He is blessed with dazzling good looks and starred in one of the most successful sitcoms on television. But when you've spent almost a decade playing the most famous gay man in America, it's not easy to branch out to pastures new, as Eric McCormack is finding out.
McCormack, who played Manhattan lawyer Will Truman in the hugely popular Will and Grace, would like to move in to films and as an Emmy-award winning actor, with perfect comic timing, undoubtedly has the ability to do so. But no one will hire him.
'I have this big pink cross to bear,' he said yesterday in Edinburgh where he was attending the International Television Festival. 'I absolutely loved playing Will. There was nothing hard about it. It was wonderful. But the only downside is the aftermath.
'I meet all these film executives who tell me how much they loved Will and Grace and say they never missed an episode. Then they say, "so what can we do for you?" What they could do for me is hire me to play someone else.'
His new series, Lovespring International, has taken him behind the camera for the first time, though he does make a guest appearance in the second episode.
Already shown in the States, it will be screened in the UK on Sky early next year, but Edinburgh audiences were treated to a sneak preview yesterday. The improvised comedy is about a supposedly elite dating service. It is run by a neurotic crew of seriously dysfunctional characters, who are determined to find love for their clients, even although they don't have much success in romance when it comes to their own lives.
McCormack, who is the executive producer of the programme, said it was the last dating service anyone would ever use.
'I think people in the UK have got a great sense of humour and I think they'll get Lovespring. It's got a sensibility not unlike The Office. But it's more wacky. It's very dry, not so American,' he said.
McCormack, who is married and has a four-year-old son Finn, said critics in America had been kind to Lovespring. 'People are more ready for something more ironic and dry. They like it in America so I'm pretty confident about its chances in Europe.'
Although he makes a guest appearance, he plans to take a break from acting.
'People think of me as the character and while I loved playing Will, I need to give myself and the audience a break,' said McCormick, who donned the kilt to get into the true festival spirit. I really want to branch out. I'd love to do a film. But it's not easy. I need to find a way in, probably an independent film. I just need to find that one film that will change people's minds about me.'
The last episode of the eighth and final series of Will and Grace, which was filmed live in Los Angeles, was completed in May. Although pleased to be off screen for a while, McCormack knows repeats of the sitcom will go on for years.
'We'll probably be in syndication until my kid's in college. But what can you do, jump straight into another series? I don't think so. When you're in anything iconic, I think you have to give yourself a break.'
