While you were waiting for the new gay kid on Degrassi: The Next Generation to come out to himself, the actor who played that teen soap's trailblazing homo has lined up a new gig. Find out more after the break!

Brad Altman and George Takei

Monday night at the Mandarin Oriental hotel in New York City, the Trevor Project held its 8th annual Summer Gala. Hosted by Alec Mapa, the entire evening was as entertaining as it was inspiring with a mix of individuals honored for their work with gay youth as well as musical and comedy performances.

The N, the network whose award-winning television shows Degrassi: The Next Generation and South of Nowhere have broken new ground in the positive representation of gay and questioning youth, received the Trevor Commitment Award. Receiving the award was Sarah Lindman, the Senior Vice President and General Manager of The N, who spoke emotionally about how including gay content in their teen-geared series has been a great place for gay and questioning teenagers to see that they are not alone as they come to terms with self-identity and sexuality.

The Colin Higgins Foundation honored three gay youths with their Youth Courage Awards. Kyle Rapinan, Perre Shelton, and Devon Bearden were each honored for fighting back and pulling themselves out of their respective abusive and discriminatory situations and are now thriving in their lives. In fact, Shelton received a standing ovation when he recited one of his powerful poetic works to the audience upon accepting his award.

Alan Cumming

The hilarious Alan Cumming was honored with the Trevor Hero Award for his endless work helping young people accept themselves for who they are and teaching them to be empowered, not hindered, by that self-awareness. Past recipients include Tony Award-winning actor Nathan Lane and Pulitzer Prize-winning author Michael Cunningham.

“For a long time, I’ve admired the work of The Trevor Project and the support they give to America’s gay youth, so I’m really delighted and honored to be given this award by such a great organization,” said Mr. Cumming in a Trevor Project press release. “The Trevor Project really inspired me so this award truly is special, and I will continue to try and further their goals in my life and work.”

More pics and celebs after the break!

Criminally adorable out actor Adamo Ruggiero (Degrassi) at the 8th Annual Trevor Project Gala in NYC 

(Photo: Andrew Walker/Getty)

In a continued effort to bring you all that is important in the world of gay entertainment and ensure that you are being spoon-fed images of gorgeous, commoditized manflesh, we present the newly-minted AfterElton Briefs. Following the usual assortment of carefully-selected news items, interested readers can find a refreshing pic of a hot man in underwear after the jump. Yes, we're serious.

• The 8th Annual Trevor Project Gala in NYC drew celebs like Sandra Bernhard, Idina Menzel, Rosie Perez, Alan Cumming, Michael Urie, George Takei, Lisa Lampanelli, Gideon Glick, Adamo Ruggiero, and more. The organization helps gay and questioning youth who are at risk of suicide.

• Logoonline is running a feature on the 50 Best Gay Bars in America. #3 Happens to be in my neighborhood (no, I had no part in making the list!) and I couldn't agree more with the kind words about Garry, Metropolitan's chipper tapper. Congrats!

• Starting Thursday, the London Eye will be illuminated in rainbow colors to celebrate London Pride.

• Looks like I'm not the only person incensed about Madonna's $200 ticket price.

• And, of course, any John Waters interview is a good John Waters interview. Enjoy.

And today's Briefs are brought to you by...

Every year The Trevor Project, a non-profit organization that works to prevent suicide among gay and questioning youth, honors someone who can be an inspiration for queer youths with The Trevor Hero Award. Past recipients include Nathan Lane and author Michael Cunningham.

This year's award will be given to Alan Cumming, the bisexual Scottish actor who recently starred in the Sci-Fi Channel's The Wizard of Oz remake, Tin Man, and was the voice of curmudgeonly Chuck on Rick and Steve: The Happiest Gay Couple in All the World. Cumming is also someone who speaks out on LGBT issues regularly with eloquence and wit.

The Trevor Commitment Award, which is given to a company or organization, will be given to cable network The N, home to gay inclusive teen shows like Degrassi: The Next Generation and South of Nowhere.

Adamo Ruggiero from Degrassi: The Next Generation

We can all probably remember what it's like to be young, struggling to accept your sexuality and not being able to find any role models to show that being gay doesn't limit who you can be. With people like Cumming in the limelight and shows like Degrassi finding mainstream popularity, one can certainly hope that the path is slowly getting easier for gay youth.

The awards will be given out at The Trevor Project Gala on June 30. The affair sounds like a gay ole' time with Alec Mapa hosting the festivities, comedienne Sandra Bernhard performaing and Adamo Ruggiero (the Degrassi actor who came out publicly earlier this year), Lauren Collins, Cheyenne Jackson and Heather Matarazzo presenting.

Just a few months after coming out as a gay man to the press, Degrassi: The Next Generation star Adamo Ruggiero has a new gig: he'll be hosting a talent show on the youth-oriented network YTV this summer. The Next Star will show six kids attending a "star school", eventually giving the audience the chance to determine the winner.

Last year we were impressed to see the BBC make openly gay and bawdy-tongued John Barrowman the host of a kid-focused program (with kids as contestants and meant for a general audience) and here we have YTV making an openly gay man the host of a show squarely aimed at young viewers.

True, Ruggiero seems like a much easier sell as he is already familiar with kids from playing gay Marco on the immensely popular Degrassi, and not ... say, a horny time-traveler who sleeps with his staff. But much like with The Kids are All Right we can't imagine a US net putting an openly gay man front and center on a family program like this. And so much for coming out killing your career, huh? Go Canada!

Recently out actor Adamo Ruggiero continues his tour of gay media outlets with an interview in Out magazine.

Ruggiero talks about how growing up in Toronto (where there's no paparazzi) made it easier for him to come to terms with his sexual orientation, since he wasn't scrutinized the way many young celebrities are ... but it probably also helped that Degrassi's most devoted fans were kept at bay by an international border:

What’s funny about our show is that in this one particular case it’s the opposite: Americans love this Canadian show, but we don’t. And they are obsessed -- the Customs people tell us whenever kids come through they always ask where the cast lives!

Hm, I didn't realize you could make customs an accessory to your stalking like that.

Ruggiero reveals a sense of humor when it comes to fans debating his sexual orientation before his coming out:

Straight! Can you believe that? People believe what they want to believe, and that happens mostly in America. Here in Canada, we just see human beings for the most part. So, I’m sure me coming out is going to make some waves down south. With the small amount of celebrity I’ve had in my life, knowing that, how can I believe that Britney Spears is pregnant for third time when they think I’m straight?

That just leaves me imagining Ruggiero anonymously leaving a few of those "Oh, please, who didn't know already?" comments I saw in some stories covering his coming out.

He also discusses his future on Degrassi saying he's not sure when he'll leave the series, though it's bound to happen sooner or later as the characters age. I remember that when this season started, this was expected to be the last season for Marco and other characters his age. It sounds like that's been put off for now, which makes me happy since the newer characters on Degrassi have yet to really grab me. Ruggiero also says he'd like to work behind the scenes in the future. Oh, Adamo, don't tell us you'll be depriving us from seeing this adorable visage in the future:

Is that a zipper tie? Everything does come back into style eventually!

That's just a sampler of what he talks about, be sure to check out the full interview.

In a bit of is-it-luck-or-just-good-planning, this week's Degrassi two-parter (appropriately titled "Pride") focuses on Ruggiero's character, Marco. From the looks of the previews, this episode finds Marco facing money trouble because he's been spending so much time with a guy (a new boyfriend?) who lives an expensive lifestyle. His financial situation is desperate enough for him to consider prostituting himself:

I'm feeling a bit mixed on the plot. I mean, this is Degrassi so the show will handle the topic responsibly, but when I saw the preview, my first thought was "Didn't they have a gay character so strapped for cash they sold their body last season when Alex became a stripper?" Is Degrassi getting a bit repetitive with its gay characters?

Among the various post-strike coverage, I found an AP article that looks at US networks adapting UK series. While I was familiar with most of what the article had to say, it certainly got my attention when it asked, "So can an Americanized version of Torchwood be far behind?" Of course, that got me thinking -- who would I cast in an Americanized Torchwood?

I guess I should add a disclaimer that I'm playing this exercise from a fantasy world where a network that adapts Torchwood for US audiences would be run by it-getters who realize their audience is a queer and queer-friendly one and will, hopefully, cast for that audience.

Captain Jack Harkness

Captain Jack is the toughest character to re-cast. That's partly because it's hard to imagine anyone but John Barrowman in the role, but also because it's a particularly demanding one. Jack is smart, dashing, charming ... oh, yeah, and irresistibly hot to boot. Jack can wear his arrogance on his sleeve and make it seem cute, but he also bears the burden of trying to guide humanity through the key period that is the 21st century.

Cheyenne Jackson comes to mind as one performer who can handle all those qualities. Judging from what I've seen of him from clips of Xanadu: On Broadway and on The [title of show] Show he can certainly play Jack's humorous side and I've been thinking Jackson is due to be cast in an action hero role. Besides, considering how breakthrough the character is, I like the idea of having another openly gay actor in the role.

Another out actor that comes to mind for the role is Robert Gant who also can deliver a mix of looks, charm and humor. I haven't seen Gant in any action-oriented roles, so his upcoming spy movie Kiss Me Deadly will give us a clue. However, as much as I like the idea of having an openly gay actor in the role, I can also see Nathan Fillion playing Captain Jack with a lot of the same qualities he brought to Firefly as Captain Mal Reynolds.

Of course, the biggest problem with adapting Torchwood -- its connection to the Doctor Who franchise -- is condensed in the character of Jack Harkness. In this Torchwood is Jack still a reformed time-traveling con artist? Is there another Doctor out there in the universe of the Americanized Torchwood?

Gwen Cooper

Gwen is supposed to be an everywoman character who the audience can identify with -- fallible and not an expert like the rest of the Torchwood team. She's supposed to bring a perspective that doesn't come easy to the rest of the crew, a quality not as tangible as Tosh's computer expertise or Owen's medical training. Who can make Gwen's failings a relatable quality rather than a reason for irritation? Dipping once again into the pool of actors from Joss Whedon shows, I can imagine Amber Benson adding a touch of vulnerability that'd get us wanting to see her learn from her mistakes and from being around Captain Jack.

On the other hand, instead of tempering Gwen's tendency to screw up with vulnerability, I could see Katie Finneran playing to Gwen's willful side. We saw her play an FBI agent on The Inside and on Wonderfalls she made her character's failings as part of her complexity. Similarly, I can see Clea DuVall bring a dynamic where Gwen's mistakes make her seem less incompetent and more like someone still in training. (Work with me, here, I'm trying to like Gwen.)