Come Out With Pride Orlando is upon us and this year's Grand Marshall, Jonathan D. Lovitz, is coming home. Orginally from Fort Lauderdale, Lovitz made Orlando his home after his family left South Florida for the land of Mickey Mouse. After graduating from the University of Florida in 2006, Lovitz also made New York City home. With a rising career on the Broadway stage, Lovitz has now added televsion personality to his resume as a member of Logo's "Setup Squad." He has since used his visibility to give the gay community a new face and to give back in a more positive way. Instead of bars and circuit parties, he's chosen LGBT intiatives to fight for a respectable cause. Lovitz recently talked with Mark's List about Come Out With Pride Orlando, his show on Logo, working on his physique and his role as a gay advocate. 

How important is Come Out With Pride Orlando and your role as this year’s Grand Marshall?

It’s a great honor to be one of the few openly gay actors on television and to be recognized by my home town in Orlando as the face of this year’s Pride event. It’s very special for me.  My role as Grand Marshall is to be the tangible face of Pride and to lead the parade. I am very fortunate that my show on Logo (“Setup Squad”) has led me to a lot of really great LGBT activism work.  In June alone I went to six Prides in five weeks and still had room left over to come to Pride in Orlando. I have a great friend and family base in Orlando, so it should be very exciting.

How often do you make it back to Orlando with such a busy schedule in New York?

I try to go every few months. I was in Orlando for Gay Days in June. Come Out With Pride brought me in to host a few events during Gay Days—it was my first time and I had a blast. Going to Disney and enjoying the social aspects of the event was a lot of fun.

So let’s talk more about your show “Setup Squad” on Logo.

The first season ran this past spring and summer, and we are eagerly waiting for news on season two. It’s a show about a New York City dating company with a team of four people (the “wing men”) who take New Yorkers who are tragically without game and teach them all what they are doing wrong in the social world. Our show aims to fix what’s going wrong with the people on the inside and not just slapping on a coat of paint. We try to identify what’s going on emotionally and what’s holding people back from finding love. It’s been really rewarding being the only male on the show.  I get a lot of e-mails from multiple fans a week telling me how helpful the show was to their dating lives. I’ve also received feedback and thank you letters for being a positive gay face on television. Shows like “The A-List” do everything that they possibly can to destroy gay credibility.

Do you watch “The A-List” on a regular basis?

I’m friends with some of the guys, and I think it’s a shame the camera doesn’t show them for who they truly are. I understand that entertainment has to come first, but I think a show like “The A-List” is extremely damaging to people who don’t know better. Logo has the potential to show Americans that there is a really healthy, normal side to gay America—and most of the time they do anything but. I think that’s what’s so great about my show—it shows an upside to the gay community.

How’s your Broadway career going?  Is it everything you hoped for?

It’s great! Working in television has shown me how much I miss doing theater. Taking a year off to shoot the show on Logo was really hard for me, but now I’m right back in it. I’m doing a ton of productions in New York and around the country.  I’m the host of a really great live event in New York called “The Next Broadway Star,” which is like Broadway’s version of “American Idol.” It’s really fun getting to see the young faces and new talent that are going to grow up through the ranks.  If you miss the live show, you can catch up on Broadway.tv.

You also have a new web site that you just launched?

I have a fully revamped web site (jonathandlovitz.com) for people to learn a little bit more about me or check out some of my videos. More importantly, it’s a great way to reach out to me for speaking engagements at universities or hosting LGBT events.

What are some of your secrets to maintaining your incredibly toned body? 

I’m the last person to ask about eating habits—there’s still a lot of burgers and beer just like in college. Here’s my philosophy: input equals output. Life is too short to not enjoy that slice of pizza or that burger if you want it; but you’re going to have to work harder the next day at the gym. When I workout I have another philosophy: workout smarter not harder. I see guys at the gym who are in before I get there and still there when I leave—they are grunting and sweating and getting nowhere because they never took the time to find out the correct things to do. My advice is to do a little reading and talk to a trainer about specific goals to get the body you want. During my speaking engagements I talk a lot about the hang-ups in the gay world with the “Adonis factor” and needing to have a solid body otherwise you are deemed unacceptable. I think it’s ridiculous—you just need to have the body that makes you happy every day.

Has working on your body been important to your career?

I always wanted to get into better shape. Living in New York and going up against incredibly talented and gorgeous actors and dancers made me realize I had to step up my game physically to get the work I wanted to do. It’s opened tremendous doors for me. I never thought I would do modeling—I thought that was reserved for the beautiful people [laughs].  Modeling led me to television and television led me to hosting and then a short film. It’s been important on my journey since college to just say yes. You can always get out of something once you say yes, but you’ll never get the opportunity again once you say no. I always knew I would be an actor, but it’s gone in directions I never imagined.

As a gay advocate what are some of the other projects you are involved in?

Some of the perks to being “out” on television are the amount of events I get asked to help the gay community. That’s also one of the issues I have with the guys from “The A-List.” They have all this visibility and all they do is appear in bars. I know what gay role models did for me in my youth—like Danny from “The Real World” who spoke at University of Florida when I was a freshman.  It’s been a real honor that I’ve been asked by GLAAD and The Trevor Project and Campus Pride to speak out on bullying and acceptance issues.  I’m very specific about events I host—I tend to look for the ones that have a charitable aspect. Every place I appear I make sure there is a benefit for the community. That’s something that’s really special about Orlando Pride. Come Out With Pride and the MBA (Metro Business Association) do so much more than just throw an incredible party once a year. There’s that extra something that gives back to the community (Come Out With Pride Orlando gives back to the LGBT community through charitable initiatives including an annual scholarship to the University of Central Florida Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual Student Union as well as donations to a variety of local LGBT organizations).  I am very proud to be a part of it.

More about Jonathan D. Lovitz:

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www.jonathandlovitz.com