[on how to play a gay leading character] It's whatever serves the situation best. As for me, it's all about finding truth. Up until just recently [2010], I've never really played gay characters on television or Broadway or anything. If it's funny to me and it's real, I don't care if you're straight or gay or an alien or a dog. I want to make it real. Since I'm a gay man, I know what is honest and feels right.

To be frank, I think I've missed out on big parts because I'm open. I've screen-tested on some really big projects, and you can't tell me that behind closed doors big execs aren't like, 'We have Dean Cain or this gay guy who played Elvis on Broadway.' I'm not that naive to think that that doesn't play into it.

On the set of United 93 (2006) we spent so many hours bleeding, screaming, crying, praying, and trying to imagine every possibility of what these people were going through. It was an environment of deep dark places. But, at the end of the day the we could wash off our makeup and come out of those places.

[on his role as amfAR ambassador]: There has to be action... It's not enough to just want change or wish change. I feel that if you have the means, if you are physically able to make a difference in someone else's life you have a moral responsibility to do so.

[on which actress he most admires]: Jane Fonda is fiercely honest and open, and that's obvious from every performance she gives whether on film or the stage. She is a person who lives by her convictions and was willing to pay the price to pave the way for a whole generation of activists who came after her.