Andrew Rannells.Photo: Udo Salters/Patrick McMullan via Getty
Don’t call him a “guncle.” For actorAndrew Rannells, the popular portmanteau for “gay” and “uncle” is unwelcome — and infantilizing.
“I’m not a tangential character in my nieces' and nephews' lives, I’m their uncle,” he tells PEOPLE in this week’s issue. “And it’s a little cutesy. I’m a 44-year-old man.”
Courtesy Andrew Rannells
Also in the book of essays: how his formerGirlsco-starAllison Williams— “that show was a f-cking gift!” he says — calmed him during a scary plane ride.
“We were experiencing a lot of turbulence. The plane really seemed in peril, and she was so chill. She asked me, ‘Why wouldthisbe the plane that went down?'”
Allison Williams and Andrew Rannells.Jessica Miglio / HBO / Everet
He also recalls a very Hollywood, if awkward, experience withSienna Miller.
“She has no idea who I am!” he says with a laugh. “It was not necessarily like super pleasant, but I hope the larger takeaway from that chapter is:Mark Ruffalois a f—ing dreamboat.”
But back to children — or the lack thereof. “I had this romanticized idea that when my brothers and sisters had kids that I would be the greatest uncle in the world,” he says. “And it didn’t really work out that way.” (He jokingly notes he now knows one cannot “call a child an a–hole.")
Rannells also opens up about how the advancement of LGBTQ+ equality left him uncertain.
“It’s very tricky now that we have the option to have kids,” he says. “It was the same thing with marriage. When that became possible, everyone was like, ‘You gonna get married?’ And I was like, ‘Well, I don’t know.’ "
He admits the interrogations left him reeling: “As my sister Natalie said to me very bluntly, ‘Yeah. Welcome to my world.’ "
Never miss a story — sign up forPEOPLE’s free daily newsletterto stay up-to-date on the best of what PEOPLE has to offer, from juicy celebrity news to compelling human interest stories.
But when Rannells was in his late 30s, his friends began having children. “I had the luxury to think about it, to ask myself if I wanted kids,” he says. “And the answer was no. And it was scary. I felt like maybe I should have done something differently.”
So he consulted his mom. “I asked her, ‘Were you always happy having children?’ And the answer was no,” he recalls, with a laugh.
He says over the years he came to the conclusion that he doesn’t want to have kids. “But I’m happy for you if you do!” he adds.
Tuc Watkins and Andrew Rannells.Emma McIntyre/Getty
But then came a plot twist a few years ago: “I met someone with two children,” he says, referring to his partner, actor Tuc Watkins, 56, whom he met while they both starred inBoys in the Bandon Broadway and later in the Netflix movie.
“And all of that clarity disappeared. Tuc is a wonderful father. I was confronted with the fact that I was in love with someone whodidhave two children. Could I make that work? And what is my role in that?” he continues.
One role it would not be? “It was not like Julia Roberts inStepmom,” he says.
For more on Andrew Rannells, pick up the latest issue of PEOPLE, on newsstands Friday, or subscribehere.
Uncle of the Year: And Other Debatable Triumphshits bookshelves on May 16.
source: people.com
