Forget Steven Carrington: Gordon Thomson, who played the often-conniving Adam Carrington on Dynasty, comes out as gay in a new interview – at the age of 72. “Steven’s character was appallingly handled. They opened a can of worms and weren’t true to it.”
Adam Carrington, as portrayed by Gordon Thomson, joined the popular 80’s soap, Dynasty, on its third season. He was mostly an evil villain, the kidnapped son of Blake and Alexis. He was often homophobic towards his gay (well, sometimes) brother, Steven Carrington.
In a new interview with The Daily Beast, Gordon talks about the need to hide in the closet back in the 80’s, the show’s openly gay character – Steven, and why he thinks the upcoming Dynasty reboot is “an abomination.”
Steven Carrington (played in the original series by Al Corley and then replaced with Jack Coleman, with Corley coming BACK for the final reunion miniseries – where Adam was recast) was a groundbreaking character – one of the earliest openly gay men on prime time American TV. But according to Gordon, the producers squandered that character.
“I thought it was bullshit. At the time, the AIDS crisis had a lot to do with pressure on the network. I know that Al Corley quit because he felt they were not allowing him to play the part honestly. And they weren’t.
“Today there is gay marriage, and what an enormous difference. It was appallingly handled. They opened a can of worms and weren’t true to it, and they could have been. They had good actors playing the parts. It was a big shame. I’m very sorry.”
Gordon says that, at the time, actors who were leading men could not possibly come out of the closet.
“You’re also a source of fantasy. Ian McKellen and Derek Jacobi are wonderful people, but pardon me, how many audience members fantasize about fucking either one of them? Really. It had a lot to do with what you looked like, I’m afraid.”
Gordon, who was born and raised in Ottawa, also mentions that when he was growing up, homosexuality was still a crime, and later a mental illness.
“It was not until I was nearly 30 that it stopped being classified as a mental illness in the U.S. So you’re dealing with that. And the shame, the breathtaking lack of self-esteem, has only just begun to seep out of my soul.”
Read the full interview right here.
