It was a while ago that he worked with him so he couldn’t recall his interactions with him exactly but basically they ended up in situation where they heard him say something very pro LGBT and sex positive in nature. The thing is he remembers Joe saying it in a way that seemed to imply that he was kind of referring to his own sexuality in an indirect way. He also said that he felt like he was probably gay before he actually heard that from him because he acted and talked in a way that wasn’t effeminate but was pretty exuberant and boyish for a straight guy. He was pretty surprised when I told he was married with kids.
However, after what I told him about Joe he said that I probably shouldn’t take what he heard and experienced with him as seriously indicative anything then because none of it was things that couldn’t have been something else and he his interactions with him weren’t really that extensive anyways. We agreed he was probably straight, maybe bi.
The way Joe came up as a topic of conversation was funny. We were talking about voice actors, some of which he‘s worked with (yes he’s in the biz) and he just said something to the affect of “I remember being involved with the localization of a nintendo game and there was this voice actor I met who was like, Arab or Mediterranean or something and he was just incredibly sexy and charming I always remembered him afterwords”. I wondered for minute, asked the name of the game and then asked if his name was Joe Zieja. He said he thought it was, I produced a picture of him to look at at and he was just like “yeah that‘s him!”. Nice little small world moment.
What happened after that was just kind nuts though. He said Joe probably still remembers him and, thanks to his work it would be easy for him to contact him and causally, almost off handedly, asked if I’d like to have him !!!arrange for me to talk to him!!!.
I just immediately responded by telling him “Oh God no! What would we even talk about? I’m just some loser he doesn’t even know exists who happens to have a crush on him! If I saw him walking down the street towards me I’d probably hide in the bushes!”.