LUKE MCFARLANE COMES OUT OF CLOSET

Television star Luke McFarlane, who plays a homosexual man on ABC's TV series "Brothers & Sisters," has come out of the closet in real life. In an interview with Toronto's Globe and Mail newspaper on Tuesday, the actor, who plays Scotty Wandell on the drama, went public with his sexual orientation after revealing that his family and friends are all aware that he's gay. He said, "There is this desire in L.A. to wonder who you are and what's been blaring for me for the last three years is how can I be most authentic to myself, so this is the first time I am speaking about it in this way." In "Brothers & Sisters," McFarlane's character is preparing to wed his lover, Kevin Walker, played by Matthew Rhys, and he hopes the plot will help viewers with anti-gay prejudices. McFarlane adds, "We're saying, 'This can be part of the cultural fabric, now, because it is two series regulars, two people that you invite into your home and you see every week.'"