Joshua Jackson remembers being “all in” for gay BJ scene in ‘Cruel Intentions’—& the awkward encounter that followed
Arriving at the end of a decade rife with “no homo” gay panic jokes, the character Blaine Tuttle showed us we could be more than a punchline. Jackson remembers his first scene as Blaine being "stressful for a 19-year-old heterosexual boy."
Mark
We joke a lot about the pop culture that “turned” us gay, though 1999’s teen thriller Cruel Intentions could probably be deemed legally responsible for tipping its fair share of Kinsey scales over the years.
That bubble-licious bare-bum shot of Ryan Phillippe in the shower? Baby gays didn’t stand a chance! The saliva-soaked kiss between Sarah Michelle Gellar and Selma Blair? The sapphics were never the same!
But also, credit where credit’s due to Joshua Jackson’s fierce and fabulous gay character Blaine Tuttle.
How about we take this to the next level?
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Yes, although Cruel Intentions is largely concerned with incestuous step-siblings Kathryn (Gellar) & Sebastian’s (Phillippe) scheming to deflower the new girl at school, Annette (Reese Witherspoon), it’s Jackson’s Blaine who steals the show—at least for the thousands of young queer viewers who, up until that point, had never seen a character quite like him.
Arriving at the end of a decade rife with “no homo” gay panic jokes, Blaine showed us we could be more than a punchline. That we didn’t have to be ashamed of who we were. And that we could play dirty, too, if the situation called for it.
Okay, so maybe Blaine isn’t the most upstanding role model, and sure he sort of upholds the classic “b*tchy queen” stereotype, but wasn’t it thrilling to watch a gay get the upper-hand for once?
W’d be lying if we said we weren’t getting our life from watching him play out one of our own dark twisted fantasies: Bedding the hot, closeted jock Greg (Eric Mabius), and using the moment for blackmail—oops, didn’t we reveal too much?
Actually, it turns out that very scene has left quite an impression on Jackson, too!
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Ryan Phillippe’s cheeks inspired an entire generation’s sexual awakening, but these movies have plenty more to offer.
The actor was recently a guest in Men’s Health magazine’s new video interview series, Stress Test, where stars are asked to reflect on the most stressful roles of their careers.
Now, Jackson was still a teenager when he began filming Cruel Intentions, but it’s not like he was stressed due to lack of experience. By that point, he’d already been acting for almost a decade, appearing in hits like the Mighty Ducks film franchise and teen TV sensation Dawson’s Creek. If anything, Blaine was a exciting opportunity for him to show off some range.
What was stressful was that his very first day on set, he had to film Blaine and Greg’s big hookup scene!
“I wasn’t on Cruel Intentions very much, but I do believe that my first day on this movie was giving a man head,” Jackson recalls with a laugh on Stress Test. “And that can be stressful for a 19-year-old heterosexual boy, to sit in a room, and give another man a blowjob.” (Honestly, that can be stressful for a 19-year-old gay boy, too!)
In that case, he says his “test” for the role was “to commit myself to this job that I had taken on, and really make sure… that I was all-in, so to speak.”
And, you know what? By our metrics, he passed with flying colors!
@menshealthmag Joshua Jackson’s first day on Cruel Intentions involved… WHAT??! #fyp ♬ original sound – Men’s Health
But life likes to test us in all sorts of different ways, and a number of years later, that very same scene would come to stress him out all over again, leading to one hilariously awkward encounter.
“So then years pass—and I don’t see Eric after a long time after we’ve had this experience together—and I’m taking out my trash one day, and he and his wife walk by, because they’ve just moved in down the street,” Jackson shares.”
“She sees us see each other and have this moment of like, hey, what’s up? And she’s like, ‘Oh, how do you guys know each other?’ And the two of us, now well into our 30s, I think both blushed scarlet red. Like, how do you explain what that connection was?”
Oh, we’re pretty sure we could explain that connection quite well! But, truly, what a funny interaction—not unlike the feeling you might get when you ask two gay guys how they first met.
Of course, this story has a happy ending. For one, Jackson wasn’t traumatized by the experience, and has continued to not only be an ally to the LGBTQ+ community, but hasn’t shied away from other queer-friendly roles in the years since. Take his high-seas procedural Doctor Odyssey, for example—even in that ABC drama he plays cruise liner doctor who has now qualms with a male-male-female hook-up!
And, let’s not forget: If Jackson hadn’t been “all in”—if he chickened out of Cruel Intentions—then we may not have gotten the bold & biting Blaine Tuttle that we deserved.
So, thank you Blaine for showing us that gay guys could get the job done. And thank you Joshua Jackson for having the balls to go there!
Joshua Jackson’s gay character in Cruel Intentions is iconic pic.twitter.com/YCEAfgPAN6— Jen ❤️ 1D, 5sos, Shawn Mendes (@ziamsmiles1) October 20, 2023
Cruel Intentions is currently streaming via Amazon Prime Video, and is available for digital rental or purchase on AppleTV+.
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