16-year-old Andi Mack star opens up about playing Disney Channel’s first openly gay character

16-year-old actor Joshua Rush has opened up about playing the Disney Channel’s first out gay character.

Rush plays Cyrus Goodman on Disney’s popular series Andi Mack.

The second season of Andi Mack featured a gay plotline where Cyrus develops feelings for a classmate – before coming out.

Disney Channel was forced to pull the show from air in a number of countries after outrage at the gay storyline.

Speaking to People, Rush said he sometimes feels the “pressure” of the role.

He said: “I feel the pressure, and I also don’t.

“I think the most important thing for me when I got this part was to do it right.

“I knew that I wanted to do it justice, because I knew that people were gonna end up seeing this and being like, ‘Wow that’s me, I identify with that [and] I can be who I am now,’ but I also wanted to make sure that it’s not all-encompassing. Like that’s not all of Cyrus’ personality.

“We put the work in, and I think it shows.”

(Disney Channel)

He added: “It’s important that everybody gets representation and that anybody having thoughts on who they are is able to see that represented on TV and to be shown that’s okay.