Before the several out professional athletes the world knows of today, Ian Roberts made his sexuality known to the public.
In the mid-'90s in his native Australia, the now-former rugby star let the world know he's gay. ( At that time, there were only a few openly LGBT sports figures, such as Billie Jean King and Martina Navratilova. ) Since then, he's made the transition to films, appearing in such movies as Hate Crime, Saltwater, Kiss Me Deadly, Superman Returns and Nazithon: Decadence and Destruction.
Windy City Times talked with the gay icon and marriage-equality advocate recently as he traveled between auditions.
Windy City Times: Another audition... You constantly have to be on the move in L.A., of course.
Ian Roberts: I could always be a lot busier. I'm staying busy while I'm waiting for THAT call. It'd be great to work regularly.
WCT: By the way, Ron Oliver [who directed Roberts in Kiss Me Deadly] sends his love.
Ian Roberts: Oh, I love Ron Oliver. If I was only 30 years younger, I think we'd be an item. [Laughs]
WCT: I've seen a few rugby matches. That sport is no joke.
Ian Roberts: Well, the game is hard to describe. It's the most watched professional sport back [in Australia]. I'm not sure how it compares with American football because they're two vastly different games; it's like trying to compare volleyball with basketball. You play with a round ball, but there are so many differences. There's an extraordinary skill involved.
WCT: And you were out in the mid-'90s, correct?
Ian Roberts: Yes, 1994.
WCT: I read a transcript of an interview you did a few years ago, and you said that you hate the term "coming out."
Ian Roberts: It's not so much that I hate it. We're always coming out—to our family, to our friends, at work and to people we meet. What I meant all those years ago is just that it'd be nice if we didn't have to go public about being who we are. But 20 years ago I wasn't as appreciative of what I'd done as I am now.
I must admit, Andrew, I didn't think it'd be so many years before another high-profile male on a professional sports team came out. It kind of blew my mind when [rugby player] Gareth Thomas came out a couple years ago. I didn't think it'd take that long. Then, there's the NBA player Jason Collins came out this year.
I don't know if it's a sad reflection. It's always going to be a slow process in that man's world. [Starts singing a little bit of James Brown's "It's a Man's Man's Man's World"]
WCT: For a second there, I thought you were going to serenade me.
Ian Roberts: [Laughs] Listen, if I had to sing for my living I'd go very hungry. However, Daniel [Roberts' partner] has a wonderful voice; he's a schoolteacher. He's the brains of this outfit.
WCT: Going back to sports figures, Martina Navratilova went public in the '80s.
Ian Roberts: She really did change everything. She's such a hero of mine. Boy George is a hero of mine as well [for what he did back then]. I met him once in a club in London. I was so humbled that he knew me; it was so flattering. It wasn't just him coming out; he had the drug issues, too, and he was so straightforward and honest about it.
WCT: Of course, you're known for your physique. What is your workout regimen like?
Ian Roberts: Being a gay man, we generally have a little bit more free time to look after ourselves. I don't do a crazy regime like I used to, partially because I'm 48. I have the luxury of doing some sort of physical exercise every day. I don't do the crazy lifting that I used to do. It's my stress reliever, though; I don't know how I'd do if I didn't train at least every other day.
WCT: Let's talk about your screen work. How did you make the transition from sports to films and television?
Ian Roberts: I was in an acting ensemble growing up; then sports took off for me. When I retired from rugby at 34, it just seemed natural to get back into acting—although sports has a certain level of acting in it. It just seemed like a natural progression.
WCT: I've seen you in several projects, such as Superman Returns, Kiss Me Deadly and Saltwater. Saltwater was quite a different role for you, wasn't it?
Ian Roberts: Oh, yeah. I was a romantic lead in a drama/comedy. Because of my size—and I'm bigger than your average bear [6'5"]—I get cast as the guy with the bad attitude or the killer who cuts people up. I get that, but Saltwater was definitely nice. Ronnie Kerr, the other lead in Saltwater, is a good friend of mine; he's quite talented.
WCT: Would you like to do more movies in that vein?
Ian Roberts: Oh, totally. I have a far greater range than 90 percent of what I'm cast in. It'd be cast outside the box—but, if I can get the work, I don't mind being stuck in that box a little while longer.
WCT: There has been some controversy because you have a role in the movie Nazithon: Decadence and Destruction [which came out recently on DVD].
Ian Roberts: I can guarantee you that no one who is criticizing that film has seen it. It's in that genre of Mel Brooks' To Be or Not to Be or the British show 'Allo 'Allo!
It was a 30-second grab, as it's being played up. Full Moon [the production company behind the film] has utilized that piece of footage beyond belief. It was me playing a fool; I was basically a moving prop. I got the call the day before because the guy who was going to do it had dropped out. They've utilized it so much—and good luck to them. But I can promise you that whoever has criticized it hasn't watched it. People report on something they haven't seen.
To be quite honest, I'm not even worried about it; the situation is what the situation is. But it's just so preposterous.
WCT: A lot of people have tagged you as a role model. Are you comfortable with that label?
Ian Roberts: Given that I have a public profile, it's flattering to be called that, in a sense. I'm totally comfortable with that because there aren't a lot of gay role models out there. I'm not "stereotypical"—it's flattering, almost.
WCT: What would be your advice to someone struggling to tell a family about his/her sexuality?
Ian Roberts: It's a difficult situation to give someone advice. You never know what the ramifications are going to be. We've all heard the horror stories of someone being cast out.
Before you make that decision [to come out], you have to be completely comfortable in your own skin and, hopefully, have some sort of safety net. If you think there are going to be adverse effects, you really need some sort of safety net, whether it's friends or community services. It's such a crucial decision; once you come out, you can't go back in.
There's still a lot of misunderstanding out there, like in Russia and western Africa. Some of that misunderstanding comes from us, though; sometimes we think people are going to be cool with us coming out, and they're not. I was so surprised when I told my parents; my mom was shocked and my dad was okay—which is the total opposite of what I expected.
