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 Out Of The Closet
As the quiet, reserved Oscar on NBC’s hit comedy The Office, Oscar Nuñez plays a gay man outed against his will by the insensitivity of his socially inept boss, Michael (Steve Carell). The actor only heightened his gay cred playing a much different kind of character—flamboyant gay prostitute Eulogio on Comedy Central’s riotous Halfway Home, which Nuñez executive-produced. We caught up with Oscar as he prepared to begin shooting season four of The Office to find out what it’s like to play gay and what it’s like to kiss Steve Carell.
INSTINCT: Poor Oscar got put through the mill this season.
OSCAR NUÑEZ: I know, but everyone gets put through the mill if you work at Dunder-Mifflin. It’s not like he got picked out. It was just his day.
I read somewhere that you had no idea that the writers were going to make Oscar gay.
At first it was just a rumor they were going to do it. But then there was the actual script going around, and I was like, “Oh, wow, they did it.” And it was funny—[Office writer/director] Greg Daniels takes me aside and says, “Hey, we’re thinking of making Oscar gay. Do you have a problem with it?” He was real serious about it. And I said, “Greg, I already have the script. Why are you asking me as if I have a choice?” [Laughs] I was like, “I don’t give a shit. Let’s do it.”
Was there any direction on how to play Oscar after he’d been outed?
I just played it like Oscar [had been] gay all along, so the character didn’t really change. I wasn’t going to act differently once I knew he was gay. He’s a gay guy who just happens to be a square accountant. He probably votes Republican, and he’s a bit of a stick in the mud. He’s still the same guy, but he’s gay. Oscar’s a quiet person who just wants to go to work and then go home and have his private life.
So you mean he’s not going to join the gym, put rainbow flags on his car bumper and pass out PFLAG pamphlets at the office?
No, but he probably will go to a march and wear a sweater and hold hands with his lover and walk quietly. They’re the types of guys who go to museums and places like that.
The show is so hilarious—how do you keep a straight face through it all?
I’m just used to it. I’m pretty good at not breaking [character]. I think I’ve broken twice, and it was always after they called “Cut!” I know if we laugh, it’s going to ruin a wonderful take. Though we do have huge gigglers on the set. John Krasinski, Jenna Fischer…they all love to giggle. And Carell, for him, it’s like shooting fishes in a barrel trying to make those guys laugh.
You got to kiss Steve Carell in the “Gay Witch Hunt” episode. Dish!
He got to kiss me! [Laughs] I didn’t know he was going to do it, actually. It was not in the script. We did a bunch of takes where he was just hugging me. And then he kept getting closer and I was like, “Oh, dear God, where is he going to go?” Then it was like, “Of course. What else could he do?” So we did it, and it was one of those times where I thought, I hope people don’t laugh, because I hope we get to use this. Luckily the cameras were both on us and didn’t catch anyone else.
One of the things the show does really well is cast a satirical light on not only prejudices like Michael’s, but also on how ridiculous political correctness can be.
I agree. We touch on those subjects a lot in a funny way, but yeah, any extreme is just too weird. You have to find a middle ground and just have fun with life. We need to ratchet down everything in this country. Everyone is just so freakin’ wired and ready to argue about anything. It’s weird to say, but the levelheaded people in the middle need to start acting up a little bit more and speaking out because people on the extremes have the table when it comes to discussing anything, whether it be health care or gay rights or whatever.
Any hints on what we might expect to see in terms of Oscar this season?
Anything can happen. I’m sure it’s going to be exciting and good. I just hope Oscar stays employed!
You did double duty playing gay last year on The Office and Halfway Home. What was the inspiration behind Eulogio, the gay prostitute?
I’d played variations on that character before. Sometimes he was gay, sometimes not. He was always eccentric and weird. And we had all these characters and needed criminals for the house, so we thought a gay prostitute would be funny. He’s full of himself and a pseudo-intellectual, so you can’t go wrong with all those elements.
Did you hang out on street corners researching the role?
Yes. I actually do that all the time, even when I’m not researching a role. [Laughs]
Between Oscar and Eulogio, you’re developing quite a gay following. Are you prepared to be a gay icon?
I say bring it on! From here on out, I’m only going to play gay characters. But it’s not a choice to play gay; I guess I was just born to play that way!
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The fourth season of The Office premieres Thursday, September 27 on NBC.
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