‘Heroes’ producer reveals an actor threatened to leave the show if his character was gay
By Ross Semple
A Heroes producer has revealed that the show had to axe a gay storyline.
The popular series, which ran from 2006-2010 before returning briefly last year, launched the career of actors such as Zachary Quinto and Hayden Panettiere.
Bryan Fuller, who worked on the show from the outset, admitted at Outfest this week that a gay storyline never went ahead because of major drama backstage with an unnamed actor.
“The gay character was het-washed after the actor’s management threatened to pull him from the show if [the character] were gay,” said the producer.
While there’s no confirmation as to which character Fuller is talking about, at the time the show was on the air, many viewers believed that Zach, played by Thomas Dekker, was gay.
While there’s no confirmation as to which character Fuller is talking about, at the time the show was on the air, many viewers believed that Zach, played by Thomas Dekker, was meant to be gay.
The behind the scenes drama was mentioned at the time by Heroes creator Tim Kring in 2007, who said: “It was certainly not our intention to confuse the issue of Zach’s character being gay. We have too much respect for our audience to do that intentionally. However, it has simply become too complicated behind the scenes to push this issue further with this particular character.”
Shortly after, Dekker shared a blog post denying the rumours, and insisting that what happened was simply down to “confusion and last minute decisions”.
He wrote: “I, nor my management have ever had any kind of problem with creating a gay character. What transpired on Heroes is something far more complicated than anyone being “afraid” to make Zach homosexual.
“The character that I created in the beginning of the show, a process I take very seriously, was based on Zach being an outcast who had a burning love for Claire, a crush that drew him to her and effected every ounce of his self-esteem around her.
“I created the character that way because it was WRITTEN IN THE ORIGINAL SCRIPT that he was in love with Claire. I was not informed in the beginning of the series, of any planned character arc, because I was told there wasn’t one.
“What ensued later was a combination of miscommunication, confusion, surprise and last minute decisions, not a knee jerk reaction from me or my team,” added the actor.
It seems as though producers on the show hold a different opinion….