Out actor Cheyenne Jackson said
this week that being out has “probably” had a negative
impact on his career.
The 40-year-old Jackson is best known
for his guest roles on NBC's 30 Rock and Fox's Glee,
though he's also well known for his roles on Broadway, including
roles in All Shook Up, Xanadu and Finian's Rainbow.
Jackson said that there is no certain
way of knowing whether his sexuality had affected his work, but that
being out “probably” had impacted his career.
“[T]here’s really no way to know
what would have happened. I have been out my whole career. I came out
during my very first big job in All Shook Up [in 2005] on
Broadway,” Jackson
told PrideSource.
“It was in The New York Times, and I just decided to get it
out of the way so it wasn’t a thing.”
“What effect has it had? I have no
idea. Do I think I have missed out on things because I am gay? Maybe.
Probably. But there’s no way to prove it. And if that’s really
how something would go down, I wouldn’t want that [project]
anyway.”
“But things are definitely changing,
and it’s funny that you say 'as a gay man' because I find pressure
on gay men, especially in our society, to look young. It’s almost
like it is for women now. I see all these guys at the gym and
everybody’s – well, not everybody, but a lot of guys – have a
lot of stuff going on with their face,” he added.
Jackson went on to say that he used
Botox for three years.
“Then three years ago I was like,
'Fuck it. I'm just gonna let my face do what it's gonna do,' and I'm
so happy I did,” Jackson said.