When you go to a party, now that you’re famous, do you feel like you always have to be cheerful and witty, like you are on the show?
Jai: I think I try to be very polite and fun with everyone. I don’t want to let them down, you know. But I’m very relaxed and normal. And if you didn’t recognize me, you wouldn’t know I’m on a TV show. I love dancing so I go to clubs a lot, and when I go to straight clubs, it’s like, a lot of times people would say, “Isn’t that the guy from...?” But they won’t say, you know.

You played Angel in Canada and Broadway productions of “Rent.” How was it like playing the part on Broadway?
It was fantastic for me because I’d lost my aunt, my cousin, when I was 16 to AIDS, so playing a character that chose to stay alive and be a positive person, I think that was really fantastic. The first time I saw “Rent,” I sat on the front row of the stage. I’ve been such a fan of the musical and suddenly there I was playing the role and looking down at the seat I once filled.

Did you get to play with any of the original actors?
Yes, yes. I did the show with Taye Diggs, Wilson Heredia... The original Angel, I understudied him for a while.

You also did Carmen Ghia in “The Producers” on Broadway, right?
Yeah. It was really fun. I think that, you know, with Carmen Ghia, you couldn’t go far enough. They kept saying, go further, be funnier, be over-the-top! It’s really fantastic to have the director say, “Go, you could be even campier! Have fun, be really quick and witty!” And, you know, it takes time. In a Mel Brooks comedy it’s all about the big pauses that he has. That’s what creates the joke, and I think learning that was interesting. Angel and Ghia are both transvestite characters. So, what was it like with your parents when you played these roles?
It was really rough for them in the beginning, but they got a taste of some of the other things I did. On a lot of the other television work I’ve done, I’ve been straight. I’ve done two TV soaps, and in one I had a baby and a wife. I also did a Broadway show called “Spinning Into Butter” where I played an inner city student.

Is that the one with Hope Davis?
Yes, yes, yes. Sarah Jessica Parker has just bought the movie rights! So that was really a fun opportunity. But, yeah, I don’t really want to put on a dress anytime soon. I think I’ve kind of done it. I’ve been there.

You also have this cabaret show. What songs do you sing there?
Pop rock, Top 40s, musical theater. I would start with “Nature Boy” and then I would go right into “Lady Marmalade” and I would have three girls in corsets and top hats and they would sing “Lady Marmalade” with me. I would do big numbers like that and, you know, no one was doing that live ‘cause these songs were always lip-synched. It was like doing a Broadway show.

What do you think of gay marriage?
I think I’d just like to get a date before I even go there! (Laughter) The minute I get a date, then I could consider that.

Do you find it hard to get a date?
I do, I really do. Sincerely.

Is it because, you know, when you’re with a guy, the guy might think you’d critique him or try to make him over?
Yeah, or that he’d think you’re better than him because on the show, it is our job to critique. And we do it in a funny way because we know that that’s what’s going to make the show funny. But, you know, we don’t live that way. We all wear jeans and T-shirts all the time. We’re normal, we dress up when we have to dress up, we live life very normally. But I feel very connected to the straight guys we make over because I grew up in Long Island and certainly the kind of upbringing that I had wasn’t anything posh or sophisticated. It wasn’t really until after I left Long Island and started a life of my own that I sort of familiarized myself with etiquette and the city and pop culture. When people ask my mom, “How did you teach him culture?,” she says all the time, “I don’t know, I guess he learned it all on his own.”

Your published Apple iPod playlist is heavily pop and R&B. No show tunes?
I know! (Laughs). I’m not really a show tunes kind of guy, unless I’m doing a show or prepping for a show, then I become addicted to them. What’s in my iPod now? “Nothing” from “A Chorus Line.” I’ve been listening to it for three weeks straight, and I thought it’d be funny if I sang it in my cabaret show.

It’s sung by a Puerto Rican girl.
Yeah! Puerto Rican, too! “They don’t have bobsleds in San Juan!” (Laughter). I’m Puerto Rican, but I was born in the States, in Long Island. My best friend, though, is Filipino.

Your best friend’s Filipino?
Yes, his name is Enrico Rodriguez and he did the show “Zanna, Don’t!” with me.

“Zanna, Don’t.” Is that a play on “Xanadu?”
No! (Laughter) But I am doing a reading of the musical version of “Xanadu” next week. They’re making it into a musical!

What is it with gay people and culture? Is it a fair or valid assumption to say that gay people know a bit more about culture than ordinary men?
We just tend to be more cutting-edge, we want to know everything that’s cool. A lot of us grew up being made to feel that being gay wasn’t the cool thing. So gays guys end up being a bit more sensitive, a bit more “in touch.” We always have to be on top of what’s cool, what’s hip, what’s hot, what’s trendy, and certainly the attraction to theater and stuff and living life visually through this fantasy world is rooted in that.

Those larger than life images.
Yeah, hose big divas—Bette Midler, Liza Minnelli, Barbra Streisand—the gorgeous perfection, the iconic woman, whether that’s her voice or her look.

Culture is a very amorphous term. What does it comprise?
When I first got on the show, they told me I was going to be the nightlife expert, and I was like, “What?” So I don’t think they even knew what they wanted with the “culture” term. Let’s keep it broad, they said, that way you could do everything. And in the show, what it really ended up meaning for me was, you need to help these guys in ways that are non-physical. Like, Carson and Ted and Kyan and Tom deal with how they look and what they do. Now, we have to figure out what’s going on inside because you might be wearing all these clothes, but unless you know how to have the confidence, it’s useless. So culture is like a journey. To make someone cultured, that’s going to take a while, certainly longer than the three days I’d spend with him. So it’s like putting them in the right path to keep exploring new things, to look outside the box, to try things they’ve always wanted to try but maybe feel a bit intimidated to try. You know, open doors. Carson said that for a lot of these guys, you can’t really blame them because they just haven’t been exposed to these things. And once they’re given the knowledge, they’re like, “Oh, my God, I totally like that, I just didn’t know it existed.”

So, in terms of culture, what are the basics that men have to know in order to be considered “culturally literate?”
I think that we live in such a casual society. Chivalry has kind of gone out the door. Politeness is a good thing; “please” and “thank you” can go a long way. Etiquette counts, even just the basic stuff that we take for granted every day. You know, certainly paying attention to the woman in your life a little more attentively than you think you do—that is generally a good idea. Also, just being an attentive person, just being in touch with what’s happening right now in front of you. A lot of people speed through life, they don’t even realize the little things and how those little things in life can affect them. Just be present and get in touch with who you are.

There are women who are attracted to rough, rugged men...
Present! (Laughter)

...What do you say to them?
I think everyone wants the bad boy, but most of them will realize it’s just kind of a thrill. You know, I’m not going to marry the bad boy, but I will enjoy flirting with him. Women usually end up with the good guy.

There’s this rumor that you’re actually straight. How do you respond to that?
I’m not straight! (Laughter) But I’m not going to say that I’ve never dated a girl.

Who among your four co-stars would you date?
Oh my God, none of them. (Laughter). Is that honest enough for you? You know, there’s a lot to consider. First of all, they’re 10 years older, and that’s a big difference. I usually don’t date someone that older than me, because I don’t want to hear them say, “Oh, you’ll understand in a couple of years.” I’d rather grow with someone. Plus, I know them too well to even think about it. When I first met them, I was most attracted to Thom and Kyan. But that went away. (Laughter) You get to know them and you realize it’s not going to work. They’re very established and I still feel very much like an adolescent, you know, still growing up. But it’s like I’ve grown up so much in the past three years, specifically.

Do you ever have clashes with anyone in your group?
Everyone likes me and everyone generally gets along with me. I’m the peace-keeper!

At one point, you actually expressed some misgivings about the fact that you couldn’t do much of what you wanted given the constraints of the show. Do you still feel the same way?
Yeah, absolutely. I’m actually kinda glad that we’re on hiatus now because it gives me the opportunity to do the stuff that I want to do. The thing about the other guys, this is really what they do. These are really their passions. I don’t want to wake up in the morning thinking, “God, who can I teach or what book do I recommend using today.” It’s not my passion. My passion is entertaining and performing, and in many ways the show has allowed me to do that. But in a public forum with an audience, that’s where I feel most at home.

Would you ever date an uncultured guy?
If you get me a date, I’d be very happy to! (Laughter)