Openly gay writer Kevin Williamson reveals that he wants to see a gay character on his show, The Vampire Diaries. But it won't be somone currently on the show (sorry Paul Wesley and Ian Somerhalder fans), but a new character. Williamson says: "I don't want to do a coming-out story."
"It's one of those things that needs to feel organic and seamless," Williamson told a group of reporters on July 28 in Beverly Hills, Calif., where he was at The CW's party for the Television
Critics Association press tour. "I don't want it to be a character that comes in and is a one-off. I want someone to come in and have a reason and a purpose and really push that story forward the way I want to do it, and they're so important to the story that without them the show won't happen. That's what I want."
Gay teens are an important issue to Williamson outside of show business. He supports GLSEN, the Gay, Lesbian and Straight Education Network. "I'm sitting in the wings waiting," he said. "I'm waiting. Which character can be gay? Which character won't? Where will it fit in? How can I get the gay character in? I don't want to sound like I'm a militant about it, like THERE MUST BE A GAY CHARACTER, even though I am. It's not just that, it's also diversity. I always feel like I don't have enough diversity on my show, and that is one of the things I'm very conscientious of, and not just gay characters. Any diversity. In anything, I want everyone represented. I want everybody on the show."
And if it ends up being a male character, the actor who portrays him better get used to not wearing a shirt.