Nick Jonas’ TV character is revealed to be gay

Following weeks of speculation, the season finale episode of the US TV drama series Kingdom, has revealed that hunky Nick Jonas’ character is indeed gay.

In the episode, broadcast in the US on Wednesday, the character of mixed martial arts fighter Nate Kulina, played by 22-year-old Jonas, is seen being thrown out of a gay bar and then receiving oral sex from another man.

Nate’s earlier awkwardness with other gay characters in the show had suggested that he was himself closeted.

Jonas, who found fame as a member of teen boy band the Jonas Brothers, told BuzzFeed News that he knew that he would be playing a gay role right from the start, and was in fact “proud” to do so.

“Byron [Balasco, Kingdom creator] told me before shooting began,” Jonas said. “For me, it was important to maintain the stakes for Nate. He lives in a world of fear — fear of disappointing his father, both in the cage and outside of the cage — and he carries that pressure with him in so many ways. I think it’s something a lot of people can relate to.”

Jonas, who is promoting a new album, recently embraced his gay fans, making appearances at gay clubs in New York City.

“I’ve really been trying to make an effort to talk with my gay fan base and find unique opportunities to set up the next chapter of my life and my career with them in it,” Jonas said to BuzzFeed.