Andre Braugher admitted his son was initially 'upset' that he chose to play gay character as a straight actor

Brooklyn Nine-Nine star Andre Braugher once opened up about how his son was 'upset' when he took on the iconic role of Captain Holt, but he explained a 'key' factor to keep in mind.

Braugher was the source of countless laughs in his role as Raymond Holt on NBC's cop-comedy show, and fans are now mourning the brilliant actor following the tragic news of his death.

Braugher's publicist confirmed that he passed away at just 61-years-old, after experiencing a brief illness.

Fans are looking back fondly on Braugher's career, which began in the late '80s as he took on the role of Detective Winston Blake in a number of Kojak movies.

Decades on, Braugher moved up in his fictional policing career as he was made captain of New York's 99th precinct in 2013.

Braugher starred alongside Andy Samberg and Terry Crews in the sitcom Brooklyn Nine-Nine, which ran until 2021.

His character was gay and married to Kevin in the series, though in real life Braugher was straight, and married to wife Ami Brabson.

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After Braugher told his family about his new role, he admitted that playing a character with a different sexual preference to his own caused some confusion for one of his three sons.

In an interview with Huffington Post, the actor explained that his son was 'upset' when he took the role, asking: 'What are you doing, Dad? Why are you playing the gay police captain?"

Though Braugher's son wasn't incorrect with his description of Holt, Braugher pointed out that being gay was only one feature of the character.

"And I said, 'Well, no, he's a police captain that's gay'," Braugher recalled.

His son didn't understand the difference between the two descriptions at first, so his dad explained.

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"Well, one's going to be the butt of the joke. One is eventually wearing hot pants and singing 'YMCA' on camera in some embarrassing way. And the other is going to be a man with plenty of dimension who happens to be gay," he said.

"And for me, that distinction is critical. It's key."

Braugher went on to tell the publication that it was 'wonderful' to see that being gay wasn't a 'defining characteristic' for Holt.

"When it is the defining characteristic it’s always gonna bump up, inevitably, against good taste and wind up creating an offensive stereotype,” Braugher said.

The actor's portrayal of the police captain has been described as 'the absolute cherry on top' of Brooklyn Nine-Nine by fans in the wake of his death.