‘Arrow’ Star Stephen Amell Is ‘Very, Very Happy’ For Co-Star Colton Haynes

It’s been a couple of weeks since Colton Haynes came out as gay to the public, and following that, he’s finding support from at least one Arrow co-star. While stepping out to promote Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Out of the Shadows, Stephen Amell made time to throw some support at Haynes. The Arrow actor said he was glad that Colton had made the decision to go public with his decision.

Arrow Star Stephen Amell Recognizes Haynes’ Struggle

In showing his support for his fellow Arrow actor, Amell says he was aware of the tension and struggle Colton faced in keeping his sexual orientation a secret, although he didn’t know everything about the situation. When Colton made the decision to come out as gay, Stephen says he could see the relief in Haynes as soon as he returned to work.

“I’m so happy for Colton,” Amell said. “I’ve seen him struggle with anxiety and that’s why he, well certainly one of the reasons why, he left Teen Wolf and he left Arrow. When he came back to Arrow this year simply for an episode, it was such a different version of Colton. He and I bonded more. I’m very very happy for him.”

Even before Colton Haynes told his fans about his LGBT status, Amell says he was cornered by some Arrow fans with questions at ComicCon events. Amell says fans were trying to get him to out Haynes before the actor had even considered coming out as gay. Fortunately, Amell was wise to what the Arrow fans were trying to do with their trick questions, and he made every effort to keep Colton’s secret.

“I got in touch with [Colton] and was like, ‘Hey, man, this happened [and] I didn’t know what to say. I simply deflected and we moved on.’ He emailed me back and said, ‘You know, I really appreciate that and I’ve recently made some decisions over the past few months and I’m excited about what’s in the future.’ I’m excited for him, too.”

Stephen Amell Teases A New Villain Coming To Arrow

Warning: The following segment contains spoilers for Arrow.

As Arrow fans may have heard, Damien Darhk’s (Neal McDonough) days are numbered with Team Arrow members Oliver Queen (Amell), Diggle (David Ramsey), Thea (Willa Holland), and Felicity (Emily Bett Rickards) already setting a plan into motion for the villain’s eventual downfall. With Darhk out of the way, Arrow makes room for a new villain, and Stephen offers early teasers on just who that might be.

“I’ve heard that our big bad, our villain, is something that you can really only do once you’re in the fifth, sixth or seventh season of a TV show,” says Mr. Amell.

There wasn’t much else the Arrow star could reveal about this new villain, but he did add that he (or she?) would not possess any superpowers. While that may not be as much information as fans would like, it’s certainly a good start from which they can begin spinning theories of their own about who and what the new Arrow villain might be.

Additionally, Amell said that the lack of new superhero shows being introduced on the CW network next season would allow Arrow an opportunity to expand and improve on the series. Previously, crossovers with shows like Legends of Tomorrow, The Flash, and Supergirl helped to establish those series, but also detracted from Arrow‘s main story arcs, but, now that those superhero tales are well established, there’s no rush to crossover with anything new.

Amell adds that he’s not opposed to crossovers and hopes to give fans more Arrow crossovers in the future, but not at the risk of watering down Arrow and interfering with their own drama.

Arrow will air the Season 4 finale on Wednesday, May 25, on the CW network.

[Image by Dimitrios Kambouris/Getty Images]