We asked you which gay or bisexual TV characters you think are the best, and you told us – with tens of thousands of votes cast.

Now we have the results.

But first, a few interesting statistics. We have quite a few familiar faces – characters who made our

last poll of the best gay and bisexual characters two and a half years ago – and a few missing ones, namely Vince D’Angelo (from Will & Grace), George Huang (from Law & Order: SVU), and Waylon Smithers (from The Simpsons), all of whom didn’t even make the top 50 this time around.

Meanwhile, we also have many new faces – from shows that have debuted since our last poll.

Every single character except two comes from a show that ran in the 00s (although some shows, like Will & Grace, did debut in the late

90s). The exceptions? Jodie Dallas, played by Billy Crystal, on Soap and Ricky Vasquez from My So-Called Life.

Ten characters come from soap operas, mostly from the U.S. or UK And speaking of the UK, ten of the top 50 characters herald from shows produced in that country.

Twenty percent of the top 50 characters were men of color – including True Blood’s Lafayette Reynolds (#23), My So-Called Life’s Rickie Vasquez (#26), Six Feet Under’s Keith Charles (#29), Ugly Betty’s Justin Suarez (#31), The Wire’s Omar Little (#44), and several characters from Noah’s Arc – although none of these characters made the top 20.

And bisexuality continues have low visibility, with no characters that openly as identify as bisexual, but a few, like Captain Jack

Harkness (#1), Ianto Jones (#3), and Chris Keller (#25) and Tobias Beecher (#35) from Oz who could probably be identified that way.

Without further ado, here are the results!

1. Jack Harkness (Torchwood)

Previous rank: 10

Played by actor John Barrowman (2006 - present)

Vaulting from tenth place all the way to number one is none other than Captain Jack Harkness. Okay, so we

know you think Captain Jack is the “best” gay or bisexual television character ever (although he prefers “omnisexual”). Could he also be the most

revolutionary? We think it’s arguable. The phenomenon that is Captain Jack has exposed once and for all the lie that mass audiences won’t accept GLBT characters in a leading “hero” role, with a romantic life to boot. Better still, he may soon be coming to American TV, almost certainly played by the actor who made him so indelible, John Barrowman.

2. Brian Kinney (Queer as Folk USA)

Previous rank: 1

Played by actor Gale Harold (2000 - 2005)

Love him or hate him,

everyone had an opinion about Queer as Folk’s Brian Kinney. Sure, he started

out an arrogant sex machine, but he ended the run of the show as, well, a

slightly more complicated arrogant sex machine. Five years after the show went

off the air, enough of you remember television’s baddest of Gay Bad Boys fondly

enough to rank him number two. For those of you keeping track, that’s a

drop-off of one from our previous poll.

3. Ianto (Torchwood)

Previous rank: N/A

Played by actor Gareth David-Lloyd (2006 - 2009)

What does it say that two of

our top three characters come from a British television show? We think it says

that the Brits are ahead of us Yanks, who all too often still seem like

Puritans at heart! As for Torchwood’s Ianto Jones, played to perfection by the

man with three first names, Gareth David-Lloyd, we’re sad that just when he’s

finally coming into his own (and coming to terms with his “I’ve never fallen

for a man before” relationship with Captain Jack), he had to go and die.

Just as sad is the fact that Ianto’s

death means that, depending on how the remake is conceived, the character

probably won’t make the jump to American TV.

4. Will Truman (Will & Grace)

Previous rank: 5

Played by actor Eric McCormack (1998 - 2006)

Ironically, the gay lead in

the transformative sitcom Will & Grace was a straight man; it’s not just that

the actor who played him, Eric McCormack, was straight – it’s that Will the

character was usually the “straight man” for the show’s break-out zany

sidekicks, Jack and Karen, and even Will’s much ditzier friend, Grace.

But by playing it “straight,”

Will became something extraordinary: the Gay Everyman. Jack Harkness might be

TV’s most “revolutionary” character, but Will Truman was certainly the most

influential. The entire history of gay men on American television can pretty

much be divided into “before Will & Grace” and “after Will & Grace.”

5. Scotty (Brothers &

Sisters)

Previous rank: 19

Played by actor Luke Macfarlane (2006 - present)

Let’s face it: playing the

spouse to one of the Walker’s screwed-up family members on Brothers &

Sisters is a thankless role. You get a couple of scenes per episode, at most.

So what is it about Luke Macfarlane’s portrayal of Scotty Wandell that has

caught the attention of so many AfterElton.com readers? There’s something about

Scotty’s quiet grace that is both infectious and truly touching – especially in the face of Kevin’s non-stop neurosis.

It probably doesn’t hurt Macfarlane is drop-dead gorgeous.

6. Kevin (Brothers & Sisters)

Previous rank: 4

Played by actor Matthew Rhys (2006 - present)

Like Brian Kinney, Kevin

Walker on Brothers & Sisters proves you don’t always have to be “likable” to be

interesting. And in the hands of an actor less talented than Matt Rhys, we

suspect that viewers would’ve rejected this frequently whiny, selfish windbag

years ago. But there’s something about Rhys’ portrayal of Kevin – the way he

hides the character’s insecurity, even as he makes it screamingly obvious –

that makes you feel protective of the poor guy. Sure, he’s fussy, needy, and gives

new meaning to the expression “high maintenance.” But let’s face it: we all know

that guy – and in some cases, we are

that guy!

7. Kurt (Glee)

Previous rank: N/A

Played by actor Chris Colfer (2009 - present)

Glee creator Ryan Murphy

named the character “Kurt Hummel” because Chris Colfer, the actor who plays

him, had played Kurt von Trapp in a stage version of The Sound of Music, and

because he had the rosy cheeks of a Hummel figurine. Like Kurt von Trapp, Kurt

Hummel has definitely been a team player this season – although there’s nothing

fragile about him. What’s remarkable about Colfer’s portrayal of Kurt is that

he’s taken a character that’s in many ways a gay stereotype – the stylish

clothes, the fussy mannerisms – and turned him into a well-rounded person who

can both make us laugh and break our hearts, often in the same episode.

8. Justin Taylor (Queer as Folk USA)

Previous rank: 3

Played by actor Randy Harrison (2000 - 2005)

In many ways, the story of Queer

as Folk is the story of Justin – or, rather, the story of one person’s entry

into, and exploration of, the gay community. Could we have had a better tour

guide than this “sunny” character – the perfect counterpart to cocky Brian? And

incidentally, have you noticed that four of our top ten gay characters (and

nine of our top 50) were created by the same man: Russell T. Davies?

9. Jack McFarland (Will & Grace)

Previous rank: 2

Played by actor Sean Hayes (1998 - 2006)

If Will was the Gay Everyman,

Jack is … well, the Gay Stereotype: bitchy, superficial, promiscuous, brainless, fey,

materialistic, and oh-so-obsessed with Cher. He also happens to be funny as

hell, especially when paired with Megan Mullally’s Karen Walker, Jack’s partner

in sheer insanity.

As portrayed by the very

talented Sean Hayes, Jack McFarland has become an icon. But because he is such

an icon, it’s a little hard to understand just how explosive the character was

at the time. In 1998, Will & Grace took the “safety” off – and the result

was the shocking, politically incorrect, and bust-a-gut funny “Just Jack.”

10. David Fisher (Six Feet Under)

Previous rank: 8

Played by actor: Michael C. Hall (2001 - 2005)

Talk about guys we all know!

As David Fisher, the repressed gay undertaker at the center of Alan Ball’s

landmark series Six Feet Under, actor Michael C. Hall created a character that

made us all nod in recognition. But the most interesting part of the character

wasn’t where he started – it was where he ended up, and the journey he made

getting there. The things he experienced, both alone and later with his partner

Keith, made David easily among the most realistic, complicated, and satisfying

gay television characters ever.

11. Michael Novotny (Queer As Folk USA)

Previous rank: 9

Played by actor Hal Sparks (2000 - 2005)

12. Marc St. James (Ugly Betty)

Previous rank: 11

Played by actor Michael Urie (2006 - present)

13. Oliver Fish (One Life to Live)

Previous rank: N/A

Played by actor Scott Evans (2008 - present)

14. Luke Snyder (As the World Turns)

Previous rank: 6

Played by actor Van Hansis (2005 - present)

15. Kyle Lewis (One Life to Live)

Previous rank: N/A

Played by actor Brett Claywell (2009 - present)

16. Noah Mayer (As the World Turns)

Previous rank: 16

Played by actor Jake Silbermann (2007 - present)

17. Christian Mann (Forbidden Love)

Previous rank: N/A

Played by actor Thore Schölermann (2006 - present)

18. John Paul McQueen (Hollyoaks)

Previous rank: 21

Played by actor James Sutton (2006 - 2008)

19. Jack McPhee (Dawson's Creek)

Previous rank: 12

Played by actor Kerr Smith (1998 - 2003)

20. Oliver Sabel (Forbidden Love)

Previous rank: N/A

Played by actor Jo Weil (1999 - present)

21. Emmett Honeycutt (Queer as Folk USA)

Previous rank: 7

Played by actor Peter Paige (2000 - 2005)

22. Sam Adama (Caprica)

Previous rank: N/A

Played by actor Sasha Roiz (2009 - present)

23. Lafayette Reynolds (True Blood)

Previous rank: N/A

Played by actor Nelsan Ellis (2008 - present)

24. Ben Bruckner (Queer as Folk USA)

Previous rank: 17

Played by actor Robert Gant (2002 - 2005)

25. Chris Keller (OZ)

Previous rank: 13

Played by actor Christopher Meloni (1998 - 2001)

26. Rickie Vasquez (My So Called Life)

Previous rank: 15

Played by actor Wilson Cruz (1994 - 1995)

27. Cameron Tucker (Modern Family)

Previous rank: N/A

Played by actor Eric Stonestreet (2009 - present)

28. Marshall Gregson (United States of Tara)

Previous rank: N/A

Played by actor Keir Gilchrist (2009 - present)

29. Keith Charles (Six Feet Under)

Previous rank: 20

Played by actor Mathew St. Patrick (2001 - 2005)

30. Craig Dean (Hollyoaks)

Previous rank: N/A

(2002 - 2008)

31. Justin Suarez (Ugly Betty)

Previous rank: N/A

Played by actor Marc Indelicato (2006 - present)

32. Mitchell Pritchett (Modern Family)

Previous rank: N/A

Played by actor Jesse Tyler Ferguson (2009 - present)

33. Maxxie Oliver (Skins)

Previous rank: N/A

Played by actor Mitch Hewer (2007 - 2008)

34. Andrew Van de Kamp

(Desperate Housewives)

Previous rank: 14

Played by actor Shawn Pyfrom (2004 - present)

35. Tobias Beecher (OZ)

Previous rank: N/A

Played by actor Lee Tergesen (1997 - 2003)

36. Roman Wild (All That Matters)

Previous rank: N/A

Played by actor Dennis Grabosch (2006 - present)

37. Noah Nicholson (Noah's Arc)

Previous rank: N/A

Played by actor Darryl Stephens (2006 - 2007 TV, 2008 film)

38. Ted Schmidt (Queer as Folk USA)

Previous rank: N/A

Played by actor Scott Lowell (2000 - 2005)

39. Marco Del Rossi

(Degrassi: The Next Generation)

Previous rank: 24

Played by actor Adamo Ruggiero (2002 - 2009)

40. Jodie Dallas (Soap)

Previous rank: 23

Played by actor Billy Crystal (1977 - 1981)

41. Deniz Öztürk (All That Matters)

Previous rank: N/A

Played by actor Igor Dolgatschew (2007 - present)

42. Calvin Owens (Greek)

Previous rank: N/A

Played by actor Paul James (2007 - present)

43. Wade Robinson (Noah's Arc)

Previous rank: N/A

Played by actor Jensen Atwood (2005 - 2006 TV, 2008 film)

44. Omar Little (The Wire)

Previous rank: N/A

Played by actor Michael K. Williams (2002 - 2008)

45. John Cooper (Southland)

Previous rank: N/A

Played by actor Michael Cudlitz (2009 - present)

46. Alex Kirby (Noah's Arc)

Previous rank: N/A

Played by actor Rodney Chester (2005 - 2006 TV, 2008 film)

47. Christian Clarke (EastEnders)

Previous rank: N/A

Played by actor John Partridge (2008 - present)

48. Stuart Alan Jones (Queer as Folk UK)

Previous rank: N/A

Played by actor Aiden Gillen (1999 - 2000)

49. Syed Masood (EastEnders)

Previous rank: N/A

Played by actor Marc Elliott (2009 - present)

50. Chance Counter (Noah's Arc)

Previous rank: N/A

Played by actor Doug Spearman (2005 - 2006 TV, 2008 film)

The Top 50 Gay TV Character List

1Capt. Jack

Harkness (Torchwood)

2Brian Kinney

(Queer As Folk USA)

3Ianto Jones

(Torchwood)

4Will

Truman(Will & Grace)

5Scotty

Wandell (Brothers & Sisters)

6Kevin Walker

(Brothers & Sisters)

7Kurt Hummel

(Glee)

8Justin

Taylor (Queer As Folk USA)

9Jack

McFarland (Will & Grace)

10David Fisher (Six

Feet Under)

11Michael

Novotny (Queer as Folk USA)

12Marc St.

James(Ugly Betty)

13Oliver Fish (One

Life to Live)

14Luke Snyder (As

the World Turns)

15Kyle Lewis (One

Life to Live)

16Noah Mayer (As

the World Turns)

17Christian

Mann (Forbidden Love)

18John Paul

McQueen (Hollyoaks)

19Jack McPhee (Dawson's Creek)

20Oliver Sabel

(Forbidden Love)

21Emmett

Honeycutt (Queer As Folk USA)

22Sam Adama (Caprica)

23Lafayette Reynolds (True

Blood)

24Ben Bruckner

(Queer As Folk USA)

25Chris Keller

(Oz)

26Rickie

Vasquez (My So-Called Life)

27Cameron

Tucker (Modern Family)

28Marshall

Gregson (United States of Tara)

29Keith Charles

(Six Feet Under)

30Craig Dean (Hollyoaks)

31Justin Suarez

(Ugly Betty)

32Mitchell

Pritchett (Modern Family)

33Maxxie Oliver

(Skins)

34Andrew Van de

Kamp (Desperate Housewives)

35Tobias

Beecher (Oz)

36Roman Wild (All

That Matters)

37Noah Nicolson

(Noah's Arc)

38Ted Schmidt (Queer

As Folk USA)

39Marco del

Rossi (Degrassi: The Next Generation)

40Jodie Dallas

(Soap)

41Deniz Öztürk

(All That Matters)

42Calvin Owens

(Greek)

43Wade Robinson

(Noah's Arc)

44Omar Little (The

Wire)

45John

Cooper(Southland)

46Alex Kirby (Noah's

Arc)

47Christian

Clarke (EastEnders)

48Stuart Alan

Jones (Queer As Folk UK)

49Syed Masood (EastEnders)

50Chance

Counter (Noah's Arc)