Obsession star Michael Johnston wants a 'steamy moment' in his next queer project

Coming off the high of starring in Obsession, which was this summer's massive viral hit at the box office, actor Michael Johnston is Hollywood's man in demand.

He's already in talks to co-star alongside Brendan Fraser and Rachel Weisz in the upcoming fourth installment of the iconic horror franchise The Mummy, according to Deadline.

On Sunday, Johnston made an appearance at the Lacoste's Paris Fashion Week Spring-Summer 2027 show. The event took place on the Philippe-Chatrier center court at the home of the French Open, with the venue covered in mounds of fresh red clay.

Back in July, Johnston told Tommy DiDario on his podcast that, after the runaway success of Obsession, he’s now able to “choose what I want to do.” His target, he said, was to play a “really meaningful” and “really intentional queer role” in an upcoming project, even if he has to write it himself. The 30-year-old Rutherfordton, N.C. native clarified why that matters.

“It’s just another part of who they are, and that’s how I am. It’s just a part of who I am,” he said on DiDario's I’ve Never Said This Before podcast. “My whole thing has been that what the character’s sexuality is doesn’t matter to me," Johnston said, adding that his upbringing in a Southern Baptist family forced him to hide who he was.

"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."

Now the out gay actor has revealed he's been cast in what Attitude described as an upcoming queer project. "There will be a really incredible queer story in my future, and I’m so excited to play it and to have my steamy moment," he said.

No details yet on the role, or the project, but in an interview for the magazine's cover story, Johnston provided more context about his Southern Christian roots and his own internalized homophobia, thinking that being gay made him an “abomination."

“I’m an abomination, I’m disgusting,” he said.

Johnston said that forced him to hide his authentic sexuality in an attempt to conform, even dating a girl and trying to hide any sign of being effeminate.

At 18, he moved from North Carolina to Los Angeles, which Johnston said allowed him to feel more comfortable with being gay. Taking on gay roles early in his acting career enabled him to confront his own feelings, he told Attitude.

From 2015 to 2017, he starred as the gay character Corey Bryant on MTV’s Teen Wolf, and in 2016 he appeared as Neil in the queer drama Slash. He said 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."

“And of course, of course, I’m playing these gay roles and I wasn’t really out yet."

One of Johnston's aunts joked that performing as a gay character, like Corey and Neil, was going to “convert” him. But he realizes now they did indeed have an impact.

"Playing those roles early on definitely helped me to accept and to change my view on my sexuality. I used to think it was a weakness, and now I think it’s a strength because it’s just made me more empathetic.”

He recalled how support from fans showed him he was making a difference. "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."

That reminded him of his own suppressed childhood and why now he hopes to inspire others who are growing up closeted. “Growing up, any time I saw a gay character, [I thought,] 'Wow, there are others. I’m not alone.’ So if I’m going to be that for someone else… that’s incredible."

And in a sign that he has also found support from his family, Johnston posted on Instagram that his mother accompanied him to Paris for the Lacoste runway show.