The American actor Michael Johnston is planning to return to queer material for his next role. Following his recent success in the film “Obsession — You Must Love Me,” the openly gay performer told the British queer magazine Attitude that he has an upcoming project with a queer focus in the works.
“There will be a truly incredible queer story in the future, and I’m really excited to play it — including my steamy moment on screen,” Johnston said. The success of Obsession now allows him to be selective about his parts. He is intentionally focusing on a meaningful queer narrative. Johnston also did not rule out developing such a project himself as a writer in the future.
In the horror film “Obsession,” Johnston played a heterosexual lead character named Bear. He is an unassuming, lonely young man who sees himself as a hopeless romantic, whose longing for love and recognition quickly degenerates into dangerous, toxic obsession. When he meets a woman, he drives his feelings to such extremes that the line between admiration, stalking, and threatening control completely blurs.
Looking back at his time on the MTV series Teen Wolf from 2015 to 2017, where he portrayed the gay character Corey Bryant, Johnston reflected on the importance of queer representation: Back then, he was still unsure how to navigate his own sexuality, but the positive response and feedback from fans helped him learn to accept himself.
Johnston grew up in a homophobic church in the Southern United States
In the interview, the actor also described what it was like growing up in a queer-hostile church in North Carolina. His family were members of the Southern Baptists. He had to attend Sunday services and memorize Bible verses. Johnston recalled internalizing the belief that his being gay made him an “abomination.” “I am an abomination, I am despicable,” he thought at the time.
The Southern Baptists, the largest Protestant denomination in the United States, remain intensely queer-hostile to this day. They reportedly asserted during this year’s Pride Month that there could be no gay Christians. “We do not tie our identity as Christians to sinful behavior,” explained the denomination’s chief ethicist (TheColu.mn reported).
Recently, Johnston was in negotiations for a role in the planned fourth installment of the “The Mummy” franchise alongside Brendan Fraser and Rachel Weisz.
