The Elvis-like lead in Broadway’s All Shook Up who memorably portrayed gay rugger Mark Bingham in the Oscar-nominated film United 93, Cheyenne Jackson was rocking roller skates and short-shorts in the surprise Broadway hit Xanadu when I interviewed him for The Advocate’s April 2008 cover story. That November, Out magazine named him “Entertainer of the Year,” but 2009 has shaped up to be even more successful for the openly gay actor and activist.

Reprising the role he played in the City Center Encores! production earlier this year, Jackson currently stars as cocky sharecropper Woody Mahoney in the Broadway revival of the 1947 classic Finian’s Rainbow at the St. James Theatre. The Power of Two, a studio recording of his critically acclaimed cabaret show with out Grammy-nominee Michael Feinstein at Manhattan’s famed Feinstein’s at Loews Regency this past summer, is available November 3.

Though tight-lipped on his upcoming recurring role on NBC’s 30 Rock, the towering 34-year-old talent did open up to Advocate.com about his foot fetishist following, his inharmonious Glee experience, and his lost beefcake photo shoot with Bruce Weber.

Advocate.com: What kind of response did you get to your Advocate cover story?
Cheyenne Jackson: It was definitely a biggie and I know it meant a lot to people. I expected it to make a splash, but I didn’t expect it to open up such a great dialogue. I got so much mail and feedback about it, and probably every other day I’ll see a copy at the stage door. I was very happy with how it came out.

One particular part of that interview got a lot of attention on the blogs, didn’t it?
The Popeye story? Yeah, I got a lot of shit about that, but that’s the way the cookie crumbles. I think my mom would’ve preferred that I left that part out, and a few people were like, “Ew, that’s T.M.I.” But you know what? That’s how I roll. It made me very popular in the foot fetish world, which I didn’t even really know was a thing.

Your publicists at the time tried to steer me away from focusing too much on your sexuality, so they obviously had some issues with the article. Are you still with the same representation?

No, I’m actually not.