After a major breakout role in 2026, Michael Johnston is already thinking about what comes next. The openly gay actor says he wants to take on a deliberately crafted queer part — one with real meaning — and even hinted he might write that story himself.
With one of 2026’s biggest box office breakouts under his belt, Michael Johnston has some ideas for his next role.
The Obsession star, who is openly gay, recently explained now that he gets to “choose what I want to do,” he’d like to play a “really meaningful” and “really intentional queer role” in an upcoming project, which he might just write himself.
“My whole thing has been that what the character’s sexuality is doesn’t matter to me,” he noted on the I’ve Never Said This Before podcast. “It’s just another part of who they are, and that’s how I am. It’s just a part of who I am.”
Intentional queer storytelling
Johnston added that his upbringing in the Bible Belt shaped his perspective. “But that being said, growing up in the Bible Belt can be problematic for a gay boy. And you know, that was a whole kind of experience, and so I definitely am looking forward to playing a really intentional queer role, story that’s really meaningful.”
How representation has mattered to him
Reflecting on his earlier work, Johnston said his time on MTV’s Teen Wolf — where he played Corey Bryant from 2015–17 — came before he was fully comfortable with his sexuality. He recalled he “still wasn’t comfortable with my sexuality at the time, but I had no idea the impact that just being myself and playing this character authentically would have. I got thousands of messages from people thanking me and telling me how they feel better about themselves. They were able to come out to their parents.
Michael Johnston in ‘Obsession’
Focus Features
“The impact that I made just from doing something that scared me and being brave… and not only that was really cool, but also kind of helped me learn how to accept myself, so that’s something I’m really looking forward to,” added Johnston. “I don’t know, maybe I’ll write it myself.”
From breakout to box office success
Johnston made his breakout performance as the toxically hopeless romantic Bear in Curry Barker’s Obsession, which has become Focus Features’ highest grossing title ever, surpassing $300M globally last month.
