Sean Maher, who plays Sean on NBC's The
Playboy Club, says he's feeling “fantastic” since coming out
gay.
The 36-year-old Maher came out during
an interview last week with Entertainment Weekly.
He told the entertainment glossy that
he's been in a relationship with boyfriend Paul for nine years and
the couple is raising two children, Sophia Rose, 4, and 14-month-old
Liam Xavier. He added that after landing his first acting job in his
early twenties he decided to hide his sexual orientation.
“I was young, I was 22. I didn't
know anything. So that sort of started the idea of, okay, well, I'm
working a lot, I guess I'll just keep that gay part of my life on the
back burner nor now. I went so far as to sleep with women a couple
of times. It was a very confusing time for me.”
Maher, who is best known for playing
Simon Tam in the science fiction series Firefly and the follow
up movie Serenity, said being closeted was “miserable.”
“I'm feeling fantastic!” Maher
answered when gay male entertainment website AfterElton.com
asked about life after coming out.
“I'm still overwhelmed by the
outpouring of love and support. I expected a positive response, but
I did not expect such a large scale of positive response, especially
from the media and within the business, too.”
In The Playboy Club, which airs
Mondays, Maher plays Sean, the husband of Bunny Alice (played by Leah
Renee). But their marriage is for show and both characters are gay.