"I already don't know sports," Bryce says. "[The producers] knew I was the gay cast member, but I wanted to represent. Still, I'm sure people are going to say, 'He's the one who has to throw the basketball granny-style. He's the one who doesn't know anything about sports.'" Having seen his share of reality shows, Bryce, 28, remains keenly aware of the camera. "I'm always afraid of coming off as the stereotypical flaming queen," he explains.
While Bryce notes his sexuality almost never came up during the show's production, it may have helped beforehand. "During the selection process, I was asked several times about [my sexuality] and how that would possibly play into the game," he says. "All 16 semifinalists figured it made me a shoo-in for the game, since I'm the only black out of the 16 and I'm the only gay out of the 16. I didn't feel that way at all. I'm looking at the other seven guys. They're big, masculine men, know everything about sports, play sports, are athletic-- and I'm not."
In the show, two teams of four have 30 days to get from New York City to San Francisco. However, contestants aren't allowed to bring any money or credit cards. They have to beg for food, shelter, or transportation from strangers. Making matters even more difficult, they can receive only one favor from each person. In addition, both teams have to perform 10 tasks, which range from competing in a bass-fishing tournament to entering a prison and playing basketball with the inmates-- but the challenges aren't prearranged by ESPN; the contestants have to smooth-talk their way to their goals. While male and female teammates alike flirted for both favors and goals over the course of production, Bryce refused. "I could put my charms to use with gay people, but I didn't want to be the sex object on the team," he recalls, smiling. "That's what the others were for."
During the show's production, Bryce almost never interacted with any other gay people. The only time he entered a gay bar was when he and a teammate sneaked away from the cameras and producers at 3 A.M. "I had cameras on me [the rest of the time]. It wouldn't have felt comfortable being in a gay bar, being slutty, with cameras watching everything I did," he says, laughing. "I have an image to uphold."
Still, Bryce points out, "Beg, Borrow & Deal" would have been a much easier game for him as a gay man on his own. "If I were by myself, I could go to any gay club in any city and find housing and a ride," he observes, grinning mischievously. "I would have hit every gay city along the way." ###
Kim is a journalist and comic-book writer based in Los Angeles.
As the stereotype goes, queer men aren't supposed to play or follow competitive sports. Openly gay entertainment reporter Julian Bryce hopes to break this image as a competitor in ESPN's first reality-based game show, "Beg, Borrow & Deal," premiering September 17. Still, he's the first to admit he might seem to fit the sterotype to a tee.
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Yours Truly,
Julian Bryce
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