''The Whole Truth' brings a gay lawyer to courtroom television

While gay characters on television have been popping up as series cast members regularly in sitcoms (Modern Family, Will & Grace) and some dramas (90210, True Blood), legal/crime procedural dramas tend to spend more time on the case of the week than the lives of the regular characters so sexuality has not always been explored too much.

That trend seems to be shifting a bit as the new fall TV season kicks off as there are more gay characters on procedural dramas than ever before. Over at the gritty, long-running series Law & Order: Special Victim Unit, Dr. George Huang (played by BD Wong) finally came out of the closet last season after years of speculation. Also, sexuality is definitely a part of CBS's The Good Wife where the much-debated sexuality of Kalinda Sharma (Emmy-nominee Archie Panjabi) is expected to be dealt with this coming season, Alan Cumming's recurring character last season has been bumped up to series regular and the gay brother of lead character Alicia (Julianna Margulies) is set to appear on the show this year.

Of the new series premiering this month, the new ABC legal/crime drama The Whole Truth features Alejo Salazar, a defense attorney who is part of a Manhattan power gay couple and also doesn't keep his sexuality a secret nor flinch when people address the photograph on his desk of he and his partner. Played by Anthony Ruivivar (who was a series regular for six years on Third Watch), Salazar also has a close working relationship with the straight Jimmy Brogan (Rob Morrow of Numb3rs and Northern Exposure fame) where sexuality isn't a factor at all.

EDGE's Jim Halterman recently talked to Ruivivar about taking on the role of Salazar as well as out creator/Executive Producer Tom Donaghy (a prolific playwright before he ventured into television) on the notion of seamlessly instilling gay characters and storylines in this new series.

Matter of fact

EDGE: ABC seems to becoming more and more gay with shows like Modern Family and Desperate Housewives regularly featuring gay characters. How did the gay character of Alejo Salazar come about in The Whole Truth?

Tom Donaghy: There are gay people in the world and I am one of them so I figured one of these characters on the show should be gay and that would be interesting to me and interesting to America. I put the character of Alejo Salazar in there and he's in it and he's great. It's very matter of fact. Nobody makes a big deal about it. He's very close with his boss, who is heterosexual and I think it's nice to see a gay guy and a straight guy working together and really not making a big fuss about it. It is 2010 after all.

EDGE: In the casting process, do actors still care if they're coming for a gay role or has it lost some of that fear?

Tom Donaghy: Anthony Ruivivar, who is married [to a woman] and has children, came in and he didn't bat an eye. It was never an issue. We auditioned tons of people for it and I didn't hear any complaints or reactions to it. I think that's as it should be, right?

EDGE: From an actor's perspective, Anthony, how did you approach it when you went into testing for the role? Gay roles definitely don't have the same stigma they did 10-20 years ago, do they?

Anthony Ruivivar: I think any time you take on a role you think about how it will get ingrained in people's psyches. 'Does that mean this is all he can play?' I could make the same case about playing a lawyer or a cop. You just want to make sure as an actor that we love to do all sorts of things. We're kind of psychotic in that regard. But I really didn't think twice about it. That's one of the things that attracted me to the role. I'm an ethnic minority so the fact that ethnic minorities are leads in prime time shows makes me proud. It's the sign of the times and it shows how far we've come. We're still not out of the woods yet but I'm proud to be part of a movement to say 'This is the way the world is. Take it or leave it but get used to it.' Ultimately, in my opinion, it's the moment that we stop making a big deal about it that times have really changed. When you've had to stop explaining it and it just becomes part of the tapestry that is our world, that's when I start feeling like we're making progress.

Any gay angles?

EDGE: Will we see Salazar's partner down the line and will there be any cases with a gay angle during this first season?

Tom Donaghy: I don't want to give anything away but yes. Of course, we have gay people working on this show because we're everywhere. Sometimes that might be the twist in the stories. Right now we're doing a story called 'When Cougars Attack' with a Diane von Furstenberg-type designer who has a stable of gay models that she designs for. It's going to be in there the way that it's in life, ya know? I'm not scared of it and ABC is not scared of it so the more the merrier.

Anthony Ruivivar: We're going to split the difference. I know a couple of storylines coming down the pike that will really bring that into focus but these people really live their lives at the office. You don't even really go home with Jimmy or Katherine (played by Maura Tierney). These people live to work and the workplace is their life. Everything that goes on and what you find out in the personal life will be reflected in their work. It's an interesting thing - how often do people have to deal with life while they're at work?

EDGE: What do you think about the notion that some people have that only gay actors should play gay roles?

Anthony Ruivivar: I don't buy into that logic. I think there are a lot of gay actors playing straight roles and there are a lot of straight actors playing gay roles. I'm not a lawyer in real life but I play one on television. I don't think it makes much sense. I get that people want to celebrate people and they want to have their era and their flags but I think that when you look at it in the greater good it's less important that the actors actually be gay and more important that gay characters are represented in television.

EDGE: Tom, did you think about casting a gay actor for the gay role when you were casting the role of Salazar?

Tom Donaghy: Frankly, you just don't know who is gay or straight when they come in. You just cast the best actor. I'm not about to ask anybody what their sexual preference is, especially in a professional setting. I truly thought Anthony was tremendous. I was aware of him from Third Watch and he just played it without commenting on Alejo. He just played it directly and I'm so impressed by his work. He also gets to wear really pretty clothes!

EDGE: Going into the fall season, there are so many choices for the viewers. How do you hope to stand out among the pack?

Anthony Ruivivar: The cast all come from places with heavy fan bases so I think people will tune in to see us and to reconnect with us as actors and I think once they're there they'll really enjoy themselves. I think the show does a really good job of giving the comfort food that people enjoy in terms of the law shows but we tweak the recipe just enough that it feels like something new. I think it's titillating and exciting.

Tom Donaghy: Well, cream rises to the top, doesn't it? [laughs] I think we've got two dynamite leads. Rob Morrow is excellent. He and Maura have great chemistry and I think it's an innovative way of doing a law show. I think we're assuming that that adventurous audience who wants to go along for the ride and then be rewarded by the whole truth at the end of it.

The Whole Truth airs Wednesday nights at 10/9c on ABC.