I'm in love with red. I think it's such a passionate color. Every flag of every country pretty much has red it it. It's power, there's no fence sitting with red. Either you love it or you don't. I think its blood and strength and life. I do love red. I love all colors. Great shades of blue, you find them in nature. They're all magic.
Bryan Batt
I grew up in a very celebratory town. We celebrate everything, from life to death and everything in between. So a lot of dramatics come into my aesthetic. And I'm an actor, so that adds more to the dramatic - I don't mean over-the-top. The main thing is never to be boring.
In the dining room, next to my collection of colorful papier-mache Mardi Gras float art, hang draperies made of the New Orleans toile fabric that I designed pre-Katrina for Hazelnut.
Le Petit is where I cut my teeth with some of my early roles. In 1982, I was in the chorus of 'Gypsy' and soon after I had my first lead as Jamie Lockhart in 'The Robber Bridegroom.'
I always wanted to be an actor, but I always loved design, and growing up in New Orleans there was such great style, great architecture. I would decorate my little apartment in New York over and over again, because it only had a couple of rooms. And I did it for friends and family on the side just for fun.
When are we going to stop labeling everyone? How many times have I been referred to as 'out gay actor?' Do we say, 'out heterosexual actor' when we refer to Tom Hanks?
My family's business was actually an amusement park in New Orleans. My grandfather had started that, and my grandmother was a dance maven in New Orleans. It was just the theatricality and the Mardi Gras and the pageantry that I fell in love with at an early age.
Gray is great. People think gray is a neutral, but I think it's such a moody, intense, dramatic and sexy color. It's very sleek.
When I did 'Ugly Betty' it was very similar to working on 'Mad Men' - great group of people in their own little world. But I don't really see a lot of difference. Of course, on the cable shows, you can tackle subjects and be more specific, because networks have to appeal to the masses, but that's constantly changing and evolving.
God love Neil Patrick Harris - how great is that. People grew up with him; they go, 'Oh it's him, it's that little boy and he just happens to be gay. How great for him!' The more of those kind of examples that happen, the better it's going to be.
When I've ridden in parades, I always throw to the kids, the elderly and anyone who is smiling and having a great time. I try to make eye contact with the person. If you catch a ton and a kid nearby hasn't caught much, share.
I am a collector of many things, but I particularly love the sterling silver mint julep cups, each engraved with the titles of the Broadway shows in which I appeared.
I did grow up in New Orleans. I grew up right on the lake, right across the levee.
Did Anthony Hopkins really have to be a serial killer to be in 'Silence of the Lambs?,' I don't think so, no. It's called acting, people.
My favorite song as a boy was definitely 'Downtown' recorded by Petula Clark. I still love it! And the original cast recording of 'Gypsy'; I played my mother's cast recordings until there was no vinyl left.
As a rule, I try to avoid the French Quarter because of the crowds, especially Bourbon Street. But hey, some people love it. A great, wild, adult thing to see is the costume competition in front of the bar Oz on Bourbon early morning on Fat Tuesday.
Be fun! I don't like homes or rooms that don't have a sense of humor or have some sense of whimsy or a personality. Your home should reflect who you are, and what you love. I would never have something in my home because it's the thing to have. I have to love it and it needs some connection to me.
Put every light you have on a dimmer. Because after a certain age, we can play with the lighting and set it on how you look best on it. It's cheaper than plastic surgery.
I think there is this steely strength beneath this beautiful veneer that a lot of women possess. I can't fathom or understand it.
I think in your home, you should only use colors that you look good in. It's a little self-serving but think if it as you're on a stage. Not with any pressure, but you want to showcase yourself.
No one is a plain white room. I hate going into a home that is done to the nines but has nothing do with the homeowner - no knickknacks, no art that has anything to say about the person who lives there.
Labels don't really impress, it's the uniqueness and risk in decor that inspire.
There are many Broadway songs that apply to moments on 'Mad Men,' and I sing them on set all the time.
The writing was so clearly written on the wall about me, but I didn't see it. I had no role models. I didn't know there was even a possibility of being gay. I battled with it, but this was the way God made me. If you have a problem with it, take it up with the man upstairs.
I do find, coming form the stage and all that, I've always been conscious of my posture and my body, but also the style aspect, I do find myself throwing on a blazer and a nice pair of loafers more often. Daddy always likes a new pair of Guccis.
If you see something that speaks to you and you can swing it, don't question. I don't regret anything that I've ever bought, only the things that slipped away.
Any of Bette Midler's concerts should be required viewing for every actor/performer. She has the audience in the palm of her hands at all times and can switch emotions on a dime: Great singer, great actress, great comedian - fearless.
It's funny... musical theater is what paid my rent and kept me going for the longest time.
I didn't have any role models. I really thought I was doomed to this loveless, lonely life. I didn't know any gay people until I began doing theater.
I think living my happy, open life and showing young gay kids you can be successful, you can have love in your life, you can be a contributing member of society and you can be respected - I think that's it.
I firmly believe that life is an 'and' proposition and not an 'or' one. If you really love something, you just have to try it. The worse that can happen is that you'll be told 'no.'
People are easily intimidated when they decorate their home. They think it has to be one way. But there's no one way. It's your way, your style. At the end of the day, you have to live there. It's your cocoon, your nest. You have to be happy in it.
My mantra is, 'Don't be afraid of color.' What did it do to you? Do a color testing in alternate kinds of light you desire in the room because the pigment will change. And I refuse to believe that pale pale or white colors in a small room will buy you more square footage. Go with color all the way.
Gay actors have been playing straight since Euripides.
You know, I think I was always intrigued by theater since I was a small child.
I can't tell you the thrill and joy of when I was cast in my first Broadway show. Granted, it was 'Starlight Express' and it was exhausting, but it was my first time on Broadway, and there was nothing like it.
When people ask, 'What role are you dying to play?' I always say, 'The one being written for me right now.'
I've lived in N.Y. and L.A. for many years, but I still gravitate to New Orleans - it's so unique and so European. There's nothing else like it in the country. It has its own music, its own food, its own style and its own way of life.
You don't look at a painting and ask if the artist was gay or straight. I think it's irrelevant in any situation - I don't care if my garbageman is gay or straight as long as he picks up the garbage.
I tend to wake up in the middle of the night with ideas crying to be documented.
We have a costume closet at home. My family will put on a costume for any excuse.
I live a bi-coastal and sometimes tri-coastal life.
I changed the lyrics of 'All I Need Is the Girl' to 'All I Need Is the Job' for an audition years ago. It's a great ice-breaker - people want to laugh.
I watch the TV or learn scripts while on the elliptical - need to get back on it!
