Mitchell Anderson's Second Run

Party of Five's Mitchell Anderson left Hollywood for love, settling down with his longtime partner in Atlanta. Now the acting bug is calling him back to the stage in a local production, Octopus, where he plays a gay man looking to spice up his relationship.

BY Jim Farmer

February 08 2008 1:00 AM ET

“We are a
very sexual culture—gay and straight—and
[playwright] Steve Yockey addresses this in a very
interesting way,” Anderson says of the role.
“There are many repercussions of taking sex outside a
relationship. I have seen it destroy couples of long
standing, and I have seen it keep couples together. I
am not here to judge these characters; I think the
play and its outcome speaks for itself. It really gets
people talking about their own morality.”

Back in 1996
Anderson made a statement by coming out at a Gay and Lesbian
Alliance Against Defamation media event. Looking back, he
has no regrets about his decision to be public with
his sexual orientation.

“For me,
coming out was a natural progression of the political work I
was doing,” Anderson says. “I feel like
my life changed that day. Pride is a sin, but of all
the things I have done in my life, coming out and being
able to speak for justice, equality, and acceptance is the
thing for which I am most proud. I spent several years
traveling the country, telling my story. Back then, it
was a new story. I was happy and free for the first
time in my adult life.”