JamesG
05-30-2025, 01:11 PM
Ryan Phillippe Recalls “Fears” around Playing Gay Teen on "One Life to Live"
by Glenn Garner
May 29, 2025
More than 30 years later, Ryan Phillippe is reflecting on his groundbreaking LGBTQ role.
The actor recently recalled the “really profound experience” of playing gay teenager Billy Douglas in the ABC soap opera "One Life to Live from" 1992 to ’93, which resulted in an “almost instantaneous” outpouring of praise from LGBTQ fans.
“I was so young that there were elements of me that were afraid because it was such a different time,” he told People of his tenure in the role.
“I think there were some fears associated with the point in time that we were at and it being before so many walls and ceilings have been broken in that regard,” added Phillippe. “But I know that any fears that anyone had about me doing it immediately went away once I saw the reaction that it got from the people who viewed it.”
Phillippe recalled receiving letters from viewers who said they’d “never seen someone represent me in any entertainment before in my life,” as well as parents who said, “Watching this show on my lunch break gave me a way to connect with my LGBTQ child.”
https://deadline.com/2025/05/ryan-phillippe-fears-playing-gay-teen-one-life-to-live-1236414039/
by Glenn Garner
May 29, 2025
More than 30 years later, Ryan Phillippe is reflecting on his groundbreaking LGBTQ role.
The actor recently recalled the “really profound experience” of playing gay teenager Billy Douglas in the ABC soap opera "One Life to Live from" 1992 to ’93, which resulted in an “almost instantaneous” outpouring of praise from LGBTQ fans.
“I was so young that there were elements of me that were afraid because it was such a different time,” he told People of his tenure in the role.
“I think there were some fears associated with the point in time that we were at and it being before so many walls and ceilings have been broken in that regard,” added Phillippe. “But I know that any fears that anyone had about me doing it immediately went away once I saw the reaction that it got from the people who viewed it.”
Phillippe recalled receiving letters from viewers who said they’d “never seen someone represent me in any entertainment before in my life,” as well as parents who said, “Watching this show on my lunch break gave me a way to connect with my LGBTQ child.”
https://deadline.com/2025/05/ryan-phillippe-fears-playing-gay-teen-one-life-to-live-1236414039/