Jonah Blechman On New Projects, ‘Another Gay Movie’ Re-release

Award-winning character actor Jonah Blechman is celebrating the dynamic release of four diverse projects over the first half of 2021.

To kick off the year, Blechman teamed up once again with iconic director Todd Stephens for the South by Southwest (SXSW) feature Swan Song, which premiered March 16. Blechman and Stephens also saw the re-release of their first collaboration, the breakout, queer comedy Another Gay Movie, in celebration of the film’s 15-year anniversary. Released on March 30 from Breaking Glass Picture, the cult classic is sure to shock new audiences with this special director’s cut, complete with never-before-seen footage.

On the small screen, Blechman takes the lead in the new dark comedy TV series Pet Peeves, starring as Milton, a newly paroled pet psychic. Pet Peeves premiered on April 11 in honor of National Pet Day on global queer TV network Revry.

Finally, to cap off the first half of 2021, Blechman will appear alongside a deadly prehistoric terror in the dinosaur horror feature Claw, which will have a limited theatrical and home entertainment release this summer from ITN Studios.

In a career spanning over three decades, Blechman ‘s first role of note had him breaking boundaries by kissing Leonardo DiCaprio in the critically acclaimed film, This Boy’s Life. Since then, he has appeared in more than 70 roles in film and television, many which have garnered him awards and nominations.

Blechman took some time to chat more with OFM about his latest projects, including his love for acting, the impact Another Gay Movie made on the LGBTQ community, and his willingness to play queer roles.

Hi, Jonah! Thank you for taking time to chat with me about your new film projects. Let me begin with Swan Song. What can you tell us about it?
This is a wonderful film directed by Todd Stephens, and it has Udo Kier, Jennifer Coolidge, Michael Urie, and Linda Evans in her first big role in like 30 years since she acted in Dynasty. This is just a beautiful film. Todd, who did Edge of Seventeen and Another Gay Movie, this is his third in a trilogy for his Sandusky movies, and it is about Udo, who gives a performance of his career in many regards. Udo has done over 200 films, and he is always a weird German with crazy eyes.

He plays this old hairdresser who is about to die in a senior citizens home, and it is based on a true story and a true character. Then, he is kind of reawakened to do the hair of his most famous, richest client who just died, who he has not spoken to in 30 years. Jennifer Coolidge plays his protégé, and I play Jennifer Coolidge’s protégé. Udo and Jennifer are wonderful to work with, and they are both legends in their own ways.

I am glad you mentioned Another Gay Movie because you are doing a re-release of the film for its 15-year anniversary. Did you ever think it would become the cult classic it is today?
Absolutely [laughs]. I knew that what we were making was different than anything that had existed, and I am very mission driven as an artist. When I first read the script, I thought I would never be a part of something like this. It was too crude, I had only done dramatic films or true stories, and I was like, I am not going to be a part of this. However, it bothered me so much that it bothered me so much. I knew there was something for me to learn.

Usually, as an artist I like to go into those places, and I realized I had a lot of judgment there. So, what was it that I was judging? When I dived in, it became this incredible relief and freedom. After that fear, there was just all this freedom, and I really did hope that it would be a classic. I certainly had never seen anything like it. We knew we were making something that was in the vein of Porky’s and American Pie, and those had kind of been markers of their day. We knew the queer community never had that. So, when you ask if I knew it was going to be a cult classic, I could have only hoped. It certainly had the bones for it.

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What are some of your favorite memories working on Another Gay Movie and its sequel?
There are so many memories of these films. I also executive produced them both, so I kind of had a behind-the-scenes and in front of it look, but just the camaraderie between us boys. Michael Carbonaro is still one of my best and closest friends. There are just so many. The scene with Richard Hatch and dancing with him, and then having the whole explosion scene is hysterical and crazy. Even the rehearsal time that we had with the boys ahead of time and getting to do that was so meaningful.

For the sequel, we had RuPaul, and this was before Drag Race. I always like to say it is a little nod before Drag Race. She played a host of a reality show, so I think we kind of inspired her. Also, just working with all these great, unique people in their fields. From Scott Thompson, Graham Norton, Lady Bunny, Brent Corrigan, and Perez Hilton, plus so many other cast mates, extras and people who contributed, there were a lot of great moments that were had.

What do you think is the biggest boundary Another Gay Movie broke?
Our ability to laugh at ourselves. Up to that point, there were not any real comedies. Everything was a coming-out story, and it really took these stereotypes that I think nowadays we are a lot more sensitive to, but it made us be fierce about them in a way where we could actually laugh at ourselves and get away with laughing at ourselves. I would say that is probably the biggest boundary outside of showing shriveled up penises and a guy screwing a pie with a gerbil up his ass. I feel like we did hit a lot of new things, but we got to help shift and open up the genre of what queer content could be.

Is it true that Michael, Jonathan Chase, and Mitch Morris did not want to be in the sequel because they were afraid to be typecast in gay roles?
I think that was a part of it. We knew Jonathan was not going to participate in the sequel pretty early on, but Michael and Mitch dropped out, like, two weeks before we were going to shoot the sequel, which was a big scramble. I think they would also probably share that they were getting pressure from their teams to not do it. Again, that was how threatening this type of work clearly was. I call it my queer protest because we lost some people.

You were never afraid of being typecast or playing gay roles?
Before Another Gay Movie, I was the youngest, equity Hedwig of the original run of that, and that really helped me embrace my willingness to sort of come out at that point. The first film I did, I played a queer character in This Boy’s Life kissing Leonardo DiCaprio. So, I had played other queer characters, and I think I kind of made that choice earlier on before these boys did at the beginning of their careers. Of course, I was weary that it would stop me from anything, but I have participated in a lot of films that are more avant-garde, cutting edge, or on the edge. I knew those are the people who wanted to work with me, and I could break some ground.

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I must ask, what was it like kissing Leonardo DiCaprio in This Boy’s Life?
I originally did not want to do it [laughs]. It’s funny because he brought it up. We were all kind of talking about it, and I was like, ‘Huh, really?’ Leo was a dear friend of mine certainly through that process and then afterwards, but I was never attracted to Leo. Also, kind of where that was coming from, even in the movie, it was such a moment of shared intimacy. That was sort of an acknowledgment of that, opposed to horny sexuality. It was more of a moment of, wow, you really see me, and I see you. Thank you, I love you.

What are your thoughts about the big debate that is currently going on in Hollywood about straight actors playing LGBTQ roles?
I feel torn about it. It is important for queer men to have that accessibility, but it is weird now because before, acting was more about playing other types of characters. Now, much of the casting is about trying to find the real people. This is an important issue, and I certainly wish I were cast in more things that straight men got, but I also believe as an artist, the people with the most interesting and most dynamic performances should get the role. I am split about it because I definitely want to empower more casting of people in the trans community and all that, but again, as an artist, do I want to be able to play roles that are not me? Yes. Absolutely. That is part of the freedom of it.

I feel like I want both to exist. Right now, the pendulum is swinging, and it is understandable to give more voice to those who are actually queer. We also have the strength of artists who are queer to be able to play those roles now, as well. Maybe people were not as empowered early on because they were kind of shunned from doing queer stuff. Don’t play queer; don’t be queer. It is certainly a complicated scenario, and for me, I could never give you a simplistic yes or no. I think there are merits to both sides.

One of your other projects is the new dark comedy TV series, Pet Peeves. What can you tell us about this show and your character?
Oh my God, this is so funny. I fell in love with the character, Milton Michaels. I am a pet clairvoyant ex-con just newly out of prison for over a decade, so he is a bit of a Luddite. He does not know all this technology, but he is a clairvoyant to animals. This is a show about, if your pet could speak, what would they say about you? We all know that our pets see everything, and what those issues would be. I think it is just so fun to explore what our animals are trying to tell us, and all these eccentric characters who are pet owners.

Your last project to cap off the first half of 2021 is the dinosaur horror feature, Claw. Same question. What can you tell us about this?
A whole different kind of genre. This is a horror comedy, and it is funny and scary. A modern-day dinosaur tales where there is a queer man and his straight best friend/girlfriend, and their antics. I am briefer in this film than not because a friend of mine is the creator of it. He was like, ‘Can you come in for this?’ I was like, ‘Yeah, I can come and help.’ It is going to have a rather wide release. I was told, like, 250 screens or something like that would premiere it over the summer.

Out of these new projects, which one did you find to be the most challenging?
Challenging as an actor, I would say Pet Peeves because I am sort of carrying that series. There were different levels of actors who were participating, and it was also dealing with animals. So, trying to make sure we get a take, but making sure the dog is with you or we have to move the bunny’s head. Dealing with animals on set can be a bit challenging.

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You have been working as an actor since you were a young boy. How did you discover your love and passion for performing?
I started as a dancer when I was three years old, and my parents were so open to letting me do that. Then, I started acting in community theatre and commercials, and I was so happy to be seen and heard. I am the youngest of four kids, and I don’t know if I just needed to get more attention, but I loved being seen and heard. Dancing is my first talent, and that really took off for me. It was a validation that gave me an identity. Acting kicked in for me because it was a place I could be out of control in a controlled environment. That was sort of imparted on me, and I certainly relate that to being queer.

We are constantly, especially my generation when we were younger, hiding and concealing. You are already an actor in the world because you are withholding who you are. Acting gave me opportunities to express something fully, and I love acting because I want to be able to act out in a safe environment in ways I would never do in my real life. I would never heighten my emotionality in certain scenarios consciously because I would not want to damage my relationships in that way. I would not take those kinds of risks that certain characters do. I may have the impetus to want to do so, but I wouldn’t.

I am too conscientious of my reactions. I have been meditating every day since I was 18 years old. I have a little bit of self-control with some of those reactions, but I am curious to be able to step into worlds, characters, and genders that are not me. I learned from experience playing Nico what my masculinity was because I had to totally be in my feminine side, which I had never done before, and I was terrified about even exploring it. I realized after that, this is really where I land, and I felt even more comfortable with my masculinity because I got to explore my femininity. That was through a character, and that taught me a lot. It just kind of grows you when you put on different personas. You measure it to yourself, too.

What do you hope audiences take away from your work?
I hope they can take away some kind of emotional experience. Whether it is titillating joy, giddiness, or just warm heartedness, I hope that they can feel it so much. I hope they can feel it a little bit more than they feel other things. As an actor, I feel like you are empathic and sensitive. I hope I can open someone up from whatever my experience is. Life can be hard to let yourself feel and have emotion. I feel like we go to storytelling so we can do that in a safe environment. We can cry watching your story, but I am really crying because I am thinking of my own. I hope I can be enough of a vessel to really allow people to feel as many things as possible.

You have now expanded into working with LGBTQ media, PR, and platforms like Revry. What have you gained from this experience?
It all kind of hits into my mission, which is to support, be of service to our community, and be of service to help champion and amplify voices that would not necessarily get to be heard. They all play into that part. We are all story making machines, we are all story eating machines. Storytelling and watching TV is such a huge part of every person’s life, and this is how we learn to be a part of that and make an impact. Helping people with it is a great privilege, and I feel like that is the unifying theme whether I am acting, writing, directing, or producing.

Before we wrap up, is there anything else you would like to mention or plug? Any other upcoming projects?
I am excited about some of the stuff that is coming out after this pandemic. I am going to be working in Prague, which I am very excited about, and I have been focusing on a project that I have been writing for some years. It means the world to me, and I hope it is my greatest work yet. Other than that, I think that is it!

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Photos Courtesy of Jonah Blechman and Revry