Haaz Sleiman on his new show and how coming out as a “total bottom” impacted his career

Little America is a new anthology series by Apple TV+ that highlights stories of eight different immigrant experiences.

Haaz Sleiman stars in “The Son” as Rafiq, who is forced to flee his home in  Syrian village of Qardha after his father catches him kissing another man. Initially, Rafiq goes to Damascus, where he meets another gay man, who encourages him to seek asylum in the West.

Sleiman, an openly gay Arab who moved to America from Lebanon as a young person, tells Salon he immediately connected with the story.

“I felt [the script] was so strong, and relatable, and universal,” he says. “There are similarities to my story. My father emotionally set me on fire, but over time, he actually did love me. He told me he loved me and would defend me.”

Growing up in Lebanon in the 1980s, Sleiman kept his sexuality a closely guarded secret. He says the fear of being found out was “debilitating ” and “crippling.”

“I felt so isolated and lonely,” he recalls, “and I felt I couldn’t share who I am with anyone. I felt I was not seen, that I didn’t matter, that something was wrong with me. But no matter how much I tried to change, you cannot fight nature, and I kept losing to what’s natural.”

Of course, that is no longer his experience. In 2017, Sleiman made headlines when he came out publicly as both gay and “a total bottom.”

“Fans around the world….

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