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OZ's bad-ass mega-stud
Next Magazine, January 6, 2002 |
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  click for larger image Love and passion are fucked up. Why is that we so often lust for the hot and sexy, down and dirty man who's likely to hurt us the most, treat us like trash, play hard to get and then use us like a ten-dollar whore? Or is that just me? I mean, why is it that Oz's Chris Meloni, while portraying the murderous-thug-behind-bars Chris Keller, pushes our buttons and gets us all hot and bothered, entertaining notions of lurid lights-out liaisons? Is it because he looks buff in a tank top? Is it because we know beneath Keller's desperate and manipulative mind games there lurks the heart of a vulnerable wounded man? Or, is it because he's not afraid to wave his dick for our amusement onscreen? Whatever. Any way you slice it, Meloni is one of the hottest talents on TV. He's sexy, smart and hard-to-figure, and even though in real life he's a straight guy (Married, even!) he's not afraid to get real (and full-frontal) when it comes to playing his saucy, gay-flavored prison-puppy role. Meloni's taken the dangerous appeal of rough trade to a new level; he's stabbed, mind-fucked and broken the arms and legs of half the men in his cell block - and those are just his boyfriends. And the gay community loves him! Just witness the glowing reviews and commendations he's gotten from the gay press and from gay media groups. Maybe we like Meloni because he's a studly guy who's not afraid to confront and muddle issues of sexuality in the characters he plays. Keller's gay, Keller's not gay, who knows, who cares? We talked to Meloni from the set of his other hit TV show, Law and Order: Special Victims Unit, in which he plays a cop chasing the scum who commit the sort of sex crimes that Meloni acts out on Oz. Talking to us from his make-up chair, we found him funny, frank and, well, kind of frisky. (Wishful thinking, I know...). Here's his own dish on the new season of Oz, what it feels like to be lusted after by gay guys (like we don't know), and how it felt to grab dick for the first time. Ah. memories... Question: First things first: What's happening with Chris Keller in the new season of Oz? When we last saw him, he was taking a murder rap for his boyfriend, Tobias Beecher (played by Lee Tergesen). Meloni: Keller gets sent back to Oz in protective custody because he left with Schillinger (one of his prison enemies) out for vengeance. So I'll come back and I do my acting in an 8 x 10 cell. Q: For how long? M: For six episodes worth, that's for sure. Q: Watching Oz, it gets a bit confusing trying to keep track of who's shanked who and who's screwed who over, and who's literally screwed each other as well. Does it ever get confusing to you? M: You know...After about season 3, I thought, "God bless (executive producer) Tom Fontana if he can follow it." As far as I'm concerned, I just have to deal with what I'm doing and where I'm going and what lines I have to focus on. And, I figure I'll run up against the issue of who's my friend and who's my foe by virtue of the sex. Q: That'll work. Speaking of sex, what's with the love-hate-codependent relationship mind-games that Keller and Beecher play? How would you describe their relationship? M: It's like any relationship - you've got good times, you've got bad times - it's just extreme due to the nature of where they are and what they have to do to survive and the dynamics of the social structure within Oz. Where are they now? Pining away for each other. Q: Whatever the dynamic is, people love to watch them. M: People get off on the relationship and get a kick out of it because so many people are caught up in a relationship of, "I love you and I know I shouldn't, but God help me I can't help myself." Q: I heard *that*. Men are crazy. What's the worse thing Keller's ever done? M: Ummmm...good question. Tom and I discussed having Keller be a serial killer, but I'm not convinced about that. So that said, maybe breaking Beecher's arms and legs? Q: Yeah, that's up there. What would be Keller's most redeeming act? M: I think taking the fall for Beecher for Schillinger's kid's death. Q: Well, it's the *least* he could do...Oz is known for, and people watch it for the searing human drama. But there are also a lot of naked guys onscreen. M: Really? Q: So I've heard. How difficult was getting comfortable with that, or do you ever get comfortable with it? Because we've seen *all* of you on TV. M: It was never a question or a problem. You either commit to it, to where you are and what you're doing, or you don't. It's not like the required titty shot. I don't know. I've never had any problem with it whatsoever. I understood it for me, and for the character. Q: There's such great acting talent on the show. I'm thinking if Lawrence Olivier were alive today, we'd see his dick on Oz! M: Yeah, but the question would be; would we want to? Q: Hmmmm... M: He and Sir John Gielgud having a sword fight, maybe? Q: Literally. M: That's what I meant. Q: Oh my. Aside from the nudity, one of my favorite things about the show is watching you and Rita Moreno together. The dynamic there is cool, sort of sexy and twisted. How fun is she to work with? M: She's been at this for so long - that's not to age her at all because she's still so youthful and dynamic and beautiful - and I think a big part of (our chemistry) was the great insidious set-up Tom gave to our relationship, that very manipulative psychological tormenting. People look forward to it. Q: Yeah. You do your voodoo with her and she responds - it's fierce. M: Yeah, right? She's great. Q: You've gotten lots of attention from the gay media and you've received and presented GLAAD awards. Would you ever have imagined that you'd become sort of a spokesman for gay rights? M: No, never. But I'll be honest I'm very flattered or honored or whatever word you want to put in there because hey, it's nice to be liked. Q: You get to join the realm of the gay icons out there. It's Barbra, Judy and Chris Meloni! M: Right! And I don't even sing! Q: It's perhaps odd, though, because Keller is - to quote one writer - "A sexual carnivore and a sociopath who slaughters and sodomizes everyone in sight." And this guy is our hero! What's that about? M: I think, again, it's the genius of Tom Fontana. He forces you to look at the worse behavior possible and then he turns it around and tried to give you examples of goodness (in the character). All of these elements reside in all human beings and you just have to put it into context of where we are. It's just a brutal environment. So, people can understand hey, he's good and he's bad, as we all are. Q: There's been some amazing talent working on the show - like Kathy Bates directing some episodes. I find it hard to imagine Kathy Bates directing these harsh scenarios of male rape and violence and stuff. What was that like? M: With Oz there's a kind of structure to (telling the stories), and you've got to get it done. And it's driven more emotionally than with wacky camera shots and that stuff. So, when you have an actor directing, they understand how to tell a story emotionally. So there's an instant rapport and an instant communication between the actor who's acting and the actor who's directing. And Kathy Bates - what a ballsy, beautiful, forthright, smart woman. I fell in love with her, Jesus Christ. She directed the episode where I first grabbed Beecher's cock. As an actor that was the first time I'd ever grabbed another guy's cock! Q: Yeah, sure whatever. M: Yeah, right? (laughs) Okay, you didn't buy that one? Q: If I had a nickel for every time I heard that line... M: You wouldn't be talking to me right now. (laughs) Q: If one hit TV show wasn't enough, you're also on Law and Order: Special Victims Unit playing a cop. How are things going on that show? M: They're going well. It's taken a while now but SVU is a little more in the consciousness of America, and they love it. I'm getting a lot of stops on the street now (for it). It used to always be Keller because he really made an impact, an impression. Q: I should say so. Back to Keller, would you say he is gay? M: He's been married four times to three different women, but I've always thought of him as very omnisexual. (laughs) Q: Right, like he leads with the crotch and whatever it hits and scores with... M: Whatever's in front of him is fair play and while it's happening or within that context, it's about what he can get. Q: What's the weirdest or the most bizarre thing a gay fan has ever said to you about the show - aside from, "Nice ass, Chris." M: (laughs) They're always been very cool. It's funny sometimes when they get a little breathless. Q: Oh, you love it. M: Well, you know...yeah. |
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