I can’t even describe the love I had for Dylan McDermott when I was much, much younger. Home for the Holidays was one of my favorite films (I still consider it a wonder and underrated film), and Dylan McDermott was one of my dream men, right up there with John Malkovich (seriously). It helped that Dylan was married to an Indian girl – I thought, “Well, just wait until he meets me!” Anyway, through the years, I got over my crush. It wasn’t really anything Dylan did – I just stopped following his career, and I’m not watching American Horror Story either (I don’t like scary stuff).

So, Dylan is interviewed in the new issue of The Advocate, and he comes across really, really well. He’s also one of the featured dudes in People’s Sexiest Men Alive issue – honestly, he would have been a better choice than Bradley Cooper. So here’s the question: Could Dylan McDermott still get it? I think he could. It helps that the man is still fine as hell – he’s 50 years old, and I guess he’s a vampire, because he still looks 30-something. Anyway, you can read the full Advocate piece here, and here are some excerpts:

The Advocate: Are you aware of your gay following?
Dylan McDermott: Gay or straight, the idea of fans isn’t something I normally think about, because I’m ultimately kind of shy. If I start thinking about who does or doesn’t like me, I just get uncomfortable. But I grew up in New York’s Greenwich Village in the ’70s with my dad, so I was exposed to gay people from a very young age. It was definitely eye-opening for me.

And your stepmom is feminist playwright and performance artist Eve Ensler, a lesbian icon.
Oh, yes, so I was raised with a great deal of tolerance and the idea of equality for all. Eve has a lot of gay friends, and I do too.

Then you must know that Steel Magnolias is a major gay favorite. Seriously? You haven’t lived until you’ve been to a Steel Magnolias viewing party with a bunch of gay men. I’ve literally seen it played on a loop in gay bars.
No, I had no idea. You have to tell me about it. That’s hysterical. I swear to God, I did not know this. That was my first really big movie, and I loved making it. I’d just made Hamburger Hill in the Philippines, where there were no trailers, and somebody died while we were making the movie. It was a brutal shoot. All of a sudden I’m on the set of Steel Magnolias, where there’s more pink than I’ve ever seen in my life. I was working with movie stars who each had their own hair and makeup people, we only worked eight hours a day, and everybody was always partying and laughing. It blew my mind.

So what was it like to watch yourself in American Horror Story at the big Hollywood premiere?
When my ass was 70 feet up in the air at the Cinerama Dome, I got a little shy, but people seemed to appreciate it afterward.

No kidding. Mere hours after the television premiere, screencaps of your nude scenes were everywhere online.
Oh, no. [Laughs] I knew going into it that there was nudity and that a lot of people would be watching, so I knew I had to be in really good shape. I’m no fool, so I hit the gym and watched what I ate. Actually, when I first got the role, production called me and asked, “Who’s your body double?” I said, “Oh, hell no. It’s going to be all me, baby.”

How does the big 5-0 feel?
It’s a bit freaky, I have to say. I don’t know exactly what it all means. I asked my father, who’s close to 70 now, how old he feels, and says that he still feels like he’s 18 years old. Age is a funny thing: You get wiser, your body changes, but I think we all get stuck at an age where we don’t feel much older than we really are. I was talking to Eve about it the other night and she said, “Life begins at 50. You kind of have it figured out by then, because you know there’s so much bulls–t in the world and you know not to be so worried about it.” I actually noticed that for myself when I was able to stay away from the reviews for American Horror Story, good and bad. I really like that I’ve arrived at that point in life where I don’t have to be validated. Of course, it’s nice when you’re validated, but if it all turned to shit, I would still be me. So I like the maturity that comes with turning 50, but you’re hit with mortality more than anything else. There’s always the element of, Oh, shit, is time running out?

When it comes to filming nude scenes, some actors modestly rush into their bathrobes and other actors let it all hang out at craft services. Which actor are you?
I’m probably somewhere in the middle. When I’m in the role, in the moment, I’m comfortable. After they yell “cut,” I don’t need to put my balls in someone’s face.

Were you at all intimidated by the show’s overt sexual content?
I’ve never been uncomfortable with sexuality. That goes back to my growing up in New York in the ’70s, which was a very sexual time. I was sort of a club kid, and I’d go to places like the Mudd Club and Max’s Kansas City. Being a part of that whole world, sexuality always seemed very normal to me.

Did men ever hit on you in those clubs?
Oh, yeah. Honestly, I’m cool with everyone, and people pick up on that. I’d say, “I’m not gay, but it’s all good.” It’s kind of like going to Paris when you don’t know the language; some Americans get into trouble over there, but I’m just like, “Sorry, I don’t speak French.”

[On AHS] you get to work with openly gay actors like Denis O’Hare and Zachary Quinto.
Yeah. Certainly, when I was first coming up in the business, I worked with gay actors who were in the closet and had to remain so, but from the Rock Hudson years to where we are now, it seems like more and more actors are comfortable being out, and that’s great. I think we’ll get to the point eventually where it doesn’t matter at all, but it just needs more time. People’s tolerance is still questionable out there in the world, but I feel like it’s getting better. James Lecesne, who cofounded the Trevor Project, is a friend of mine, and I’m happy to be involved with that wonderful organization.

You played the friend of Robert Downey Jr.’s gay character in Jodie Foster’s Home for the Holidays, which also has something of a gay following. Word has it that Robert ad-libbed like a madman on that movie.
Robert did improv a lot, but it really made his character come alive. He’s so enormously talented. God, there were so many great people in that movie — Holly Hunter, Anne Bancroft. I wasn’t aware that had any kind of cult following in the gay world, so that’s cool to hear.

[From The Advocate]

He spends some time kissing Ryan Murphy’s ass, but he also drops in an interesting tidbit about how he (Dylan) would love to do a Halston bio-pic with Ryan, which… that would be amazing. Halston was badass, and it would mean lots of 1970s costumes, which would be amazing on Dylan. Damn, my crush is back. Hard.

Photos courtesy of WENN.