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HOT: Andra Fuller Discusses His Role on "The L.A. Complex"

GIF/SCREENCAPS: SON OF BALDWIN/ALAYE MEN

The L.A. Complex has become must-see Monday night television ever since the Canadian series made its stateside debut. One obvious reason: The ample servings of beefcake and the scorching same-sex love scenes featuring actor Andra Fuller.

The Toronto-based series has also attracted a cult following among Black gay and bisexual men because of its delicious narrative and characters. Black Enterprise chats up Andra Fuller who portrays the "volatile gangsta rapper Kaldrick King... who also happens to be gay [and] closeted. ... Fuller had no trepidations about taking the part, but those around him were leery about his decision."

"When I accepted this role and what it entailed, my family and friends were like, 'Why do you want to play a gay dude?' They also wanted to know why every time a Black man is shown on TV as gay; he has to be on the down low. But they didn’t look at the ramification: I’m playing a very successful down low rapper on a network television show. That’s never happened before."

Fuller's impeccable performance is buoyed by sharp writing [and] navigates it all — from suicide attempts to intense love scenes — with incredible ease. "As an actor, you don’t run away from a role because it doesn’t coexist with your personal lifestyle," he explains. "If I take a role as a mass murderer, I don’t think I would ever have the gall to kill someone in my real life. But I’m not going to run away from it because I don’t believe in murder."

Very refreshing to hear a Black actor embrace a multi-dimensional gay character with such intensity ... and will not shy away from the sexual component. .

Television depictions of the LGBT community remain overwhelmingly white, according to a recent report by GLAAD. CW remains the top broadcast network for LGBT impressions and has the most diversity—thanks to programming such as The L.A. Complex and America's Next Top Model.

"The gay and lesbian community has been super-supportive and appreciative of what I’ve been putting into Kaldrick," Fuller told Black Enterprise. "It’s definitely an honor to be chosen to play this character in this storyline. I try my damndest every day I step on set to do it justice."

The L.A. Complex will air tonight and Mondays at 8P through October 1. Very much looking forward to tonight's episode after last week's scorcher with the legal fierceness. Kaldrick has met his match. Yasss.

Watch a video clip from last week's hotness AFTER THE JUMP ...

"Pariah" Director Talks to "Black Enterprise" About Coming Out

R20 readers may recall our January 2011 report about Pariah, the coming-of-age drama about a Black lesbian teen in New York City. Pariah was originally created as a short film by writer/director Dee Rees. The project was developed into a feature film and made its debut at the 2011 Sundance Film Festival.

BlackEnterprise.com interviewed filmmaker Dee Rees last week for National Coming Out Day. Rees discussed the film and how the character's "coming out" process encouraged her own journey.

When she began writing the script six years ago, Rees was going through her own coming-out process. "As I was coming into my sexuality, I started to become comfortable with who I was. But I didn’t know how to express that," says the 34-year-old filmmaker. "Some of the awe and anxiety the lead character feels were things I experienced when I was coming out, coming into this world."

A native of Nashville, Tennessee, Rees was amazed to see teenage girls totally out and proud when she came to New York. "Even if I had figured out my sexuality at that age, I don’t know that I would have had the courage to be that person, and that is how the idea for the film came about," she says. ...

Rees admits the principal conflicts in the film are similar to her own. "Parental conflict is something I really went through," she says. "When I came out, my parents weren’t accepting ... For a few months, they sent emails, cards, letters and Bible verses to make me change," she says. She cut off communication, alienating herself, but eventually started talking to them again. "Things are better now."

Pariah is about 17-year-old "butch" lesbian Alike discovering her sexual identity with which contrasts with the feminine, obedient Christian girl desired by her family. One of the standout characters was Kim Wayans  as the disapproving, gay-bashing "Christian" mother.

Focus acquired the film for "less than $1 million" last January, according to the Hollywood Reporter. The studio has a good track record of financing critically- and commercially-successful independent LGBT features, such as Brokeback Mountain, Milk, and The Kids Are All Right, currently nominated for four Academy Awards.

Black Enterprise, Ebony, Essence and Jet have profiled LGBT issues in recent months. The cover of Black Enterprise's July 2011 issue was "Black and Gay in Corporate America." Our report on Black same-sex couples raising children was featured in the October 2011 EBONY.

The film opens in limited engagement in New York, Los Angeles, and San Francisco on December 28. The nationwide premiere is January 2012. Watch the trailer AFTER THE JUMP ...