Lucas Grabeel Says He Probably Would Not Play Ryan in "High School Musical" Today
Lucas Gabreel might have brought the iconic High School Musical character, Ryan, to life, but that doesn't mean that he would make the same decision today.
In an interview with TMZ, the actor revealed that he likely wouldn't take the role of Ryan if the movie was being made today.
"If High School Musical was made today, I don’t know if I would play Ryan," he said. "I would love to, but I just don’t know. The last thing that I want to do is take something away, take an opportunity away from other people, and as a straight white man, I know that even without trying I’ve taken opportunities away from people. There’s so many amazingly talented gay actors that could do it as well."
High School Musical director Kenny Ortega recently revealed that Ryan was gay in an interview with Variety.
"We decided he’d probably going to come out in college. It was less about coming out and just more about letting his true colors come forward," he said.
At the end of the series, Ryan headed off to Juliard with his then-girlfriend, Kelsi. While many fans have guessed over the years that Ryan was gay throughout the series, Kenny notes that Disney was not likely open to the idea back in 2008, when the third film was released.
"I have to be honest with you. I didn’t think at the time [we could say Ryan was gay] — and Disney is the most progressive group of people I’ve ever worked with. I was concerned because it was family and kids, that Disney might not be ready to cross that line and move into that territory yet," he said. "So, I just took it upon myself to make choices that I felt that those who were watching would grab. They would see it, they would feel it, they would know it and they would identify with it. And that is what happened."
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