The Night Shift - Brendan Fehr plays on-screen boyfriend to Luke Macfarlane

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Brendan Fehr on Gay "Night Shift" Role: "I Was a Little Uncomfortable"

"Roswell" alum Brendan Fehr has a new gig as a gay doctor on "The Night Shift" -- a role he admits he was "really uncomfortable" taking on at first.

While fans of the NBC drama will have to wait until next week to finally meet his character's on-screen boyfriend, played by Luke MacFarlane, Fehr recently talked with toofab's Brian Particelli about filming his first man-on-man kiss and revealed what attracted him to the role of Drew.

"It was the challenge of portraying Drew," he says. "I think it was the risks involved as well. To play a homosexual on network television, what are the risks? There's a whole bunch of them. What are the rewards? Not as many. I just felt like I had something to offer."

"I've never defined myself as being straight, what defines me is who I am, what I believe, the choices I make and how I treat people," Brendan adds.. "There are a lot of times where gay and lesbians in TV and movies are defined by their sexuality. [Drew] is a guy who wants to be a doctor, not a 'gay doctor.'"

Fehr, who was raised as a strict Mennonite, is hardly the first straight actor to play gay -- but might be one of the more candid stars when it comes to discussing his initial discomfort with the role.

"It was uncomfortable for me," he says "In Episode 106, my boyfriend comes and I don't like kissing guys, it doesn't do anything for me. It's really uncomfortable, but you gotta get past that, his story is bigger than that. The emotion behind that is so much bigger that that. I was scared, petrified in a lot of ways, but I wanted to push myself and see if I could do it."

Brendan says he now feels "honored" to have had the opportunity to play Drew, and hopes he does the character justice. Watch the rest of his interview above.

"The Night Shift" airs Tuesday nights on NBC.

And check out the video below to see what his costars Jill Flint and Freddy Rodriguez had to say about the gross-out props on set and picking up medical terminology!

Published 06.25.14