Oh,
Brother!

Here's a twist on gay drama: At a burger stand in the heart of West Hollywood, Calif., Matthew Rhys was straight-bashed. Sort of, anyway. "This huge, muscley guy came up to me and went 'gay power!' and sort of punched me," recalls the Welsh-born actor, who plays single-and-looking gay lawyer Kevin Walker on ABC's hit family drama Brothers & Sisters. "Then the man went 'You're gay, right?' I went, 'No, I am not.' He went, 'You're not? Oh, I feel betrayed.' I was like, 'Sorry.' "

It's not always easy sharing a face with arguably the most full-blooded, romantic, and sexually active gay character in network TV history. But then, Rhys seems pretty unflappable. This, after all, is an actor who suffered through eight fruitless pilot seasons in Los Angeles and was ready to blow off Hollywood for good just before Brothers & Sisters came along. These days it takes more than a run-in at a burger joint to kill the professional buzz he gets playing one of his favorite characters to date.

"I love Kevin because in his professional life you get to play the man in charge, in control, very successful, powerful, assertive," says the 32-year old Londoner. "And on the flip side, in his personal life he's a bit of a puppy."

Unlike some gay characters who seem too agreeable to be real, Kevin Walker can be, well, a bit of a dick sometimes, no? Rhys lets out a laugh in response. "I love his flaws," says the Royal Academy drama school grad, whose past includes the films Titus, Fakers, and Very Annie Mary as well as the London stage production of The Graduate opposite Kathleen Turner. "Kevin learns from his mistakes. Under the dry sense of humor and the caustic repartee, he just wants to meet that one partner, and he hopes that'll complete everything. I find that quite touching about him."

It's lunchtime on the Burbank set of Brothers & Sisters, and Rhys is enjoying some sea bass and salad at a nearby restaurant. His skin is a bit sun-kissed, thanks to a weekend trip to Cabo San Lucas, Mexico, for the wedding of his old friend and former flatmate Ioan Gruffudd (Reed, the stretchy guy, from the Fantastic Four movies). "It was beautiful," says Rhys, "but the bachelor party in Vegas two weeks ago--that was pretty wild. We dressed Ioan up as Buzz Lightyear and made him walk down the Strip. I still feel emotional from it."

Rhys's clothes -- aqua polo shirt, Paper denim jeans and brown half boots from Barneys -- aren't actually his; they're Kevin's, but they look good on him nonetheless. Kevin is nothing if not tasteful. "When it comes to Kevin's costumes, they didn't want them to sort of shout gay!" explains Rhys. So, I ask, we won't be seeing Kevin in anything from the International Male catalog?

"What's that?" Rhys asks blankly. See, folks, he really is straight.