Openly gay actor Bryan Batt, married to partner Tom Cianfichi, talks about his gay character Sal on Mad men

Bryan Batt is an openly gay actor. He tied the knot with his longtime partner and boyfriend Tom Cianfichi last year in a lavish ceremony in New Orleans on September 28. The couple has been together for more than two decades and they are happily married. Though Batt is open and extremely positive about his sexuality in real life, he played the role of a closeted gay ad man Salvatore Romano in the hit AMC series Mad Men.

He is one of the very few gay actors who portrayed the role of a gay character on television truly well. Almost six years ago, the character of Batt in Mad Men was axed down by the creator of the hit series at the end of the third season in 2009. During the season finale of the third season, his character, Salvatore Romano was seen making a call to his wife Kitty from a phone booth, in an area which is the hub for gay men searching for sex. On the phone, he tells his wife that he would be working late that night. That was it and he was seen no more after that.

You might be wondering if Batt’s character in the series was homosexual, why was married to a woman? Why didn’t Salvatore find a suitable male partner like Batt did in his real life?

Mad Men is a period drama set on the time of 1960s when homosexuality was considered something as a sin. So what do you expect from Salvatore? Was the time favorable for him to openly confess his sexuality? No…

 Salvatore is an Italian-American character who is set on the back drop of the time when homosexuals were seen as sinners. It was a crime to be gay. It is only now that the same-sex marriage has been legalized. So it was obvious for Sal to cover up his homosexuality. Batt’s role in Mad Men, though gay like him, is totally opposite from his real self. Batt is openly gay and he is not ashamed to admit his sexual orientation whereas, Sal is a closeted homosexual who is not ready to tackle with his homosexuality and avoids sexual encounters with men. So in a quest of proving him straight to the society, Sal even marries a woman and ruins both of their lives.

But his real life is different from his reel life. He is proud to be gay. He dated his partner for more than 23 years and finally got hitched with him. He might not be much active in the show biz nowadays, but he sure has made an impact on our society through his role as Salvatore. He has appeared in several movies.

The actor is very much in love with his beloved partner. They have a perfect married life and we wish them further success in their life.