If you're a fan of ABC's How To Get Away With Murder, then there's no doubt you rave about Jack Falahee and his character, Connor Walsh, who you either love or hate. If you don't watch HTGAWM, then you're missing out on an amazing performance from the talented actor who plays a gay man willing to go above and beyond to become a top-notch lawyer and to break the case at hand. There's a reason he's become one of the breakout stars of the series, and he isn't just phenomenal on the small screen. He's also an inspiration when it comes to talking about sexual orientation and relationship status. In an interview with Out magazine, Jake Falahee wouldn't define his sexuality, nor mention if he's currently in a relationship.
Since Falahee plays a gay man on television, people want to know if he's gay in real life. Well, don't ask him, because he won't tell you, and rightfully so. The actor believes how he defines his own sexuality is "trivial" compared to everything else going on in the world. He explained,
I don’t think answering who I’m sleeping with accomplishes anything other than quenching the thirst of curiosity. And moreover, it seems reductive. It’s been really interesting to be in the middle of the industry’s fascination with the individual, because I never thought about that growing up or when I was at acting school. No matter how I answer, someone will say, "No, that’s not true.”
Some might say it's their "right" to know, especially since Falahee is now part of an industry where privacy really isn't privacy anymore. For him, he understands "that people want to feel some sort of connection with [him], but [he] would encourage them to feel that through the work" and not through his personal life. He added,
We still live in this hetero-normative, patriarchal society that is intent on placing everything within these binaries. I really hope that — if not in my lifetime, my children’s lifetime — this won’t be a question, that we won’t need this.
It's never been Falahee's intention to be an inspiration or make a difference in someone's life. That's not what he's thinking when he goes to work. He said,
I’m glad that it is a big deal — it’s a huge deal — but you don’t think about that when you go to work. On Monday, I have to go and do a bunch of scenes, and I’m thinking about my actions and my goals and objectives — not I’m going to go make a difference.
Well, I hate to break it to him, but he has become an inspiration and is making a difference. He's redefining the industry for the better and in more ways than one.
