October 13

“I WANT TO BE AN INSPIRATION”: A LIST DALLAS’ PHILIP WILLIS

Posted by thebplot on October 13, 2011 in Celebs | 1 Comment

Guest columnist Michael Cook spoke with Philip Willis, cast member of Logo’s latest serving of some sort of “reality,” A List Dallas…

Michael: How has it been so far being dropped into the celebrity vacuum of “The A List”?

Phillip: It’s great! It’s twenty times more intense being in Dallas while it’s happening, but I’m loving it.

Philip Willis (second from left) is one of the stars of A List Dallas

Michael: You’re known as the social-nista of the group; where do you think this reputation stems from?

Phillip: I’ll put it to you this way; last year my costume for Halloween was a Social Butterfly! I had MAC do my makeup as a butterfly, and I put wings on my back. Clever right!?! Basically, I’m the same person on and off the show, both with my friends and my family. I want to be in the know about everything!

Michael: What have your friends had to say about you joining a sure to be controversial reality show?

Phillip: Oh I didn’t think twice about doing the show! I saw the application online and said to myself “Oh my God I’m definitely filling this out”! For the next few days, I had friends emailing me asking If I was trying out for the show, telling me I should apply because I am so over the top already, and they thought I would be great for TV. I completed all of the steps for the app, and here I am!

I really think that the show is a great chance for me to hold nothing back and try my best to be an inspiration. There are gay men out there who have my story and are like me, and I want them to have someone to relate to.

Michael: The A List New York has gotten some flack from the gay community for not being a good representation of the gay community. How do you feel about that?

Phillip: Here’s the thing; I don’t feel like five or six characters can represent an entire community as a whole. You are representing yourself in your city, and I plan on simply representing myself the best way I can.

Michael: There are bound to be comparisons between you and the New York cast. What do you think are the biggest differences.

Phillip: The biggest difference is that we are on completely opposite coasts, and not to sound catty, we are a lot younger than they are. You are going to see a different kind of drama, definitely an early 20’s drama, as opposed to the early 40’s kind. I think people in the US want to see twenty-something’s, this is the prime of their lives.

Michael: When the inaugural season of “The A List Dallas” is over, what do you want people to remember about you?

Phillip: I’ve done things that people would never do on camera. I was completely fearless coming into this and I was 100 percent myself. I put myself out there as a totally open book and was totally myself and completely real.

I also want to be an inspiration to other people; I want them to be able to say “wow if Philip can do this in front of the whole United States, I can definitely do it on my own. I definitely want to be an inspiration!

Watch A List Dallas on Logo at 10 pm ET. For more Phillip, click here.

For Michael Cook’s TheBPlot interview with A List Dallas cast member James Doyle, click here.

Mykeyc76@aol.com