Despite the progress the LGBTQ community has made over the years, gay actors in Hollywood still have a hard time revealing their identity and coming out. The industry is much more lenient than before, and the world is more accepting, yet they still face prejudice and mistreatment both online and onset. Some actors might even be passed over for a heterosexual role because directors and casting know they are gay. However, Scott Evans never struggled to balance his Hollywood fame and come to terms with his sexuality in the harsh industry.
Who is Scott Evans?
A 37-years-old American actor from Massachusetts, Scott Evans is most famous for his recurring role on ABC’s soap opera One Life to Live. On the show, he played a gay police officer, Oliver Fish. He appeared for a total of 137 episodes, even though he was initially only supposed to play in five.
His character was romantically involved with another in 2009. This caught some attention when one of the main actresses was fired for criticizing the storyline based on her personal religious practices. The next year, his character’s arc was wrapped up, and he was released from the show.
Evans has appeared in a few other television shows and movies. One of which is a recurring character, also named Oliver, on Grace and Frankie, since 2018. He was also featured in episodes of Law & Order: Criminal Intent, Law & Order, and White Collar.
The young actor particularly enjoys the crime and mystery shows, as he used to want to be a homicide detective. He’s also starred in small roles in films such as The Lovely Bones, Confessions of a Shopaholic, and Before We Go. Evans has been active in the industry since 2008. Although he has worked in various movies and shows, he is probably more recognized for being Captain America’s little brother.
When Did He Publicly Announce He Was Gay?
He didn’t! Scott Evans never felt the need to announce his sexual orientation to anyone publicly. He grew up in a loving and nurturing family environment that made him feel supported throughout his life. When he was nineteen, he came out to his family and never felt like he needed to hide his true identity.
They grew up in a very liberal and progressive household, so it was never considered shameful or a secret. His most notable and longest-running role was playing a gay officer on a soap opera, so having people know he was also gay wasn’t scandalizing or shocking to him. It was just another fact about him, like what his favorite food or color is.
He was actually publicly outed by his brother, Chris Evans. In 2009, Chris had an interview with The Advocate, where he told them the story about how his brother came out to him when they were hanging out alone in New York City. His friends were all horrified that he revealed his brother’s secret, so Chris was incredibly fearful that his brother would be upset when he found out.
Scott, though, couldn’t care less. He said he was happy that his brother was not ashamed of him and felt proud enough to talk about it even in interviews freely.
Chris Evans has expressed in previous interviews that his brother’s coming out and experiences as a gay man inspired him to have such a deep passion and dedication to fighting for LGBTQ rights. Growing up in a household with strong women and a gay brother enabled him to experience different perspectives and become a more compassionate and understanding person. He never received any negative responses for actively advocating for gay rights, and his brother Scott never received any hate for it either.
His Experiences in the Industry
He was already sure of his identity when he started acting. His brother shared it with everyone when he was still relatively unknown. So Scott never needed to explain or defend himself for being authentic. He has not actively gone out of his way to play gay roles.
Still, alongside his character in ABC’s soap opera, he also featured in Sell By. It was a 2019 LGBTQ film that revolved around the struggles of a gay couple. They try to navigate their dying relationship and come to terms with themselves and their ending.
Scott praised the film for its writing and expressed how important it was for him to see it portraying a couple on screen, without announcing that they were gay. He had never seen those types of films growing up. So it felt very personal and representative of the experiences he went through.
He dated boyfriend Zach Volin for the past two years; however, they broke up in April of the last year 2020, a few months into the pandemic. He expressed online that it was an amicable breakup, and there were no hard feelings or animosity between the two.
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