Nick Jonas Opens Up About Playing A Gay Character

Former Disney star Nick Jonas has been working on shaking off his good boy image for a while now. Between posing in his underwear and performing a strip tease at a New York City gay club, he seems to be making progress with that goal.

On DirecTV’s Kingdom, Nick Jonas solidifies the distance between his purity ring-wearing, teen heartthrob self and the adult he wants to world to see.

Jonas plays Nate Kulina, an MMA fighter, on Kingdom. Wednesday, during the season finale, it was revealed that his character has been hiding a secret. As it turns out, Nate Kulina is gay.

Nick Jonas spoke to Buzzfeed in a telephone interview, where he explained that he always knew what the twist would be and that he never had an issue with it.

“[Byron Balasco, creator of ‘Kingdom’ ] told me before shooting began. Everyone at ‘Kingdom’ was really transparent about the character and some of the things the character would go through. And in my prep work, I wanted to be aware so I could properly tell this story.” Nick Jonas revealed. “I’m absolutely willing to go anywhere the story needs to go.”

Nate’s coming out story will likely be a heavily influential one in the drama series. Nick Jonas sees the opportunity of portraying Nate as a new chapter in his life, one where he will be able to connect on a deeper level with his gay fan base.

“I’ve really been trying to make an effort to talk with my gay fan base and find unique opportunities to set up the next chapter of my life and my career with them in it. The attitude I take in the stories I want to share and my personal life and my view is that I think we’re in a time where there’s a new progression. For all people of all walks of life to accept all people … I’d be thrilled if I’m any part of that.”

During the interview, Nick Jonas revealed that his family was happy to see him portraying the part, and proud of his accomplishment. For Nick, however, there seems to be a deeper reason he’s happy to be playing Nate Kulina.

Jonas indicated that there was a certain responsibility to the part, and it was one he was glad to have to shoulder.

“There’s a journey [ Nate ] has to go on, and I hold that with a lot of responsibility and I’m thrilled to get to tell this story.” Nick Jonas said.

Kingdom has been renewed for 20 more episodes that will begin in October.

[ Image courtesy of DirecTV ]