Sean Hayes not worried about typecasting

Sean Hayes, who has made his name playing decidedly gay characters in Will & Grace and Billy’s Hollywood Screen Kiss, says in an interview with TVGuide.com that “as an actor, I don’t want to play a gay guy the rest of my life. It makes me very driven to do other things.” His most recent project is providing the voice for the cat Mr. Tinkles in the film Cats & Dogs, a character he based on “a frustrated Shakespearean actor who never got to the stage.” Hayes does not feel that this penchant for affected characters, however, will pigeonhole him as a performer. “It was [a fear of mine] at the beginning, and I think it’s gone away because I know what I’m capable of.” He is apparently trying to choose projects that will broaden his range, explaining, “I could have been in Dude, Where’s My Car? I really was offered a part in that. I could’ve done a lot of things. But I’d like to do smarter things than that.” Cats & Dogs opens July 4.