since then, the rules of celebrities coming out has changed?
I do. I mean, I was never actively in the closet. But I actually never spoke about my sexuality, the truth is, mostly because I was suffering from all kinds of depression. I really struggled in coming to terms with who I was, and I’m lucky that the media gave me a bit of a wide berth in that regard. Because until I met Richard, I was failing miserably in my romantic life. I was in bad relationships and I was getting hurt. In a lot of ways, I was like a babe in the woods. I’d grown up in the kind of town that would be reminiscent of say, the Midwest and American conservative views, and I didn’t have a gay role model. It took me a long time to even realize that I was gay. I thought that I had attractions to men, but I found a way to justify that and explain it away. The truth of it is, I’m a monogamous person, I’m a romantic person, I’m a traditionalist. I wanted to have kids, I wanted to get married, I wanted to have that happily ever after that you see in Hollywood films, which of course isn’t real even for straight people. But it took me a long time to come to terms with the fact that my path was a different path, and that I was actually trying to be somebody that I wasn’t. When I met Richard, I fell in love. It was my first really true adult relationship -- I knew I was going to marry him. He became such a huge part of my life, I wanted the people who bought my records to know. So my coming out was a breeze. I wrote a blog when we had our civil partnership. I said, “I married my boyfriend,” and the reaction was incredible. I think it’s very different -- I think when you’re outed that’s a whole other area. It’s a very strange period that we exist in.

What made you decide to make a video for the “It Gets Better” campaign?
Perez Hilton asked me -- he tweeted to me. I’ve never met Perez, and I’m not someone who is really immersed in tabloid pop culture, but he tweeted me, and I looked at the link and I just couldn’t say no. I saw one or two videos and it really affected me. I’ve always been very honest with my fan base. I’m very confessional on stage or in interviews or my blog. I’ve been very honest about my upbringing. I came from a very alcoholic family -- I had a very violent father. I suffered from depression, and I’ve always spoken about these things and how it relates to self-esteem. It was a no-brainer to make the video. I had to tape it three or four times because I kept crying at the end of it. Because when I got to the part where I was saying “If there’s anyone out there who is struggling…” it brought back all those memories. I realized that a huge part of why I became an entertainer was because I believed so badly that I needed to create a persona. The persona was this indestructible superhero called a pop star. I had a survival mechanism that kicked in. I wasn’t a wallflower. The thing about me that made me stand out -- I managed to turn that into my strength, but, one can say, with a lot of scars. I managed to have an entire career and be a famous person and be on the radio as a protective mechanism for being picked on. But at the same time, it took me years to even forgive myself for being gay. The whole project really hit home and it made realize that I didn’t have any point of reference growing up -- not one. There were two gay people I knew: There was Boy George and Rock Hudson, who was dying from AIDS. So the message that I got from the media was that gay people don’t exist, on that they’re comic characters, or they are dying. It was horrible, so for me it was a no-brainer to get involved.

In the media we don’t see many successful, long-term gay couples. Do you feel like that puts any pressure on your relationship?
No. Oh God, I don’t take that into account at all. To be honest, I don’t think of that stuff because I don’t think of myself as a celebrity. I adore Richard. I have an amazing marriage. I’m not perfect. But I’m with somebody who is my equal. I’m with somebody who I’m glad I waited for. When I met Richard, I felt almost this duty to tell any of my jaded friends that there is your equal opposite out there somewhere. Just wait for them. I didn’t think I’d meet him, and when I found him, it felt like I’d come home. And it feels like that every day. I’m happy to be an example of a happily ever after.

And they are his tweets.
darrenhayes Recent interview with U.S 'Out' magazine about new record and other matters http://bit.ly/dtIsHI


darrenhayes @outmagazine Thanks for the great interview. Psst I'm Australian, not British though ;). I married a Brit. But thank you! x

[source]

Gossip

Emmerdale Actor Apologises For Gay Insult

Emmerdale actor Adam Thomas has issued an apology after allegedly insulting a gay fan at a Mc Donalds in Leeds.

Thomas, who plays Adam Barton on the ITV soap, allegedly called Rickey Platts “gay boy” and according to Platts, began "hopping up and down like a madman" and called him and a friend, who was dressed in drag, "queers".

Thomas’ most recent storyline on the soap saw him supporting best friend Aaron Livesy (played by Danny Miller) through a turbulent coming-out process.

In a statement, he said: "I deeply apologise for my actions and I am horrified to realise that I have caused offence."

Scotty confesses (B&S 505)

He is not the saint Scotty anymore. That's good for him.
And more clips from the next episode.
They are fabulous actors. I can't wait the next Sunday.

An article from The NewYork Times

Career Zigzag, Changing Coasts And Galaxies

Zachary Quinto as Spock in the 2009 “Star Trek” movie.
By DAVID ROONEY
Published: October 21, 2010

IN a contemporary nightmare on YouTube titled “Zachary Quinto Cannot Escape the Swarm of Fans,” a mob of unrelenting Klingons outside a Hollywood event crowd in on the unnerved Mr. Quinto, shoving cameras and photographs in his face, demanding autographs as he struggles to navigate the two blocks to his car.

Such scenes are an inevitable hazard of the popularity he acquired over three seasons as the power-crazed watchmaker turned serial killer, Sylar, on NBC’s “Heroes” and as the intensely introspective Spock in the J. J. Abrams “Star Trek” reboot.

Yet all that seems a galaxy away as he eats breakfast at an unfancy diner on a quiet Midtown block of 11th Avenue, his only camouflage a baseball cap. When he pays the check, and a waiter shyly admits he’s a fan, Mr. Quinto graciously accepts the compliment before heading around the corner to a full day of rehearsals and a preview performance of “Angels in America.”

New York theater has possibly never been a greater magnet for stars of film and television than in recent seasons, but for a young actor whose career is in the crucial ascent phase, joining the ensemble of an Off Broadway revival seems an unconventional move. However, Mr. Quinto, 33, views “Angels,” the Tony Kushner diptych, as a strategic step in his methodical plan.

“This is hopefully a declaration of my intention to have theater be a much more significant part of my career from this point forward,” he said. “I look at the work that I’ve done so far as an investment to that end.”

Mr. Quinto plays Louis Ironson in the Signature Theater Company’s production of “Angels,” which opens Thursday at the Peter Norton Space. The role is in many ways the most challenging in the two plays, “Millennium Approaches” and “Perestroika.”

Louis abandons his lover, who has AIDS, at his time of greatest need and tends to avoid emotional exposure by hiding behind angry political screeds. Yet Mr. Quinto pierces the sympathetic core of a character tormented by his own failings and by the existential agonies of living in Ronald Reagan’s America.

“As I wrestle with how Louis behaves, and I get to know and understand the character more, I see in so many ways how he really is one of the most human representations in this ensemble,” he said.

One key scene in “Millennium Approaches,” in which Louis disgorges a sprawling coffee-shop rant about democracy, liberalism, tolerance, race, power and human rights is probably the hardest stretch of the two plays for an actor. Mr. Quinto not only makes the speech a spontaneous tirade, he also subtly communicates the Beckettian way in which Louis keeps talking in order to avoid facing his fears.

“He’s a very smart and thoughtful reader of text,” Mr. Kushner said. “He’s been ferociously committed to the thing since the first audition. Zach is a very tough Louis — impassioned and sharply aggressive, with a very intense sensuality.”

Michael Greif, who directed the production, agreed that Mr. Quinto is a natural stage animal. “He starts with the most extraordinary instrument for a stage actor, that incredibly expressive voice,” he said. “But he also has this physical dexterity. He expresses everything fully through his body.”

The integrity Mr. Quinto brings to his roles makes him equally convincing as a frightened lover poisoned by self-loathing, a chilling psychopath or an orphaned alien.

“My point of entry for a lot of characters tends to be their shadow,” he said. “I’m a big believer in the notion that our greatest potential lies in our darkest parts. To a certain extent it’s only in facing those parts of ourselves that we can truly grow, and I think that’s true of all of the characters I’ve played, certainly in the past few years.”

While “Angels” is Mr. Quinto’s first New York stage experience, he regards it as a homecoming. Theater has been part of his life since his childhood in Pittsburgh, providing a refuge when, at the age of 7, he lost his father to cancer. “That was obviously a profound disruption in my upbringing, and theater became a place for me to go where my mother knew I was safe and taken care of,” he said.

An elementary school teacher encouraged him to audition for a performing group affiliated with the Civic Light Opera, and he made his professional debut in 1988 as a Munchkin in “The Wizard of Oz.” (“At that time I hadn’t quite hit my growth spurt,” he said.) His subsequent studies at the School of Drama at Carnegie Mellon University pointed toward the New York stage, but Mr. Quinto opted instead to detour via Los Angeles.

“When I got out of the program at Carnegie, it was such a different climate in the real world,” he said. “I saw how many productions were cast with actors who were on hiatus from TV shows or in between movies, and so I identified the value of making my initial investment in Los Angeles rather than New York.”

During the 11 years since then Mr. Quinto steadily built up his television credits. He graduated from guest roles to playing a counterterrorism computer analyst on “24” and then dispensed quips from beneath boy-band hair as Tori Spelling’s gay buddy on her self-satirizing series “so noTORIous.” His breakout role came in “Heroes” as the coldest of killers, who accumulates superpowers by literally stealing them from the skulls of his victims.

But it was his work as Spock that cemented Mr. Quinto’s reputation as an actor of acute intelligence and charisma. He brought out the Shakespearean dimensions of the “Star Trek” universe, lending weight to the brains-brawn dynamic with Chris Pine’s Kirk and soulful vulnerability to Spock’s blossoming romance with Uhura, played by Zoë Saldana.

“An enormous amount of discussion went into the emotional life of a character who is so often perceived as unemotional,” Mr. Abrams said in a phone interview. “Zachary was the first person we cast, and he appreciated the opportunity to take something so galvanized in public consciousness and say without fear, ‘Let’s do it again our way.’ ”

Mr. Quinto is booked to shoot the “Star Trek” sequel next summer. But he intends to establish a second home in New York while pursuing a diversified career in which film, television and theater will all be part of the equation, along with producing.

Shooting wrapped in July on “Margin Call,” the first feature from his production company, Before the Door Pictures. Mr. Quinto appears in the drama, about the 2008 collapse of the financial institutions, alongside Kevin Spacey, Jeremy Irons, Stanley Tucci and Demi Moore.

While Mr. Quinto accepts the occasional fan ambush as part of the movie and television stardom package, he chooses to keep his distance from what he regards as mindless celebrity-gossip culture. “I’m grateful that celebrity or notoriety wasn’t thrust upon me when I was in my 20s, because I think I would have buckled under the weight of it, as so many people do,” he said. “But I’ve come to realize through experience that ultimately I really do have a lot of power in terms of the way I relate to the public or to people outside of my intimate circle of friends and family. Boundaries are very important to me.”

Despite Mr. Quinto’s efforts to keep his private life private, the blogosphere is rife with speculation about his sexuality, no doubt fueled by his support for gay rights and organizations like the Trevor Project. He prefers not to feed that rumor mill with either substantiation or dismissal. He speaks passionately about gay marriage, about “don’t ask, don’t tell” and about the recent wave of gay bullying and suicides.

“The fact that these things are such hot-button issues right now, socially and politically, I would much rather talk about that than talk about who I sleep with,” Mr. Quinto said. “I would love to be a voice in this maelstrom of chaos and obsessive celebrity infatuation that says, ‘Let’s talk about something that matters,’ ” he added.

That sense of social accountability is a quality Mr. Quinto shares with Louis, who rails against the hatred lurking beneath the surface of so-called tolerance. “To return to the theater is one thing,” he said. “But to return to the theater doing a play of this import and resonance — it’s beyond thrilling.”

[source]

An article from SX News

Glam Rock & Roll: Adam Lambert
Written by Garrett Bithell
18 October 2010

From Idol runner-up to global music sensation, it's been a meteoric rise for Adam Lambert. And, thanks to the media, there's been plenty of controversy and hoopla along the way. Garrett Bithell caught up with the pop star on the eve of his Australian tour.

Adam Lambert clearly struck a chord when he was last in the country for this year's Mardi Gras festival. When news dropped that his Glam Nation tour would hit the east coast, the majority of tickets were snapped up pre-sale. Then last month it was announced that due to overwhelming demand, both the Sydney and Melbourne shows are moving to bigger venues, and the tour will now include a stop in New Zealand.

But this is not unusual for Lambert, whose trajectory to pop stardom began less than two short years ago when he was the runner up on the eighth season of American Idol. Proving that the winner does not necessarily take it all, he has been steamrolling glitter and leather into the music industry like a neo-glam Valkyrie ever since. His vocal virtuosity - he has the falsetto extension of Freddie Mercury - and ballsy theatricality reminiscent of Lady Gaga or Scissor Sisters sent the American populace into a spin.

The lofty calibre of music-industry luminaries that leapt at the chance to collaborate with Lambert on his debut album For Your Entertainment, which was released here in March, is perhaps the best indication of this. Pink gave him her song 'Whataya Want From Me'; Lady Gaga co-wrote 'Fever'; Matthew Bellamy from Muse penned 'Stoke'; and Justin Hawkins from the Darkness is behind 'Music Again'.

Shortly after American Idol finished, Lambert came out on the cover of Rolling Stone. It wasn't exactly a shock, but he then landed in a hotbed of controversy after a live performance on the American Music Awards, during which he passionately kissed his male keyboardist and simulated oral sex with one of his male dancers, who he led around the stage on a leash. Complaints poured in, and his appearance on the ABC network the next day was cancelled. Indeed, even now, Lambert is still trying to strike a balance between his artistic integrity and commercial sensibility.

"There's definitely a line," he tells SX. "Ultimately I want to be accepted and I want to entertain people - and there is a point where you can push them too far over the edge and you end up alienating your audience, which is something I don't want. I definitely won't back down from my major principles - I have my integrity there - but there is a point to which you can push those principles.

"I don't have an ulterior motive or agenda besides the fact I want to entertain people, but it just so happens that I'm a pretty sexual person. And to me, that's half of what pop-rock music is - it's about romance, heartbreak and sex. So I want to keep it real when I'm up on stage, and if I want to express my sexuality, it's going to be homosexuality!"

Lambert admits to having a fairly turbulent relationship with the media. "I have a love-hate relationship with them," he says. "It's a double-edged sword. I've had a lot of great, positive interactions with the media, and then I've had certain interviews where they've taken something out of context and exploited and sensationalised it, and turned it into a headline. And they sometimes just give complete misinformation.

"I actually saw something the other day that I found quite funny - there was a headline that just said: 'Adam Lambert already tired on tour'. What is that?! So I clicked on it, and someone had asked me if I ever get tired, and all I said was 'yeah I get tired sometimes'. And now that's the headline! Oh Jesus."

Indeed it's funny following how America's frigid media organisations report on Lambert. They often just don't get it. Ever since that cheeky pash with his keyboardist at the American Music Awards, reporters have been following his tour closely, frantically trying to piece together a fantasy romance narrative. Headlines such as 'Adam Lambert's guitarist kisses his sweaty shoulder' are almost de rigueur.

"That whole thing with him is just really funny," Lambert laughs. "We're just good friends, and we get a kick out of getting a rise out of the females in the audience. He's straight, and he's gotten so much action from all this!"

And the media is so easy to bait, Lambert insists. "I get a little cheeky from time to time," he says. "I don't think I've ever straight out lied about anything - I'm a pretty honest person – but I definitely like to push buttons back. It's only fair, right?"

Meanwhile, Lambert is gearing up for some Aussie action. "I had so much fun last time," he says. "What I love about Australia is that it's so liberal, so open - people really tend to just live and let live. I'm an idealist by nature and I would hope that some day certain areas of my country could get to that level of progression.

"I actually even made a couple of friends while I was there, so hopefully we can hang out a bit."

[source]

George Michael released from jail

11 October 2010 Last updated at 13:55 GMT

Free George Michael 'wants to start again'

George Michael emerged from his home earlier to speak with reporters

Pop star George Michael has said he "just wants to start again" following his release from prison in Suffolk after serving a sentence for drug driving.

The 47-year-old said it was "fantastic" to be free on "a beautiful day".

"I just want to say thank you for everybody who has supported me in there," the singer told reporters outside his north London home.

Michael served half of an eight-week sentence in jail for crashing his car while under the influence of cannabis.

He was arrested in July after being found slumped at the wheel of his Land Rover in Hampstead, north London.

The singer served the initial days of his sentence in Pentonville Prison before being transferred to Highpoint Prison in Suffolk.

While serving his time in jail, Michael - real name Georgios Panayiotou - issued a statement to say he had received "no special treatment of any kind".

The star, who had a previous conviction for a similar offence, was told there was no option apart from a custodial sentence when he appeared at Highbury Magistrates Court last month.

Following his release on Monday, Michael left his home to tell reporters he was "going to try to stop running away from you guys".

"I'm coming out here on my own so that you'll realise I just want to start again," he said, adding they would "see him about".

"By the way, I've just thought of a really good idea for a song," he added. "It's going to be nothing to do with prison."

Michael first shot to fame as half of pop duo Wham! before embarking on a successful career as a solo artist.

Start Quote

I'm coming out here on my own so that you'll realise I just want to start again

George Michael

End Quote

[source]

George Michael released from jail after 4 weeks

– Mon Oct 11, 11:25 am ET

LONDON – George Michael has regained his freedom.
The wayward singer was released from jail Monday after serving almost four weeks for driving under the influence of drugs.
Michael thanked those who had supported him while he was jailed and said outside his north London home: "I just want to start again."
The former Wham! singer received an eight-week sentence on Sept. 14 for crashing his car into a London photo shop in July while high on prescription drugs and marijuana.
The judge ordered Michael to serve four weeks of the sentence in prison and the rest on parole.
The musician, whose hits include "Faith" and "Freedom," also received a 1,250 pound (about $2,000) fine and lost his driver's license for five years. [source]


AP – British singer George Michael outside his house in Highgate, London, after being released from prison, …

It Gets Better

Digital Spy Interview

Marc Silcock (Jackson Walsh, 'Emmerdale')
Wednesday, October 6 2010, 20:02 BST By Ryan Love, Entertainment Reporter

So there we have it. Alone in his van, reaching for his mobile - a night out for Jackson Walsh ended in disaster. After a special screening of the dramatic episode, I sat down for a quick chat with Emmerdale's Marc Silcock to find out his reaction to the plot and what fans can expect in the months ahead. Despite Marc having recently extended his contract with the soap, things are not getting any easier for Jackson and Aaron...

How did you feel when you heard about the crash?
"[I was] ecstatic, really. It wasn't to me a storyline in itself, more of a switch that starts a new storyline, a new chapter in their relationship and kick-starts Jackson's own storyline in a way. It was a big thumbs-up from everybody upstairs - all the bosses and the producer Gavin Blyth saying, 'We've enjoyed you for the past six months and let's see what you can do'. It's brilliant!"

It's been mentioned that the storyline will continue well into next year, will you be sticking around?
"At the moment, I know I'm there until early next year. I'm there for the first couple of months of 2011 which will be great as it will see me through a year. What happens after that is completely up to the bosses but all I know is that."

Is it true that we are going to be meeting Jackson's father soon?
"Yes! Michael J. Jackson comes in and plays my father Jerry. This is a big key to understanding why Jackson is like he is, why he is so understanding of Aaron and why the relationship is as it is. We understand that a lot seeing his father and seeing the interaction between Pauline Quirke (Hazel) and Michael. We will understand a lot of Jackson's background."

So is it a strained relationship Jackson has with Jerry?
"Very strained! Jerry was not very open to Jackson's sexuality so it is very strained and we'll see the outcome of that in future episodes. What the two characters went through together, and I think the crash and what Jackson has to go through, is a huge strain on Jerry - but that just makes him hold on tighter to Jackson, rather than let him go."

Will Jackson blame Aaron for what has happened?
"I think for a long time Jackson is just glad to be awake. I think there's an empty blame there, a hope that if he was to blame somebody else it would take a little bit of the pain away from him and the situation. However, I think he quickly comes to terms with the fact that what's happened has happened and that he has to focus on where he wants to be and what he wants to do. Blaming everybody and anybody doesn't take any of the blame away. Jackson answered the phone, Jackson was driving the van - nobody else. There's a lot to come to terms with and a lot of strain and strife to get through the fact that there is nobody else to blame. It's on him. This is his life and this is what he has to go through."

How would Aaron cope if Jackson was to die?
"I don't know, really. Aaron is his own character and would have reacted in a number of different ways. I think, with his relationship with Jackson, it would either have gone one way or another. It would have been a case of, my personal opinion on the character of Aaron, I think he would have allowed him to blame himself and his sexuality. With the self-loathing storyline, the way it's gone, I think it would have given Aaron a chance to self-implode again. To be honest, I don't know the way Aaron would have reacted but I think there would be a huge difference in Aaron if Jackson were to die in the crash."

What has the fan reaction been like for yourself and the character of Jackson?
"It's been fantastic! When I first came into Emmerdale I was part of the storyline and now I've become entwined with the storyline. It's brilliant. People don't see it anymore as a gay relationship, just as a relationship - which is brilliant and what we wanted to get to. The whole storyline is about being comfortable with yourself and when fans become comfortable with the relationship and not seeing it as two men together, it makes you realise that it's worked."

Have you had any negative feedback about the plot?
"99.9% of the fans [that] come up to you, from teenagers to 70-year-olds, don't mention the fact that it's a gay relationship. They just go, 'You and Aaron', or, 'Aaron and Jackson', or, 'You two are great together', and it makes you realise that what you are doing is now not a gay relationship - it's about the emotions after and trying to portray what a real relationship is like. Obviously you get the 0.1% people that aren't appreciative, but everyone is entitled to their opinions. Everybody is entitled to express what they want to express in their own way. Although, that is drowned out vastly by the positive reaction and feedback that we get. The response from the audience and the response from the producers; well, we wouldn't be getting these storylines and we wouldn't be getting the response from everybody [otherwise]. Danny [Miller] wouldn't be winning awards if these people didn't like it."

Absolutely - and he now has two Inside Soap Awards to his name...
"His performances have been unbelievable! Those awards are the realisation that it is time for Danny to get some recognition for what he has been doing. It took a while, and it was unbelievable that it took that long, but it's been fantastic to finally see him win the awards that he should have won a long time ago. Now, being in the storyline, it's not as easy as everyone thinks it looks. Danny's obviously worked extremely hard for it and it only helps everybody else get their game up a little bit. When you look at it and you're facing that and the cameras are watching you, and Danny's doing what he is doing - what he is being awarded for - it just makes you want to fight a little bit harder and box at your weight. It just lifts the whole cast and the storyline. That's why the storyline is so popular, because people believe in the characters and the performances."

How does Hazel deal with events?
"Hazel's character is bright and chirpy and always looking on the bright side of life. For the very first time, we see that crust crack a little bit. This isn't something that can be laughed off. This isn't something that a cup of hot chocolate is going to make better. She's going to really struggle now, not only with the arrival of her estranged husband and how that affects Jackson and their relationship, but she's now got to worry about Jackson. Not about Jackson and Aaron and how they are doing or how she's doing - she's got to focus on Jackson now and it's a heavy weight for Pauline to go through. You have to believe that you are losing a son or that your son is going through this and I know Pauline has a son and she's been fantastic. Some of the stuff that I've been in the room for that she has been doing has been unbelievable. All the stuff after Jackson wakes up with himself and Aaron, himself and Jerry and Pauline - it's just been unbelievable to be a part of. It's been brilliant."

How do you feel when you're called a role model?
"It's a bit strange! I personally don't see myself as a role model but I do see the relationship as one. And I see the way that Aaron has come to terms with his relationship to everybody else as a role model for how it should be. Obviously that is not real life - people react in different ways and people have different families and different opinions but I don't consider myself as much of a role model as I do the relationship that's now been formed."

As a couple, Aaron and Jackson have a strong fanbase which has many hopes for their future. Where do you see the relationship going?
"I think when the storyline [was] set out there was always going to be an end for it. There was never going to be a fairytale ending because the two characters are polar opposites. Although there is an attraction, it's very difficult for two people like that to come together and mesh. I'm ecstatic that the fans are worried about the characters. Again it shows a great relationship between the characters on screen and the fans off it. I think it's very difficult in the situation that the characters are finding themselves in to pluck at that silver lining. It would be very difficult for any relationship to survive the struggles that everybody is going to go through over the coming months."

[source]

It gets better - a message for gay youth