Christopher Meloni in DNA Magazine


Christopher Meloni plays tough guys on Law And Order: SVU and OZ. He’s also not afraid to piss in front of a TV crew or stand up for gay rights, reports Steven Gregor.

If you’re a Christopher Meloni fan (and if you’re gay, then surely you are), you’re no doubt spending the start of each week indoors. With both Law And Order: SVU and Oz airing on Network Ten and SBS respectively, your sofa is the best place to be on Monday night. [in Australia]

Meloni, 45, lives in New York with his wife and two children and is best known for his portrayal of straight-laced but explosive Manhattan detective Elliot Stabler on NBC’s crime drama Law And Order: SVU (watched by 14 million Americans each week). Earlier this year, in his seventh season of SVU, Meloni received his first Emmy nomination (in the category of Outstanding Lead Actor In A Drama Series) for his work on the show.

But Meloni’s gay appeal originated back in 1998, a year before starting SVU, when he was cast in HBO’s gritty prison drama Oz. It was in his role as Chris Keller, a sexual predator, murderer and bisexual prison inmate, that Meloni earned himself a significant and loyal gay fan base. According to American TV Week magazine “his raw sexual energy and full-frontal nude scenes made him an audience favourite, even though his character was as likely to kiss as kill”.

A year later Meloni started on the latest Law And Order franchise and appeared on both shows concurrently until Oz ended in 2003.

“The gay community was appreciative and affected by my character [on Oz], in a myriad of ways,” laughed Meloni in an interview with Ability magazine. “From the shower scenes to the acting. I think he was the guy people hated to love. He kinda represented the extreme in passionate but dysfunctional relationships. I mean, he may have been a sociopath but really he was just a guy looking to be loved.”

Hard-working Meloni describes his time on both shows as “exhausting but cool”. Oz creator, Tom Fontana, holds Meloni and his committed work ethic in high esteem.

“As an actor, Chris is passionate, daring and courageous. In the five years we made OZ he never once flinched at doing anything I asked for in the scripts. That included kissing co-star Lee Tergesen [Tobias Beecher]. Having kissed Lee Tergesen myself, he should have got hazard pay,” Fontana jokes. “The man is such a dedicated artist. He didn’t care if his character was likable or sympathetic. He never worried that his fans would confuse the real Chris with the guy in prison.

“What can I say about this man? Well, he literally stuck out his dick for me. His fearlessness inspired me to explore the depths of Keller’s soul and take bigger risks with Keller’s libido. More importantly, Chris’ fearlessness pushed me to write the Keller-Beecher gay relationship storyline as honestly and fully as I was able. He wanted to tell the truth, fuck the consequences.”

Meloni’s willingness to push the envelope in OZ saw one of his storylines condemned as being “vile and disgusting and an offence against God” by an American television critic.

“The relentless graphic violence on OZ didn’t bother this critic,” explains Fontana. “But peeing did. There was a scene where Keller was in the hole [solitary confinement] and had to take a piss. Chris got the script and came into my office. ‘I want to do this. I actually want to take a piss on camera,’ he said. Normally, a scene like this would involve prop men and tubes and other special effects but because Keller was naked Chris’ instincts were 100 per cent correct – the scene would have more impact if he actually peed.

“Now, I don’t know how an actor prepares for that but when the moment came we were on the soundstage, the director called ‘action’, the camera panned down and Chris started peeing – on cue. The shot was perfect, except for one slight technical glitch. Take two. Same deal, action, camera panned, Chris again started to pee on cue. The shot was even better. I’m happy. The director’s delirious. Chris asks, ‘Do we want to do it again? Because I have another one in me’.”

It’s not just Meloni’s masculine good looks attracting (and keeping) his gay fan base. He supports the work of a number of GLBT relevant charities including the New York AIDS Walk, the Gay And Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation (GLAAD) and the Human Rights Campaign (HRC). In fact, earlier this year, Meloni was presented with an HRC Equality Award. The HRC is America’s largest organisation dedicated to GLBT advocacy. It has about 600,000 members and works towards an America where GLBT people are ensured their basic equal rights and can be open, honest and safe at home, at work and in the community.

Speaking at the Equality Awards gala dinner earlier this year, HRC President Joe Solmonese said Chris’ work both on screen and off had helped reshape the GLBT rights debate in America.

“Christopher Meloni has been a vocal supporter of the gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender community by doing such important work as starring in public service announcements for NBC discussing discrimination and violence against GLBT people,” he said.

Meloni’s public service announcements covered topics ranging from general GLBT awareness and respect to schoolyard bullying and violence against GLBT students.

“I feel as though they are an oppressed minority,” says Meloni. “They’re institutionally oppressed. Just ask the church. Yeah, I’ll get political, c’mon.”

On news of Meloni being acknowledged by the HRC, social commentator and Washington Blade managing editor, Kevin Haff, went so far as to say: “At a time when public figures are finding it increasingly difficult to publicly announce support for gay rights, and same-sex marriage in particular, it’s refreshing to see the HRC honour someone who really earned it.”

It’s official. Meloni’s great looking and an all-round nice guy. So, next Monday night, your place or mine?



[Be on the look out for this issue to show up on EBay with a customized autograph from the man himself. He's there for us and consistently does all the right things.]

Comments

Anonymous said…
Hi!

I'm a big Chris Meloni fan and I just want to say thank you for posting this article on your blog. I've been looking for it everywhere.*g*

Greetings from Brazil!:)

Ana

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