Tyler Blackburn Shares The Intense Reasons For His Acting Break
Tyler Blackburn is back on The CW’s Roswell, New Mexico after having gone missing from the show for parts of seasons three and four. Now he’s opening up on Twitter about why fans of the series have seen so little of him.
According to Blackburn, who plays the gay veteran Alex Manes on the hit series, he’s had to take a time out while battling “intense mental health issues.”
“Alex is alive! Thank you to my knight in shining armor @MichaelVlamis and the incomparable @heatherhemmens for her insane creativity, professionalism, and patience. Also, thank you to the @RoswellNMRoom and the entire crew of @CWRoswellNM for helping me this season,” Blackburn began in a three-part thread.
“I was dealing with intense health issues that lead to, at times, intense mental health issues during seasons 3 & 4. I had to step down from filming season 4 and every single person in the cast and crew, as well as everyone at @warnerbros and @TheCW showed so much compassion,” he went on to share.
“I am forever grateful to the human beings that made up this show,” Blackburn concluded.
This isn’t the first time the actor has been transparent about his struggles. In May, Blackburn shared that he was having a hard time accepting his body following a back injury and subsequent surgery.
“My friend told me the other day that it’s about accepting your body in any form and I didn’t realize how much I struggle with that,” he wrote on Instagram. “The amount of self-abuse I partake in is toxic. I had a major back injury and a major spine surgery all within the last 8 months and wasn’t able to work out at all. While I am now starting to be able to work towards the shape I want to be in, I need to start with giving myself grace and gratitude for the resilience my body has. There’s beauty in everything, we just have to acknowledge it as such.”
Blackburn’s decision to come out to The Advocate in 2019 followed a similar internal battle, this time against the stigma that bisexual people often face. “I’ve identified as bisexual since a teenager,” Blackburn shared. “I heard so many things from within the queer community about bisexuality being a cop-out or bullsh*t or the easy way out or something,” he added. “That always stuck with me because I felt the pressure from all sides to have [my sexuality] figured out.”
But ultimately, Blackburn knew he needed to embrace his truth. “I’m so tired of caring so much,” he told The Advocate. “I just want to live my truth and feel OK with experiencing love and experiencing self-love.”
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