Arts & Entertainment

Former ‘As the World Turns’ actor reflects on career, historic gay kiss

Van Hansis — ex-Luke Snyder on ‘ATWT’ — joins other soap pals for Daytime Pride event June 29

Published

7 years ago

June 20, 2019

Daytime Pride
Saturday, June 29
Morning event: 10 a.m.-4 p.m..
VIP dinner: 6:30-9 p.m.
Human Rights Campaign Equality Center
1640 Rhode Island Ave., N.W.
Washington
$125-375

Van Hansis was just barely a year out of graduating from Carnegie Mellon University when he landed the role of Luke Snyder on “As the World Turns.”

From 2005-2010, Hansis stepped into a role that made TV history and gave the Massachusetts native a sold training ground for his career.

Today, with credits in film, off-Broadway and the long-running web series “EastSiders,” Hansis will revisit his character Luke for Daytime Pride on Saturday, June 29, at the Human Rights Campaign Equality Center.

Hansis will join fellow daytime drama stars Ryan Carnes, Lucas from “General Hospital”; Camryn Grimes, Mariah from “The Young & The Restless”; Greg Rikart, ex-Leo from “Days of Our Lives”; Jake Silbermann, ex-Noah from “As the World Turns” and Freddie Smith, Sonny from “Days.”

The morning event, which is from 10 a.m.-4 p.m., includes autographs, photo ops, panel as well as a meet and greet. A VIP dinner will be from 6:30-9 p.m. at the Mayflower Hotel. Proceeds from the event will be donated to True Colors United, which assists homeless LGBTQ youth.

When Luke was recast in what’s called “rapid aging” in soaps during which the character magically becomes an adult overnight, Hansis says writers had already decided his character would be gay. Luke would be one of the first male gay soap opera characters. Whether he was uncomfortable or not to play a gay character so early in his career, Hansis knew he had to take it.

“When you’re an acting , to get an recurring role a soap opera — that was kind of my first on-camera professional job — I was not in any place to turn anything down,” he says during an interview from his homebase of New York City. “Luke was such a rich character and such a wonderful experience I ended up having for five years. It was a blessing.”

The role would earn Hansis three Daytime Emmy nominations.

“He was kind of a brat, but I really liked him,” he says of his character. “His heart was totally in the right place. I played the character for five years, and he grew up into a shipping heir. He was a good kid with a sweet heart who I think was also a little bit self-righteous and self-obsessed, but in spite of some of his negative qualities, he was still a human being. He was just a nice mix. He felt real to me. He felt like a real person.”

And to gay fans across the nation, Luke became one step closer to acceptance. On Aug 17, 2007, the first-ever gay male kiss on American television was aired, which was Luke and Noah Mayer (played by Silbermann, who will also be at the event) on “ATWT.” Luke and Noah shared the first-ever on-screen gay male kiss on an American daytime drama on Aug. 17, 2007.

One of Hansis’ favorite storylines was when Luke and Noah met. Another was when Luke was an alcoholic for a while, also when he got kicked out of college.

“I liked playing him when he was being bad,” he says.

Although Luke came out in 2007, Hansis waited until 2014 to officially come out to his fans during an interview about “EastSiders.” Openly gay in his personal life, Hansis says he was apprehensive about outing himself so early in the career, afraid that he might be stereotyped.

“Back when I started with Luke, and it being my first thing, a lot of people who were telling me, ‘Don’t come out publicly,’” he says. “Even back then, it was a different world, sort of. It was not like it is today, especially for an actor. If you come out gay, you’re only going to play gay for the rest of your life.”

Although it’s well-known that he has been in a relationship with Broadway star Tyler Haines since 2007, Hansis said he likes to keep his private life as private as he can.

“In retrospective, I wish I had come out earlier publicly, but I was out in my private life,” Hansis says. “Even to this day I keep my private life pretty private. I do social media, but I don’t do it a lot. I really try to choose what I put out there about my life because even though I have a public career, I am a private person. I want to stay that way.”

When he came out, he felt like things had changed and “I gave less of a fuck.”

This Daytime Pride event is the second one Hansis has been since “ATWT” ended eight years again.

“It’ll be interesting to try to relive all that stuff. I probably should try to watch it to help remember what I did,” he says, noting it will be nice to see Stilbermann who has remained a good friend. “It’ll be nice to get together a lot of gay characters. What I like is that it’s specific, it’s not just on a soap opera, but a gay character on a soap opera.”

Since leaving “ASWT,” Hansis has had a varied career. He was cast in 2012 on the dark comedy web series “EastSiders,” which he was also nominated for a Daytime Emmy. The show will enter its fourth and final season this year.

Hansis is proud that he was able to be a part of what has become an iconic LGBTQ role.

“It was a big deal back then. I think almost soap from then on has gay characters now,” he says.

In addition to acting, he has directed a web series called “Ms. Guidance” that has been submitted to several festivals. He also teaches at MN Acting Studio in New York City.

Although a regular at New York Pride, this will be his first time doing anything Pride-related in Washington.

“I plan to do (this event) on Saturday, then Pride in New York on Sunday,” he says. “Then Monday, I’m taking a vacation.”

Related Topics:as the world turns daytime pride dc ryan carnes van hansis

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PHOTOS: ‘Studio 69’

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Published

1 hour ago

May 11, 2026

Michael Key

'Studio 69' was held at Bunker on Friday. (Washington Blade photo by Michael Key)

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Arts & Entertainment

Washington Blade’s Pride on the Pier returns June 13 to kick off D.C. Pride week

Pride on the Pier officially launches Pride Week in D.C.

Published

7 hours ago

May 11, 2026

Staff reports

The Washington Blade’s annual Pride on the Pier celebration returns to The Wharf on Saturday, June 13, 2026 from 4-9 p.m., bringing thousands of LGBTQ community members and allies together for an unforgettable waterfront celebration to kick off Pride week in Washington, D.C.

Now in its eighth year, Washington Blade Pride on the Pier extends the city’s annual celebration of LGBTQ visibility to the bustling Wharf waterfront with an exciting array of activities and entertainment for all ages. The District Pier will offer DJs, dancing, drag, and other entertainment. Alcoholic beverages will be available for purchase for those 21 and older.

“Pride on the Pier has become one of the signature moments of Pride in D.C.,” said Lynne Brown, publisher of the Washington Blade. “There’s nothing like watching our community come together on the waterfront with live music and incredible energy as we kick off Pride week.”

Pride on the Pier is free and open to the public, with VIP tickets available for exclusive pier access to the Dockmaster Building. To purchase VIP tickets visit www.prideonthepierdc.com/vip.

Additional entertainment announcements, sponsor activations, and event details will be released in the coming weeks.

Event Details:

📍 Location: District Pier at The Wharf (101 District Sq SW, Washington, DC)
📅 Dates: Friday, 13, 2026

⏱️ 4-9PM
🎟️ VIP Tickets: www.PrideOnThePierDC.com/VIP

Theater

National tour of ‘Gatsby’ comes to National Theatre

Out actor Edward Staudenmayer talks playing the show’s gangster

Published

1 day ago

May 10, 2026

Patrick Folliard

Edward Staudenmayer plays Meyer Wolfsheim in ‘The Great Gatsby.’ (Photo courtesy National Theatre)

‘The Great Gatsby’
May 12-24
The National Theatre
1321 Pennsylvania Ave., N.W.
$59-$196
Thenationaldc.com

Often dubbed “The Great American Novel” for its depiction of ambition and self-invention alongside the reversals of success, F. Scott Fitzgerald’s “The Great Gatsby” says it all in a fast read.

Set against the excesses and energy of the Roaring Twenties, “The Great Gatsby,” novel and now the same-titled hit Broadway musical with a jazz/pop original score by Jason Howland and Nathan Tysen, tells the story of Nick Carraway and his friendship with Jay Gatsby, an enigmatic millionaire intent on reuniting with ex-lover, Daisy Buchanan.

It was during a four-month 2025 run in Seoul, South Korea, that out actor Edward Staudenmayer first played the show’s heavy, Meyer Wolfsheim, a gangster who helped Gatsby make his murkily acquired fortune. As Meyer, Staudenmayer opens the second act with, appropriately enough, “Shady.”

Now three months into a year-long North American tour, the show is poised to enjoy a brief run at Washington’s National Theatre (5/12-5/24).

While putting on his eyeliner prior to a recent Wednesday matinee at Chicago’s Cadillac Palace Theatre, the upstate New York-based actor shared about Gatsby and a life in theater.

WASHINGTON BLADE: Despite your good looks and terrific voice, you’re rarely the leading the man. How is that?

EDWARD STAUDENMAYER: I’m definitely a character man. I’ve been painting lines on my face to play old men since I was in high school. I was the youngest freshman in college playing old Uncle Sorin [in Chekhov’s “The Seagull”].

There have been many villains. Some darker than others. Meyer Wolfsheim is a very bad guy, but he doesn’t haunt me once I’m offstage. I play a lot of pickleball.

BLADE: Is it true that like so many of Fitzgerald’s characters, Wolfsheim is famously based on someone the writer encountered in life.

STAUDENMEYER: That’s true, Wolfsheim is pretty much a direct portrayal of real-life mobster and 1919 World Series fixer [Arnold Rothstein].

BLADE: When did the 1925 novel first surface on your radar?

STAUDENMAYER: Like many of us, I was assigned “The Great Gatsby” in high school. It was short, and filled with sex and illicit activities. I thought it was great. Definitely wasn’t a Judy Blume novel.

Interestingly, the book wasn’t originally a huge a success for Fitzgerald, but because it was about war and having the girl at home, they gave it to GIs leaving for WWII. After returning, a lot of those guys went on the GI Bill and became English teachers. They assigned the book to their students.

BLADE The idea that the book’s first-person narrator, Nick Carraway, is gay and enamored with Jay Gatsby is long discussed among readers and scholars. Does the musical touch on that?

STAUDENMAYER: Yes, there’s conjecture about Jay and Nick, and it’s implied in our show. It’s also implied about Jordan Baker, Jay’s fleeting romantic interest. Ultimately, she’s a confirmed bachelor, and a professional golfer who only wears pants.

Our performers are really good. Josh Grasso who plays Nick is fantastic. I’ve had to stop watching him in his last scene; it’s not good for Meyer Wolfsheim to take his curtain call crying. Our Gatsby, Jake David Smith, is good too. He’s gorgeous like Superman and sings like an angel.

BLADE: Do you ever imagine backstory for your characters whose sexuality is undefined?

STAUDENMAYER: I do, but not with Wolfsheim. I don’t see it. I’m trying to be as butch as possible with this ruthless killer.

BLADE: Have you had to do that in your career?

STAUDENMAYER: For a long time, I wore a mask to hide my gayness. I worked hard on being believable, that I was into the girl or that I was a tough guy.

It’s a different world now, and it’s so refreshing to be around the younger actors today; they’re remarkably open and comfortable.

BLADE: What was your coming of age like?

STAUDENMAYER: I played high school football in Palm Springs [he chuckles, alluding to the arid gay mecca], and I was pretty good too. But much to the chagrin of my parents and coaches, I quit the team to act in our senior year play. My super butch dad played semi-pro football and he was an ex-cop. I’m named after him. While I didn’t become my dad, I’ve played him often on stage. He was a true Gaston [the bumptious rival in “Beauty and the Beast”]. And like Gaston, he used antlers in all his interior decorating.

BLADE: Did he live to see your success in theater?

STAUDENMAYER: He did. Life was challenging growing up but the last 10 years of his life we couldn’t get off the phone with each other [his voice catches with emotion]. He accepted me entirely, and we became very close.

BLADE: Looking ahead, is there a part you’d especially like to play?

STAUDENMAYER: Like all baritones I’d love to play Sondheim’s “Sweeney Todd.” I’ve come close but it hasn’t happened yet. There’s still time.