Openly gay actor Sean Hayes says he was
overwhelmed and scared by his sudden fame after the debut of Will
& Grace.
The 43-year-old Hayes returned to
television in the new sitcom Sean Saves the World.
In speaking with The
Los Angeles Times, Hayes, who is best known for playing Jack
McFarland, Will Truman's campy gay best friend, for 8 seasons on
NBC's groundbreaking sitcom Will & Grace, said the
attention as a result of the show's success was “scary.”
“I was so young,” Hayes said. “It
made me go back in the closet [with the media] because I was so
overwhelmed at 26 or 27. I didn't want the responsibility, I didn't
know how to handle the responsibility of speaking for the gay
community. I always felt like I owed them a huge apology for coming
out too late. Some people in the gay community were very upset with
me for not coming out on their terms. They don't stop to think about
what's going on in somebody's personal life, and the struggles that
they're having. It was all very scary. We got death threats. It
was a really rough time for me, but I was also having the time of my
life.
Hayes added that he didn't receive many
offers after Will & Grace ended.