SOAP Q: Eric Sheffer Stevens: “The more varied gay people are represented on TV the better it is so you don’t have any stereotypes.”

Via Gays of Our Lives column on Afterelton.com:

Here is a portion of a new interview with Eric Sheffer Stevens (Dr. Reid):

AE: I know you haven’t been with the show that long, but it is ending. How do you feel about that?

ESS: Well, I got very attached to it very quickly. And I’m sort of sentimental anyway so it’s easy for me to get upset about something like that, the fact that it’s been around for 54 years. It’s very sad to me that it and Guiding Light, which started as a radio show, are going to be gone. It’s sad to lose that kind of history.

AE: We haven’t had that many gay roles on daytime, especially ones as unique as yours. Do you ever think about that?

ESS: It doesn’t have an impact on me, but I appreciate the fact that there just not that many in daytime. There’s more and more all the time. The more varied gay people are represented on TV the better it is so you don’t have any stereotypes. I think that can only be helpful. When you’re stuck with only a few gay characters on TV and they’re not really that varied or diverse in their behavior, I don’t think that’s very helpful to the gay community as a whole.

AE: What is about Luke that appeals to Reid? Why is he drawn to him?

ESS: There’s something very fresh about him. I don’t know if I can articulate it, but it’s just one of those attractions. Reid doesn’t know why because it goes against what he thinks he would want in a partner. It doesn’t add up because he definitely dislikes him initially so I think he hates himself for the attraction, but he gives into it more and more.