Speaking of Raviv Ullman, the Israeli-American actor got his start on
Phil of the Future (2004-2006), one of the few Disney channel teencoms that offered little beefcake and virtually no homoromantic subtexts. It was a "my secret" comedy about a family of the future trapped in the present. Phil gets a girlfriend immediately.
But he's done a lot of gay-positive roles since.
In
Driftwood (2006), as a juvenile detention center inmate who befriends a gay kid
(Jeremy Lelliott).
In
The Big Bad Swim (2006), as a teenager who, along with his best friend (Avi Setton), films the exploits of a beginning swim class for adults.
In
Normal Adolescent Behavior (2007), as part of a group of high school friends, including a gay couple (Edward Tournier, Stephen Colletti).
On stage in
Dead End (2005), a revival
of the original which not only upped the beefcake but, but intensified the homoerotic bonds between the boys (while eliminating the older-younger subtext).
In
The Russian Transport on Broadway (2012), as the nephew of a Russian mobster who has qualms about his involvement.
Rumor has it that Raviv is gay or bisexual in real life, but he hasn't made any public statements. Do people make "coming out" statements anymore?
This is somewhat off-topic, but I notice you seem to follow a lot of the Disney Channel shows, so I have a question I've been trying to answer for a long time:
ReplyDeleteDo you know the name of a sitcom pilot (I believe it was for ABC Family, sister network to Disney Channel) which was about a redheaded gay boy? I'm not sure when the pilot was created, but I watched it on YouTube sometime between 3–5 years ago. Unfortunately, the video was taken down within weeks (possibly even days) of being posted on YouTube and I didn't save it before it vanished.
From what I remember, the plot was about a redheaded boy approximately 12–14 years old (played by a REAL boy, not some 20-something year old being passed off as a "teenager") who is gay. The story followed him through an average day in his life (family, school, etc) and, in particular, a crush he had on one of his male school teachers.
Sadly, the sitcom was never picked up to series, but it was great. The boy who starred was funny, natural and comfortable in the role (obviously gay, but not "camping" it up for laughs) and the writing was great (no whining about how "depressed" he was about being gay or the same tired "bullying" story we've seen a million times). It was just a genuinely funny show about a genuinely happy boy who just happened to be gay (and not "coded" gay, but I mean explicitly gay, no two ways about it).
I'm not 100% sure the pilot was commissioned by the ABC Family network, but I seem to remember that was what I was told at the time I saw it. Of course I could kick myself for not downloading it while I had the chance, but at this point I'd be happy just to know the name of it and/or the name of the boy who starred so could I at least look for other things he's done.
Sorry, I'm not familiar with it.
Delete