Michael J. Willett is about to hit it big. As the titular character in G.B.F. (or ‘gay best friend’), he is set to redefine the high school comedy for today’s generation, in a film that speaks volumes about where we’re at socially, sexually and yes, maybe even politically. Placing the gay character at the center of the high school shenanigans as opposed to on the sidelines, G.B.F. director Darren Stein steered Michael’s character, Tanner Daniels, in the direction of a realistic, sometimes shy teenage boy who also happens to be gay. Gone are the days of the insipidly flamboyant character who roams about like set dressing.
And for Michael, landing the role of Tanner was totally meant to be. “They approached me with the G.B.F. script after I had done United States of Tara,” he remembers. His role on the acclaimed Showtime show (as the troubled, gay Lionel) turned heads. “Once I read [the G.B.F. script], I felt like it was mine. Sometimes you read scripts and you’re like, ‘It might be a stretch to play this, but I feel like I can do it.’ Whereas I read this and I was like, ‘That’s me.’”
Undoubtedly, casting agents were waving a red flag in Michael’s direction at some point between Tara and G.B.F., since both characters are gay. This, not to mention the fact that he is about to play gay yet again in Faking It, a progressive new show on MTV. But the young actor doesn’t bat a lash at any of it. “I feel very proud to be representing this new generation of kids where it doesn’t matter whether you’re gay or straight,” he says simply. “[But] I like to play all kinds of characters. I don’t feel like I’m limited to one type of person.”
“The best characters are a lot of you, and also a lot of people you meet in life,” Michael specifies. And Tanner’s experience isn’t that far off from many of our own recollections of high school. “Everyone wants him to be the new success story, but he’s not ‘good’ at being gay,” Michael says of Tanner. As opposed to the cliché prissy gay sidekick, this role brings out something that only the best portrayals of teens in high school do: a person who’s difficult to classify, who isn’t adept at assuming any one specific role…in short, someone still in the process of finding himself.
And Michael also loves the levity and comedy of G.B.F. “I love the makeover montage – it’s so much fun,” he grins. “It’s good to keep these topics light and fun.” And as for the camaraderie amongst the cast and crew off camera, he confirms: “We had as much fun as it looks, on and off screen!”
Next up for Mr. Willett is Faking It, where he plays “the hot popular kid at school, who happens to be gay.” Seems like G.B.F. was just the beginning!
G.B.F. will premiere in Los Angeles on November 19.
—DH