Full Transcript for Patrick Stewart

36 00:02:20.900 --> 00:02:25.740 will always be Captain Jean-Luc Picard. For others, he will 37 00:02:25.780 --> 00:02:31.360 be Professor Charles Xavier. Those characters carry authority. You believe 38 00:02:31.439 --> 00:02:35.259 people would listen when they speak. Patrick could make a 39 00:02:35.439 --> 00:02:40.210 quiet sentence feel like something the entire room needed to consider. 40 00:02:40.229 --> 00:02:44.069 But if you would have watched the Star Trek bloopers, 41 00:02:44.229 --> 00:02:47.069 you know he could lose his composure along with everybody else. 42 00:02:48.129 --> 00:02:50.680 There's one where he gives the order to engage, where 43 00:02:50.719 --> 00:02:58.189 he means energize, And his castmates start laughing. Apparently even 44 00:02:58.250 --> 00:03:00.990 the captain occasionally needed someone to check which button he 45 00:03:01.030 --> 00:03:04.849 was pressing. What I enjoy about those moments is seeing 46 00:03:04.879 --> 00:03:08.259 the person underneath the performance. The familiar face is there. 47 00:03:08.280 --> 00:03:12.659 The uniform is there. And suddenly the man who usually 48 00:03:12.699 --> 00:03:16.639 looks responsible for everyone's survival is a complete goof. 49 00:03:17.439 --> 00:03:18.259 And then there is. 50 00:03:18.280 --> 00:03:23.569 That adorable birthday tribute to Gene Roddenberry. Patrick performs a 51 00:03:23.669 --> 00:03:26.550 little song and dance routine on the bridge on the 52 00:03:26.849 --> 00:03:33.090 Enterprise in costume, turning an alphabet song into an affectionate 53 00:03:33.129 --> 00:03:36.810 tribute to the man who created Star Trek. If you 54 00:03:36.849 --> 00:03:41.250 haven't seen it, please look it up. Watching the captain 55 00:03:41.270 --> 00:03:44.009 of the Enterprise launch into a musical number is a 56 00:03:44.069 --> 00:03:48.050 very particular kind of joy. You spend all that time 57 00:03:48.229 --> 00:03:53.300 trusting him to negotiate with hostile civilizations And then you 58 00:03:53.340 --> 00:03:58.370 discover he's also available for birthday entertainment. And he commits 59 00:03:58.539 --> 00:04:02.110 to it. That's what makes it so charming. He gives 60 00:04:02.150 --> 00:04:05.750 himself permission to be playful. And the affection behind the 61 00:04:05.789 --> 00:04:09.870 performance comes through. God, I find that very attractive in 62 00:04:09.909 --> 00:04:13.430 a person. Being good at what you do and still 63 00:04:13.469 --> 00:04:17.149 being able to enjoy yourself. Having dignity without needing to 64 00:04:17.209 --> 00:04:20.810 protect it every second. That's the part of Patrick I 65 00:04:20.870 --> 00:04:24.189 want us to keep in view today. We can talk 66 00:04:24.230 --> 00:04:27.189 about his importance and still remember how much fun he 67 00:04:27.230 --> 00:04:32.779 could be. Jeffrey came out in 1995, five years before 68 00:04:32.819 --> 00:04:38.579 the X-Men film. So Patrick was already Captain Picard when 69 00:04:38.600 --> 00:04:42.560 he played Sterling. But Professor X was still ahead of him. 70 00:04:43.600 --> 00:04:47.209 He was somebody audiences associated with composure and command liked. 71 00:04:47.930 --> 00:04:51.230 walking into a queer romantic comedy and playing a character 72 00:04:51.269 --> 00:04:55.930 whose confidence took a very different form. He let Sterling 73 00:04:55.990 --> 00:05:00.990 have his own rhythms, his own wit, his own way 74 00:05:01.110 --> 00:05:05.600 of moving through the world. Jeffrey was directed by Christopher 75 00:05:05.720 --> 00:05:08.980 Ashley and adapted by Paul Rudnick from his own play. 76 00:05:10.180 --> 00:05:14.480 Stephen Webber, whom we remember as Brian Hackett on Wings, 77 00:05:14.639 --> 00:05:17.920 plays Jeffrey, a gay man in New York, who decides 78 00:05:17.939 --> 00:05:21.860 to swear off sex. Then he meets Steve, played by 79 00:05:21.939 --> 00:05:25.699 Michael T. Weiss, who would later play Jared on The Pretender, 80 00:05:25.720 --> 00:05:31.699 and the attraction complicates that decision. Steve is HIV positive. 81 00:05:32.839 --> 00:05:35.459 And for many queers and weirdos who didn't live through 82 00:05:35.490 --> 00:05:37.389 that time, we need to pause here. 83 00:05:37.410 --> 00:05:39.509 I want you to think. 84 00:05:39.370 --> 00:05:44.730 About 1994 and 1995. The treatment breakthrough that would change 85 00:05:44.769 --> 00:05:49.360 so many lives was still ahead. Effective combination therapy became 86 00:05:49.379 --> 00:05:55.290 the standard care in 1996. People were watching friends, lovers, 87 00:05:55.350 --> 00:05:59.410 and whole circles of chosen family get sick and die. 88 00:06:00.910 --> 00:06:04.529 Some gay men chose to stop having sex because abstinence 89 00:06:04.649 --> 00:06:09.379 felt like the surest way to survive. Understand that. 90 00:06:10.000 --> 00:06:10.740 Survive. 91 00:06:12.269 --> 00:06:15.699 Others practiced safer sex, but knowing how to reduce the 92 00:06:15.759 --> 00:06:20.980 risk didn't necessarily make the fear disappear. So Jeffrey's decision 93 00:06:21.060 --> 00:06:25.310 comes out of that world. Underneath the comedy is a 94 00:06:25.370 --> 00:06:29.649 man trying to protect himself from the infection and from 95 00:06:29.689 --> 00:06:33.389 the possibility of falling in love with someone he might lose. 96 00:06:34.490 --> 00:06:37.339 You don't have to agree with how he treats Steve 97 00:06:37.360 --> 00:06:41.800 to understand where that fear comes from. And Steve deserves 98 00:06:41.839 --> 00:06:44.680 to be seen as a person with desires and feelings 99 00:06:44.779 --> 00:06:48.680 of his own. He wants affection. He wants a relationship. 100 00:06:49.519 --> 00:06:55.329 His diagnosis doesn't erase any of that. That is part 101 00:06:55.370 --> 00:06:57.970 of the tension that makes the story worth talking about. 102 00:06:58.930 --> 00:07:01.610 Fear can be understandable and still hurt

the person on 103 00:07:01.629 --> 00:07:06.550 the receiving end of it. Patrick plays Sterling, an interior 104 00:07:06.589 --> 00:07:09.230 decorator whose partner, Darius, is played. 105 00:07:09.050 --> 00:07:10.069 By Brian Batt. 106 00:07:11.029 --> 00:07:14.689 If Brian looks familiar, you may recognize him as Sal Romano, 107 00:07:15.089 --> 00:07:18.949 the closet art director on Mad Men. In Jeffrey, Sterling 108 00:07:18.990 --> 00:07:21.870 and Darius gave us another way of looking at love 109 00:07:21.970 --> 00:07:25.680 in the face of illness. That relationship is the heart 110 00:07:25.720 --> 00:07:29.740 of it for me. Sterling has advice, certainly, and some 111 00:07:29.800 --> 00:07:34.819 very sharp comic timing. But the relationship gives that advice weight. 112 00:07:35.040 --> 00:07:38.680 He has somebody to love. His perspective comes with something 113 00:07:38.720 --> 00:07:44.730 at stake. I enjoyed the movie. I particularly enjoyed Patrick's role. 114 00:07:45.649 --> 00:07:47.670 There was a freedom in his performance that I found 115 00:07:47.709 --> 00:07:51.230 lovely to watch. He seemed to let his feminine side out, 116 00:07:51.790 --> 00:07:54.980 and he seemed to enjoy it. That's what reached me 117 00:07:55.019 --> 00:08:00.180 through the screen. Pleasure, ease, and affection. Of course, femininity 118 00:08:00.240 --> 00:08:03.779 doesn't define gay men. We have as many ways of 119 00:08:03.819 --> 00:08:06.899 being ourselves as anybody else. What I enjoyed was seeing 120 00:08:06.980 --> 00:08:10.420 this particular man allowed to be expressive and take up space. 121 00:08:11.500 --> 00:08:12.759 Sterling can be grand. 122 00:08:13.160 --> 00:08:14.100 He can be funny. 123 00:08:14.120 --> 00:08:17.199 He can be somebody you would very much like on 124 00:08:17.240 --> 00:08:22.230 your side if an evening turned unpleasant. Underneath all that, 125 00:08:22.250 --> 00:08:26.850 I believed his love. Patrick did a great job of 126 00:08:26.889 --> 00:08:29.670 playing a man in love with another man. That sounds 127 00:08:29.689 --> 00:08:32.620 like a simple thing to say, but it's the heart 128 00:08:32.659 --> 00:08:36.860 of why I wanted this episode. I believed there was 129 00:08:36.879 --> 00:08:40.480 a relationship underneath the jokes. When you care about the 130 00:08:40.559 --> 00:08:44.000 person delivering a funny line, you hear more than the punchline. 131 00:08:44.519 --> 00:08:47.879 You begin to recognize what the humor might protect, what 132 00:08:47.899 --> 00:08:51.620 it helps him survive, and what makes it let him share. 133 00:08:52.399 --> 00:08:55.980 That's my reading of Sterling. His humor makes room for 134 00:08:56.059 --> 00:09:00.019 difficult feelings. There's something moving about his story that lets 135 00:09:00.120 --> 00:09:04.360 queer people be funny while frightened. Laughter belongs to us 136 00:09:04.460 --> 00:09:08.659 where life is difficult too. We don't have to

become 137 00:09:08.779 --> 00:09:12.779 solemn every minute for our suffering to count. Sometimes you 138 00:09:12.820 --> 00:09:16.350 laugh because somebody has to say exactly the outrageous thing 139 00:09:16.370 --> 00:09:20.470 you needed to hear. Sometimes you laugh because the alternative 140 00:09:20.570 --> 00:09:26.649 at that particular moment is falling apart. And sometimes something 141 00:09:26.730 --> 00:09:33.259 is simply funny even in a terrible year People still 142 00:09:33.480 --> 00:09:40.279 have personalities. Patrick lets Sterling have this. And before we 143 00:09:40.299 --> 00:09:43.080 leave the movie itself, can we talk about how many 144 00:09:43.240 --> 00:09:46.639 people turn up in this thing? We barely settle in 145 00:09:46.659 --> 00:09:51.240 before another familiar face appears. Sigourney Weaver plays a self-help guru. 146 00:09:51.960 --> 00:09:54.980 Nathan Lane turns up as a priest with enthusiasm for 147 00:09:55.019 --> 00:10:00.610 musical theater. Then there's Lumpy Dukakis, Christine Baranski, and more. 148 00:10:00.629 --> 00:10:02.610 And I'm not going to read. 149 00:10:02.549 --> 00:10:05.610 The whole cast list, but Jeffrey certainly gives you plenty 150 00:10:05.649 --> 00:10:09.820 of opportunity to stop and recognize somebody. At a certain point, 151 00:10:09.840 --> 00:10:11.980 you almost expect the next person coming through the door 152 00:10:12.009 --> 00:10:15.580 to have a war domination and a very strong opinion. 153 00:10:16.840 --> 00:10:21.259 Those appearances help give the movie its bustle. Jeffrey's romantic 154 00:10:21.299 --> 00:10:25.179 dilemma sits inside this noisy, crowded world where everyone seems 155 00:10:25.200 --> 00:10:29.029 to have something to contribute. And Weaver deserves a special 156 00:10:29.090 --> 00:10:33.850 mention beyond her scene. Paul Rudnick recalled that her agreement 157 00:10:33.889 --> 00:10:37.690 to appear helped break a casting stalemate, making it easier 158 00:10:37.730 --> 00:10:42.210 for others to join the film. Her contribution went beyond 159 00:10:42.250 --> 00:10:45.610 the few minutes we see her on screen. My first 160 00:10:45.649 --> 00:10:49.029 reaction was that playing Sterling could have alienated some of 161 00:10:49.090 --> 00:10:52.620 Patrick Stewart's fans. I can't tell you how many people 162 00:10:52.740 --> 00:10:56.039 objected or whether it actually cost him work, but the 163 00:10:56.059 --> 00:10:58.799 concern about playing gay was real enough to come up 164 00:10:58.840 --> 00:11:03.450 in interviews at the time. In the 1995 interview, Stewart 165 00:11:03.519 --> 00:11:06.429 emphasized wanting to do the role well and show respect 166 00:11:06.470 --> 00:11:09.950 to gay people. He asked Rudnick and Ashley to watch 167 00:11:09.990 --> 00:11:13.490 for stereotypes in his performance. That tells me where he 168 00:11:13.549 --> 00:11:16.840 was putting his attention. on the people he was betraying 169 00:11:17.039 --> 00:11:20.159 on getting the work right. And Patrick wasn't the only 170 00:11:20.220 --> 00:11:24.139 one taking a chance. Stephen Webber and Michael T. Weiss 171 00:11:24.159 --> 00:11:27.679 deserve credit too. They carry the central romance, playing Jeffrey 172 00:11:27.720 --> 00:11:31.620 and Steve as men who want each other. Contemporary reporting 173 00:11:31.750 --> 00:11:35.590 described fears about public perception and difficulty casting those roles. 174 00:11:36.330 --> 00:11:39.690 Rednick later recalled that performers were wary of joining the movie. 175 00:11:40.429 --> 00:11:43.690 That is a climate in which Stephen and Weiss said yes. 176 00:11:44.870 --> 00:11:48.909 Playing these roles could have jeopardized their careers. That doesn't 177 00:11:48.929 --> 00:11:51.669 mean either man actually lost work because of the film. 178 00:11:52.000 --> 00:11:54.759 It means they accepted the roles in an industry where 179 00:11:54.779 --> 00:11:59.899 being associated with gay desire could be treated as professional liability. 180 00:12:00.820 --> 00:12:04.860 They deserve recognition for going ahead. A romance needs actors 181 00:12:04.899 --> 00:12:08.480 willing to make attraction believable, to let the audience see 182 00:12:08.519 --> 00:12:12.519 tenderness and desire. Weber and Weiss gave the movie that. 183 00:12:12.990 --> 00:12:15.289 And I don't want any admiration for Patrick to leave 184 00:12:15.370 --> 00:12:20.750 their contribution in the background. As for Patrick, watching him 185 00:12:20.850 --> 00:12:22.950 gave me the feeling that he wasn't going to make 186 00:12:22.990 --> 00:12:26.710 Sterling smaller to reassure somebody who was uncomfortable. We have 187 00:12:26.769 --> 00:12:31.389 all seen versions of supposed acceptance that depend on queer 188 00:12:31.450 --> 00:12:37.500 people being quiet enough, discreet enough, or familiar enough. A 189 00:12:37.559 --> 00:12:41.059 performance can push against that simply by letting a character 190 00:12:41.159 --> 00:12:47.210 enjoy being himself. Years later, Stuart remembered preparing for Jeffrey 191 00:12:47.250 --> 00:12:50.409 by spending an afternoon in the West Village with Brian 192 00:12:50.480 --> 00:12:54.409 Batt and Stephen Weber. They were taking photographs to help 193 00:12:54.580 --> 00:12:59.039 create the personal history visible in Sterling's apartment. Those photographs 194 00:12:59.299 --> 00:13:03.159 gave Sterling and Darius a life beyond the scenes we watched. 195 00:13:03.720 --> 00:13:06.980 Pictures with friends, time spent out in the world, the 196 00:13:07.059 --> 00:13:11.399 things that make a home feel inhabited. We recognize love 197 00:13:11.440 --> 00:13:16.039 partly through the everyday life around it. Okay, now, Queers 198 00:13:16.059 --> 00:13:18.100 and Weirdos, we need to spend a little more time 199 00:13:18.159 --> 00:13:24.419 with Frasier. Because Patrick Stewart as Alistair Burke deserved more 200

00:13:24.480 --> 00:13:28.879 than one episode. And I am still prepared to complain 201 00:13:28.940 --> 00:13:35.049 about that. That one episode is The Doctor Is Out. 202 00:13:35.870 --> 00:13:43.159 Season 11, Episode 3. It originally aired on September 30, 2003. 203 00:13:43.159 --> 00:13:46.830 Patrick plays an opera director who believes Fraser is gay 204 00:13:46.889 --> 00:13:51.149 and starts courting him. Fraser, meanwhile, is so enchanted by 205 00:13:51.190 --> 00:13:54.289 the tension in the glamorous company that clearing things up 206 00:13:54.330 --> 00:13:58.990 becomes a remarkably low priority. I honestly think this is 207 00:13:59.070 --> 00:14:03.769 one of Fraser's best pairings. Possibly, dare I say it, 208 00:14:04.379 --> 00:14:12.610 his best? The shared interests, the sophistication, the chemistry. there 209 00:14:12.690 --> 00:14:17.779 is one fairly substantial compatibility issue. But Fraser is doing 210 00:14:17.820 --> 00:14:18.460 his best. 211 00:14:18.259 --> 00:14:18.990 To ignore it. 212 00:14:20.720 --> 00:14:24.600 Alistair's visit to the crane department gives Patrick some wonderful material. 213 00:14:25.360 --> 00:14:29.870 When Niles announces that he and Daphne are expecting, Alistair responds. 214 00:14:30.690 --> 00:14:34.509 Can't say I was. Four words. 215 00:14:34.990 --> 00:14:37.909 Patrick barely needs to lift a finger and Niles has 216 00:14:37.950 --> 00:14:42.179 been thoroughly dealt with. There's also his response when Daphne 217 00:14:42.299 --> 00:14:44.220 asks about Peter O'Toole attending the party. Alistair makes it 218 00:14:44.340 --> 00:14:47.580 clear that Peter O'Toole is excluded for reasons that apparently 219 00:14:47.620 --> 00:14:49.700 require no further discussion. Now I want an entirely separate 220 00:14:49.720 --> 00:15:12.149 episode about whatever happened between those two. We get an explanation, 221 00:15:12.250 --> 00:15:14.730 and somehow that makes it better. Patrick makes you believe 222 00:15:14.769 --> 00:15:18.889 that there is a magnificent scandal behind that moment. He 223 00:15:18.929 --> 00:15:24.639 has another beautiful, dry exchange about the financially painful conversation 224 00:15:24.679 --> 00:15:29.779 about his wife after his sexuality becomes public. His timing 225 00:15:29.840 --> 00:15:31.080 lets the second half of. 226 00:15:31.019 --> 00:15:32.860 The joke arrive like an invoice. 227 00:15:34.240 --> 00:15:37.139 What I appreciate is how little he needs to push. 228 00:15:37.519 --> 00:15:41.080 The voice, the pause, the certainty that Alistair knows precisely 229 00:15:41.139 --> 00:15:41.919 what he is saying. 230 00:15:42.659 --> 00:15:43.700 It all works together. 231 00:15:43.720 --> 00:15:51.549 And underneath the barbs, he makes Alistair appealing. You understand 232 00:15:51.610 --> 00:15:54.830 why Fraser wants to keep spending time with him. Patrick 233 00:15:54.889 --> 00:15:59.610 gives him warmth, confidence, and the kind of

attention Fraser 234 00:15:59.649 --> 00:16:04.019 could happily live on. Then Frasier finally admits why he's 235 00:16:04.399 --> 00:16:06.980 letting this misunderstanding continue. 236 00:16:07.820 --> 00:16:09.759 All my life I have dreamed of being half of 237 00:16:09.799 --> 00:16:14.730 a power couple and I finally am! That might be the. 238 00:16:14.710 --> 00:16:19.909 Most Frasier thing Frasier has ever said. The shared interests, 239 00:16:20.590 --> 00:16:27.159 the sophistication, the social standing. He finally has found his 240 00:16:27.279 --> 00:16:31.480 ideal partner and he would appreciate everyone giving him a 241 00:16:31.539 --> 00:16:34.669 little privacy while he ignores the compatibility issue. 242 00:16:36.090 --> 00:16:37.409 And honestly, I understand. 243 00:16:37.850 --> 00:16:40.710 If Patrick Stewart were sweeping me into his glamorous world, 244 00:16:40.730 --> 00:16:44.870 I'd be reluctant to interrupt too. What makes the comedy 245 00:16:44.990 --> 00:16:48.049 work for me is how much it exposes Fraser's vanity. 246 00:16:48.970 --> 00:16:51.870 He can practically see him deciding which inconvenient facts he 247 00:16:51.889 --> 00:16:55.740 can postpone acknowledging. His common sense is going to have 248 00:16:55.799 --> 00:16:59.500 to make an appointment. personally, I think Alistair could have 249 00:16:59.539 --> 00:17:04.039 handled Frasier. He could appreciate his taste, match his theatricality, 250 00:17:04.299 --> 00:17:07.730 and probably bring an argument to a complete stop with 251 00:17:07.890 --> 00:17:11.490 one raised eyebrow. I don't have to believe Frasier is 252 00:17:11.509 --> 00:17:14.490 secretly gay to enjoy their chemistry. I can enjoy seeing 253 00:17:14.529 --> 00:17:17.230 him with someone with confidence and taste meet his own. 254 00:17:18.450 --> 00:17:20.069 And I'll admit my own bias here. 255 00:17:20.630 --> 00:17:23.210 If Patrick Stewart were looking at me like that, I 256 00:17:23.250 --> 00:17:26.279 wouldn't have been concentrating on the opera either. Even the 257 00:17:26.319 --> 00:17:29.119 final joke about Fraser arriving without a bathing suit gives 258 00:17:29.140 --> 00:17:33.109 Alistair one more opportunity to make the situation delightfully awkward. 259 00:17:34.549 --> 00:17:37.130 Patrick leaves you with the same impression. This man is 260 00:17:37.190 --> 00:17:40.630 completely comfortable with himself, and Fraser is going to need 261 00:17:40.670 --> 00:17:44.849 a minute. For me, Alistair's confidence is a large part 262 00:17:44.890 --> 00:17:47.430 of his charm. I believe he enjoys his life, I 263 00:17:47.470 --> 00:17:50.539 believe he enjoys his flirting, and I believe spending an 264 00:17:50.599 --> 00:17:54.930 evening with him would be memorable. Watching this episode reminds 265 00:17:54.970 --> 00:17:57.269 me that part of Patrick's appeal was his ability to 266 00:17:57.309 --> 00:18:01.029 make me laugh. That magnificent voice could give you a 267 00:18:01.069 --> 00:18:04.250 speech about humanity or deliver a wicked little remark and 268 00:18:04.329 --> 00:18:10.579 leave me grinning. Those laughs belong in this tribute. Then 269 00:18:10.619 --> 00:18:13.920 there was Ian McKellen. I loved seeing them together. The 270 00:18:15.119 --> 00:18:16.180 affection was open. 271 00:18:17.559 --> 00:18:22.890 The smiles. The physical closeness. The kisses. 272 00:18:24.380 --> 00:18:26.730 You didn't need to invent a romance to recognize love. 273 00:18:27.750 --> 00:18:32.410 One well-documented example was the London premiere of Mr. Holmes 274 00:18:32.569 --> 00:18:35.970 in 2015, when they greet each other with a kiss. 275 00:18:36.789 --> 00:18:41.920 McKellen officiated Stewart's wedding to Sunny Ozel in 2013. That 276 00:18:41.980 --> 00:18:44.160 gives one some idea of the place he held into 277 00:18:44.200 --> 00:18:48.579 his life. In his published tribute, Ian described Patrick as 278 00:18:48.640 --> 00:18:53.339 someone he could rely on, admire, and love. That is 279 00:18:53.400 --> 00:18:56.279 more than enough to move me. There's something I treasure 280 00:18:56.319 --> 00:18:59.720 about seeing men express affection without seeming embarrassed by it. 281 00:19:00.640 --> 00:19:03.559 Particularly when one is gay and one is straight. Neither 282 00:19:03.579 --> 00:19:06.079 appears to need a running explanation of why being. 283 00:19:05.940 --> 00:19:09.220 Close is acceptable. They could be themselves together. 284 00:19:09.240 --> 00:19:13.740 That's what I took from watching them. And Patrick's playfulness 285 00:19:13.779 --> 00:19:17.910 followed him in interviews. During a conversation with Conan O'Brien 286 00:19:18.250 --> 00:19:21.650 about kissing in McKellen, Patrick went ahead and kissed Conan too. 287 00:19:22.529 --> 00:19:25.619 Some people bring a photograph to illustrate an interview story. 288 00:19:26.359 --> 00:19:30.720 Patrick brought a demonstration. I appreciate his commitment to making 289 00:19:30.759 --> 00:19:34.660 things clear. Those moments made me smile, but these behind 290 00:19:34.700 --> 00:19:37.640 them mattered as well. Friends are allowed to greet each 291 00:19:37.680 --> 00:19:40.640 other because they're happy to see each other. A kiss 292 00:19:40.660 --> 00:19:44.910 doesn't seem to become a crisis about somebody's masculinity. For 293 00:19:44.950 --> 00:19:47.309 a queer viewer, that public ease can be a relief. 294 00:19:48.930 --> 00:19:50.789 Here are two men who care about each other. An 295 00:19:51.529 --> 00:19:54.890 affection is allowed to be visible. Nobody has to withdraw 296 00:19:54.910 --> 00:19:57.079 a hand or turn a greeting into a joke at 297 00:19:57.140 --> 00:20:01.460 somebody else's expense. We spent so much time debating what 298 00:20:01.500 --> 00:20:05.619 love is printed to look like. I enjoyed seeing them 299 00:20:05.640 --> 00:20:09.869 get on with each other showing it. I loved

their silliness. 300 00:20:10.750 --> 00:20:13.410 Admiring somebody doesn't mean you only want to see them 301 00:20:13.450 --> 00:20:17.490 being dignified. Sometimes the joy is seeing a person with 302 00:20:17.549 --> 00:20:20.109 that much stature look delighted to be with his friend. 303 00:20:20.849 --> 00:20:23.740 Their friendship also brings us back to X-Men, where Stewart 304 00:20:23.819 --> 00:20:28.619 played Professor Xavier and McKellen played Magneto. While making the 305 00:20:28.660 --> 00:20:32.799 first film, Patrick and Ian had adjoining trailers. Patrick later 306 00:20:32.859 --> 00:20:35.759 explained that the long stretches between filming gave them time 307 00:20:35.779 --> 00:20:39.170 to sit together drink tea, and sometimes move on to 308 00:20:39.210 --> 00:20:43.009 something stronger in the afternoon. As they talked, they discovered 309 00:20:43.089 --> 00:20:46.559 how much they had in common. Those neighboring trailers helped 310 00:20:46.579 --> 00:20:50.920 their friendship grow. Before the red carpet kisses and the 311 00:20:50.960 --> 00:20:53.519 photographs so much of us enjoyed, there was time spent 312 00:20:53.579 --> 00:20:58.839 keeping each other company at work. I can picture the peel, 313 00:20:59.039 --> 00:21:01.680 a long day, a lot of waiting around, and somebody 314 00:21:01.720 --> 00:21:05.170 next door you actually want to spend time with. That 315 00:21:05.230 --> 00:21:08.660 is an excellent workplace benefit. Most job listings fail to 316 00:21:08.700 --> 00:21:13.420 mention whether Ian McKellen comes with the position. Their friendship 317 00:21:13.440 --> 00:21:17.400 had room to develop in those quieter hours. They could talk, laugh, 318 00:21:17.509 --> 00:21:21.390 and discover how much they enjoyed each other's company. That 319 00:21:21.430 --> 00:21:23.549 makes their work together feel a little warmer to me. 320 00:21:24.529 --> 00:21:28.029 On screen, Xavier and Magneto could argue about the future 321 00:21:28.049 --> 00:21:31.349 of the world. Between scenes, the actors playing them were 322 00:21:31.369 --> 00:21:34.430 getting to know each other over tea. For me, the 323 00:21:34.470 --> 00:21:38.529 core connection X-Men is easy to see. Characters have something 324 00:21:38.609 --> 00:21:42.650 about themselves that others may fear or reject. They have 325 00:21:42.670 --> 00:21:45.549 to decide whom to trust and whether revealing themselves will 326 00:21:45.589 --> 00:21:50.079 cost them their family, their safety, or their place in 327 00:21:50.099 --> 00:21:54.539 the world. That experience has a familiar shape for many 328 00:21:54.680 --> 00:21:59.880 queer people. I wouldn't say X-Men belongs exclusively in one interpretation. 329 00:21:59.900 --> 00:22:05.369 Its outsider story can speak to different communities. McKellen himself 330 00:22:05.400 --> 00:22:12.420 discussed its appeal to Black, Jewish, and gay audiences. His 331 00:22:12.579 --> 00:22:17.049 explicity connected the proposed cure for mutation with attempts to 332 00:22:17.109 --> 00:22:20.869 cure gay people. He also pointed to Bobby's disclosure to 333 00:22:20.910 --> 00:22:25.289 his parents next to as a coming out scene. Underneath 334 00:22:25.390 --> 00:22:28.069 the special effects is a question that hits close to home. 335 00:22:29.299 --> 00:22:31.500 Will the people who say they love you still want 336 00:22:31.539 --> 00:22:34.880 you when you understand who they are? And what do 337 00:22:34.940 --> 00:22:38.690 you do if they don't? This is why those stories 338 00:22:38.759 --> 00:22:41.839 can matter beyond the spectacle. A viewer can recognize the 339 00:22:41.880 --> 00:22:45.720 fear of being discovered, then see the characters finding people 340 00:22:45.740 --> 00:22:49.480 who understand them. I respond to the possibility of belonging, 341 00:22:49.920 --> 00:22:52.380 of having somewhere to go where the thing you were 342 00:22:52.420 --> 00:22:54.900 taught to conceal doesn't disqualify you. 343 00:22:54.799 --> 00:22:55.579 From being loved. 344 00:22:56.059 --> 00:22:58.559 You can watch for the action and still carry something 345 00:22:58.619 --> 00:23:03.269 more personal away with you. And having Stewart and McKellen 346 00:23:03.390 --> 00:23:05.670 at the center of those films adds another layer for me. 347 00:23:06.890 --> 00:23:10.069 Two actors whose real friendship becomes such a public source 348 00:23:10.089 --> 00:23:17.000 of affection. Stewart spoke publicly in support of LGBTQ equality. 349 00:23:17.019 --> 00:23:22.259 I also want to acknowledge this agreement because admiration should 350 00:23:22.299 --> 00:23:25.990 leave room for the whole person. In 2015, he supported 351 00:23:26.009 --> 00:23:29.150 a Northern Ireland baker's refusal to put a marriage equality 352 00:23:29.190 --> 00:23:32.950 message on a cake, taking it as a freedom of 353 00:23:32.990 --> 00:23:41.099 speech expression issue. Some LGBTQ people strongly disagreed. He subsequently 354 00:23:41.200 --> 00:23:44.619 reaffirmed his support for LGBTQ rights and rejected the idea 355 00:23:44.680 --> 00:23:48.359 that his position meant he opposed equality. That belongs in 356 00:23:48.380 --> 00:23:51.640 the record. You can appreciate his support and still disagree 357 00:23:51.680 --> 00:23:55.009 with that judgment. I don't need every listener to feel 358 00:23:55.069 --> 00:23:58.769 exactly as I do about him. What I'm explaining is 359 00:23:58.910 --> 00:24:02.789 why he mattered to me. His performances, his public words, 360 00:24:02.930 --> 00:24:06.130 and the affection he showed helped build that feeling over time. 361 00:24:07.029 --> 00:24:10.670 There's another role worth mentioning, Toby and Match, a dance 362 00:24:10.710 --> 00:24:15.299 teacher whose history includes relationships with men and women. It's 363 00:24:15.339 --> 00:24:18.480 another opportunity to see Stewart give emotional complexity to a

364 00:24:18.519 --> 00:24:21.859 queer character. For this episode, I keep returning to Sterling 365 00:24:21.880 --> 00:24:24.640 and Alistair. One made me believe in his love. The 366 00:24:24.680 --> 00:24:26.509 other made me wish Frasier could have figured out a 367 00:24:26.529 --> 00:24:27.509 way to keep him around. 368 00:24:28.769 --> 00:24:29.730 Both gave me pleasure. 369 00:24:29.750 --> 00:24:32.269 That is a place to remember too. 370 00:24:33.809 --> 00:24:34.710 So why did I cry? 371 00:24:35.549 --> 00:24:38.130 I think part of it was realizing how much affection 372 00:24:38.230 --> 00:24:43.059 had accumulated without me keeping track. The familiar voice, the characters, 373 00:24:43.130 --> 00:24:45.759 the pleasure of seeing him turn up somewhere unexpected and 374 00:24:45.799 --> 00:24:46.279 knowing I. 375 00:24:46.279 --> 00:24:47.019 Wanted to watch. 376 00:24:48.140 --> 00:24:51.279 Then the news came, and all of that feeling arrived 377 00:24:51.319 --> 00:24:55.259 at once. I never knew him personally. My grief doesn't 378 00:24:55.299 --> 00:24:57.339 pretend to be the same as the grief of his 379 00:24:57.400 --> 00:25:01.420 family or his friends, but the feeling was real, like 380 00:25:01.500 --> 00:25:04.660 many of us. He had become part of my life. 381 00:25:05.779 --> 00:25:09.920 like many of us, through his work. I lucked up 382 00:25:09.980 --> 00:25:13.720 to him. I enjoyed him. Like many of us, I 383 00:25:14.720 --> 00:25:19.279 found him sexy. I appreciated seeing a man with such 384 00:25:19.359 --> 00:25:23.900 authority also give us gentleness and play, like many of us. 385 00:25:25.539 --> 00:25:27.740 And I loved watching him play a man who loved 386 00:25:27.759 --> 00:25:30.680 another man without seeming to hold any part of the 387 00:25:30.740 --> 00:25:35.140 performance at arm's length. I miss that voice and the 388 00:25:35.200 --> 00:25:39.279 warmth he brought to his work. I miss the mischief too, 389 00:25:40.079 --> 00:25:43.259 the pleasure of watching this distinguished man discover an opportunity 390 00:25:43.279 --> 00:25:47.579 to be ridiculous and take full advantage of it. The bloopers, 391 00:25:48.720 --> 00:25:54.299 the interviews, the adorable birthday performance for Gene Roddenberry. He 392 00:25:54.359 --> 00:25:57.420 made me cry this week, but he gave me plenty 393 00:25:57.440 --> 00:26:00.460 of reasons to laugh over the years and want to 394 00:26:00.500 --> 00:26:01.259 remember those too. 395 00:26:02.490 --> 00:26:04.769 Thank you for Sterling. Thank you for Alistair. 396 00:26:06.329 --> 00:26:07.809 Thank you for the work that allows us to recognize 397 00:26:07.829 --> 00:26:10.869 something of ourselves and for the affection you were willing 398 00:26:10.890 --> 00:26:11.690 to show in public. 399 00:26:13.109 --> 00:26:14.309 I'm going to miss you, Patrick. 400 00:26:14.710 --> 00:26:16.950 And to my queers and weirdos, if you watch Jeffrey, 401 00:26:16.990 --> 00:26:20.160 tell me what you think. If you revisit The Doctors Out, 402 00:26:20.279 --> 00:26:22.400 tell me whether you agree about that pairing. 403 00:26:23.220 --> 00:26:24.500 I expect a few of you will. 404 00:26:25.279 --> 00:26:27.859 And if you find that birthday video, watching the captain 405 00:26:27.880 --> 00:26:29.980 enjoy himself is the only way to spend a few minutes. 406 00:26:30.839 --> 00:26:32.849 You can find this episode and the rest of Forgotten 407 00:26:32.869 --> 00:26:34.690 Queers at ForgottenQueers.com. 408 00:26:35.259 --> 00:26:36.859 I love you and take your fiber.