13 Reasons Why star Tommy Dorfman: ‘Everybody knew I was gay before I did’
By Will Stroude
Tommy Dorfman was a teenage tearaway who ended up in rehab at the age of 20. But the up-an-coming actor, now 24, turned his life around and now has a starring role in 13 Reasons Why.
In Attitude’s June issue – available to download and in shops now – Tommy, who plays gay student Ryan Shaver in the hit Netflix drama series, opens up about his own high school experiences, revealing that he was involved with much older men as a young teenager.
“Everyone know I was gay before I did,” Tommy laughs. “I got bullied for wearing girls’ clothes, so I stopped and I started wearing guys’ clothes and tried to butch up.
“I was worried about being femme in any way. I was trying to hook up with girls in middle school. They hated it.
“And then in freshman years of high school I met this guy who a junior [two years above] and I fell in love with him. I was 14. He never actually became my boyfriend but it opened me up and I came out.”
Explaining that the relationship was “primarily physical”, the Atlanta native continues: “I didn’t realise you could have physical relationships without being ‘in’ a relationship. Then I started dating older guys for a while in high school because there weren’t any gay kids when I was growing up.”
Pressed on just how much older the men he was dating as a high school student were, Tommy touches on the darker side of gay teenage isolation.
“In their twenties, when I was 14 or 15,” he admits. “Because I had a fake ID, I was going out. That was where I met gay people.”
You can see Tommy’s full show and interview in Attitude’s June issue, which also includes our 100 Bachelors of the Year. Buy in print, subscribe or download now.
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