Remember the super sexy Tom Berklund? Senior Editor David Toussaint gave us this profile at the beginning of the month and now we want to ask YOU, our readers, who you think we should profile as November’s Man? Just comment here or email me at morris (at) guyspy.com. David LOVES getting these sort of assignments.
I’m not sure how an actor goes from playing Lurch in “The Addams Family” to starring as the gay grandson of Oral Roberts, but Tom Berklund’s been doing both simultaneously—and managing to look like he just stepped out of a Miami Beach fashion shoot in the process.
Six-feet-two, 29 years old, with lips that pucker up and say hello before he does, the actor/dancer/singer has been heading a few blocks away from the Lunt-Fontanne Theatre on Monday nights to do a staged reading of “Leviticus in Love,” the autobiographical play about gay activist Randy Roberts Potts.
“While my background and struggles have been very different from Randy’s, I do feel we have similar sensibilities,” says Berklund. “It is a great opportunity to be able to meet somebody you are playing, but it is also terrifying when they are sitting in the front row!”
Berklund’s big Broadway break came in 2008 when he was cast as Gregory in the “Chorus Line” revival. “It was an exhilarating and terrifying experience at first,” he says, “but one that I will be forever grateful for. It’s an extraordinary show.”
That show ended, and then the Lucky Star got cast as Pilgrim (and Lurch’s understudy), in yet another big musical, which not only allowed him to flex his musical muscle, but gave him the opportunity to work with Nathan Lane and Bebe Neuwirth, and now Brooke Shields and Roger Rees. Says Berklund: “The entire cast has always been warm and supportive and become my good friends.”
Berklund has bared his bod to help “Broadway Bares,” and has never been “in” anything but a show. “Being openly gay in the Broadway circuit is nothing out of the ordinary, so it has not been much of an issue,” says Berklund, who wants to move into theater and television.
The celluloid closet isn’t an option either. “There are many big-name closeted actors that do this for the sake of their careers. Personally, I don’t think it’s a choice with much integrity, but I do understand the professional sacrifice you may be making to be honest about ones sexuality.”
Berklund’s busy life hasn’t stopped him from dating (those lips are locked on the details), dramatics (he studies at the Matthew Corozine studio), and just digging New York. “I can wake up and be out the door and in the middle of everything within five minutes. I love that.”
The Addams might disagree, but we don’t think Tom should ever be kept hidden indoors.








Recent Comments