Obsession star Michael Johnston has reflected on the fear he felt coming to terms with his sexuality while simultaneously playing a gay character in Teen Wolf.
The 30-year-old actor had his breakout role as Corey Bryant in the MTV supernatural drama, where his character was romantically involved with Mason Hewitt, played by Khylin Rhambo.
But while Corey was openly gay on screen, Johnston was still trying to understand and accept his own sexuality away from the cameras.
“Back then, it was terrifying because I sort of came out to myself and then others around me during that time,” Johnston said.
“I was just in complete and utter denial — you know, I grew up in the South. So it was really scary.”
A Queer Role Arrived At A Complicated Time
Johnston grew up in North Carolina before moving to Los Angeles to pursue acting.
Then came Teen Wolf.
For Johnston, landing a role playing a gay teenager happened at almost exactly the same moment he was beginning to acknowledge that he was queer himself.
He recalled initially insisting to family members that playing Corey had nothing to do with his own sexuality.
“I’m like, ‘No, no way! I would never!’” he joked.
He also recalled one relative warning that playing a queer character would somehow “poison” him.
Looking back now, Johnston can laugh at the irony.
But at the time, navigating a public queer role while still living with fear and denial privately was anything but simple.
Teen Wolf Fans Showed Him Why Representation Matters
Years later, Johnston says one of the most rewarding parts of playing Corey has been hearing from LGBTQ+ fans who saw themselves reflected in the character.
“At the time, playing that role in Teen Wolf, I had no idea how many wonderful messages I would get from people,” he said.
Fans told him that simply seeing his character exist openly and confidently on screen had helped them.
“Just being you and just being brave and just being yourself meant so much to me,” Johnston recalled people telling him.
“And that was amazing.”
That response helped Johnston understand that what had felt personally frightening could simultaneously provide reassurance to other queer people watching at home.
It is a reminder of why LGBTQ+ representation matters, particularly for young people who may still be trying to understand their identities.
Sometimes a fictional character can provide the first glimpse of a future where being queer is simply another part of who you are.
Johnston Is Now Leading One Of The Year’s Biggest Horror Films
Johnston is enjoying a major career moment thanks to Obsession, the supernatural horror film directed by Curry Barker.
He plays Baron “Bear” Bailey, a music store employee whose feelings for his friend Nikki take a disturbing turn after he uses a supernatural object to wish that she would fall in love with him.
Naturally, this time Johnston is playing straight.
But he says an actor’s sexuality and the sexuality of a character do not need to match.
“For me, my philosophy is the character’s sexuality is just another part of who they are,” Johnston said.
The same principle works both ways.
A gay actor can convincingly play a heterosexual character just as a straight actor can play someone queer.
What matters is whether the character is written and performed with care.
He Still Wants An ‘Intentional Queer Role’
Despite the success of Obsession, Johnston says he would love to take on another queer character in the future.
“But that being said, I’ve always said I’m really looking forward to an intentional queer role,” he explained.
The word “intentional” is significant.
Queer actors have increasingly spoken about wanting roles where LGBTQ+ identity is neither ignored nor reduced to trauma.
There is room for characters who are funny, romantic, messy, heroic, villainous and everything in between — with their queerness treated as part of a complete human being.
Johnston’s own career has already demonstrated both sides of that equation.
Corey gave him the opportunity to play an openly gay teenager at a time when he was still learning to accept himself.
Bear has now given him the opportunity to lead a major horror film without his own sexuality defining the role.
‘I’m Glad I’m Not Heterosexual’
Asked what playing Bear had taught him, Johnston delivered perhaps the most memorable assessment of all.
“Just that I’m glad I’m not heterosexual.”
The joke lands particularly well given what Bear puts himself — and everyone around him — through in Obsession.
But behind the humour sits a striking change from the teenager Johnston described himself as during Teen Wolf.
Back then, acknowledging he might be gay felt terrifying.
Now he can joke openly about being grateful for it.
For queer audiences, there is something quietly powerful in that journey.
The actor who once insisted that playing a gay character definitely did not mean anything about him is now openly talking about queer roles, LGBTQ+ representation and the freedom that came with understanding himself.
And perhaps the character he once feared being associated with helped him get there.
