Hunter Doohan has opened up about his admiration for Wicked star Jonathan Bailey.
In a recent interview on The Zach Sang Show, where he was promoting the second season of Netflix’s Wednesday, the 31-year-old talent reflected on his acting journey.
“I mean I got into it when I was in like high school, like doing theatre, and when I moved out to [Los Angeles], I mean I didn’t work for a long time, I did like so many day jobs,” he revealed.
“I was a tour guide at Universal Studios for years, and once I actually knew what I was chasing, I was just like, ‘Oh, I just want to work on cool stuff that I would want to watch if I wasn’t in it.’ And I’ve been pretty lucky in that regard.”
While Doohan’s star has skyrocketed due to the monumental success of Wednesday season one, it hasn’t always been a walk in the park for him, especially as a gay actor in Hollywood.
While the What/If star has been out since he was 18, he admitted to feeling pressured to hide his sexuality in certain circumstances, like for his audition process for the 2019 Showtime drama, Your Honor.
“When I tested for Your Honor, it was the first time I had done a network test, and they were really like scrutinising and I was really trying to hide it like when I was talking to them, because there were several rounds,” he explained. “I remember I went and hid pictures of [my husband, Fielder Jewett and I] on my Instagram, like archived them.”
Doohan went on to say that after getting the job, he had to come out all over again, describing it as “unsettling and awful.”
“I was at lunch one time with Bryan, and I said, ‘Oh my friend Grace is going to come out and visit,’ and he’s like, ‘Oh, like just a friend?’ And I was like, ‘Oh god, like they don’t know I’ve been out for eight years and I have to come out of the closet again.’ I was like, ‘I’m never going to do that for a role again,'” he continued.
“But like at the same time, I’ve never played a gay role and I’ve auditioned for them, but like all the characters I’ve played have been straight. I don’t know, it’s strange.”
While Doohan has felt the pressures as a gay actor, he cited Bridgerton star Jonathan Bailey – who is openly gay – and his monumental success in TV and film as a source of inspiration.
“I read this Jonathan Bailey interview the other day that was so inspiring like the way he talks about it and just how he’s totally just released all perceived limitations around it, and look at him, he’s [starring] in Jurassic [World Rebirth] and the lead romantic interest in Bridgerton and Wicked, like the biggest movie in the world,” he continued.
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“But yeah, I’m just lucky to be living this time and like have had people come out and do it before me too.”
Doohan’s interview comes amid the successful release of Wednesday, season 2, Part 1.
Picking up after the chaotic events of season one, the new batch of episodes follows Wednesday (Jenna Ortega) as she begins her second year at Nevermore Academy.
Of course, her time in the school’s gothic halls will be anything but peaceful, with “new foes and woes” lurking around every corner.
In the first four episodes, Doohan reprises his role as Tyler Gaplin/Hyde, who is now imprisoned after his murder spree in the first season.
For more information about how he prepared for his character’s shirtless scenes, click here.
Wednesday season two, Part 1 is now streaming, with Part 2 premiering on 3 September.
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