"Glee" has always been praised for its positive portrayal of gay characters, but now, a newbie is joining the cast -- and according to early reports, this one isn't afraid to play dirty.
TVLine reported in September that theater veteran Grant Gustin had signed on to play Sebastian, a gay Dalton Academy Warbler who's a potential rival love interest for Blaine (Darren Criss). Interestingly, Sebastian's first episode is set to air Nov. 8, one week after Blaine is said to be finally consummating his relationship with current boyfriend Kurt (Chris Colfer), according to TVLine.
Gustin reveals details of his new scheming character in the latest issue of Billboard. The actor, whose recent credits include a national touring production of "West Side Story," also talked about dealing with "Gleeks" and working with Criss, whom he describes as "great."
On Sebastian:
He's a gay character, obviously, but he's kind of a new type of gay character. He's someone you wouldn't necessarily know is gay unless you asked him, but he'd be the first person to tell you. He's very confident and comfortable with who he is and what he wants. Darren (Criss) was that new confident strong gay character, and Sebastian is taking that a step further. He's a guys-guy, just a dude who happens to be gay, he's a lacrosse player, he's popular. He's after Blaine, obviously, and he's also trying to take the place that Blaine had as the leader of the Warblers.
Gustin, 21, also told Billboard he originally auditioned for "Glee" director Ryan Murphy for the "Anything Goes" tap sequence which aired earlier this season before getting called back to read for Sebastian. On working with Criss, he noted, "Darren's great, from what I've heard from people who've known him before this all happened, that he's remained the same, and very cool." And though it sounds as if they will be arch enemies on the show, he also prasied Colfer as "really cool and talented and funny. He has all these funny little one-liners between takes that make everyone laugh."
Despite his high-profile TV debut, Gustin also insisted his first love remains the stage: "I wanted to end up in TV and film. It's kind of flipped, and I'm not mad about it, but my childhood dream is Broadway and I want to end up there. I need that Broadway debut, I did a tour but I need that debut and I am going to work to end up there."
Check out Gustin's full Billboard interview here.
Take a look at the top gay moments on "Glee," compiled by HuffPost Gay Voices blogger Phillip B. Crook, below:
24 Of The Gayest 'Glee' Moments
Watch a clip of Gustin singing "Run Away With Me" at an open mic night in Chicago: