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'Nashville' Actor Chris Carmack On Why He Wanted To Play Gay 'Right'

It was a big moment when country star Will Lexington came out as gay in the season 3 finale of ABC’s hit show “Nashville,” and the actor behind the role, Chris Carmack, told HuffPost Live on Monday that he wanted to do it justice.

Carmack, who recently performed at GLAAD’s “Concert For Love And Acceptance” during the CMA Festival, told host Marc Lamont Hill that he always assumed his “Nashville” character was gay.

“Each time I’d get the episode, [I’d think], ‘Is this the one? Is this the one?'” Carmack said of waiting for Will to come out.

The actor described the added pressure that came with portraying such a turning point in the episode.

“This is a part and this is a script that when I get it, I think to myself, ‘I want to get this right,'” he said. “So I wasn’t nervous because I didn’t think I could do the job, I just wanted to do it right. Fortunately, I had Callie Khouri directing that episode, she’s the creator of the series, and she really helped me find a nuanced performance.”

Carmack said it’s important to reflect in popular culture what’s on America’s mind, which, for now, is equality for the lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender community.

“This is something that’s always been here, and now it’s just finally getting some light shined on it and it’s getting some recognition,” Carmack said. “It’s having a moment, and hopefully it’s here to stay.”

But what will it be like for Will Lexington to be an out-and-proud country star on the show?

“My producers told me it’s not all rainbows and unicorns for Will Lexington, you know,” Carmack said. “It’s gonna be tough.”

Watch the full segment with Chris Carmack discussing “Nashville” and his budding music career here.

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