This summer, against the silky white backdrop where heroes dare to tread and devils wear Prada, there is a select group of enticing young men starring in three new gay-themed movies. Catch these boyz of summer at a multiplex near you. With the heat they’ll generate, they’re sure to give the air-conditioned theater a run for its money.

First up is actor Daniel Letterle, best known for his role as Vlad Baumann in the movie Camp. We chatted with the affable Letterle and got the scoop on his second shot at playing it gay (sorry, boys, he’s straight and taken) in The Mostly Unfabulous Social Life of Ethan Green, which is based on the comic strip of the same name. The film chronicles the ups and mostly downs of the title character’s love life. Included in the mix is an ex who’s about to wed and a no-nonsense mom (played by “Family Ties” matriarch Meredith Baxter) who wants her gay son to be coupled.

Rocket: How did you get your start in acting?

Daniel Letterle: Well, when I was in high school, I had to figure out what I wanted to do with the rest of my life. So I decided to move to New York and be an actor. I went to a musical theater conservatory with a two-year program. And that’s how I got my start. I was 17 at the time.

Rocket: What do you feel is the universal message of the movie?

DL: That everyone needs to be loved, I think. That is probably it [the message] in its simplest form.

Rocket: What’s the worst date you’ve ever had?

DL: I haven’t had a date in so long, I guess I’m lucky. Oh man, I had to have a bad date… I have to think. Well, I guess when I was in eighth grade, I had this girlfriend and we would hang out every day at lunch; I guess we would consider those to be our “dates,” because that was the only time we could see each other. And she got really jealous ’cause I was flirtin’ with another girl. And she threw a chair at me! She actually hit one of my best friends and broke his rib! So I’ll never forget that. That was probably one of the worst little dates I was on.

Rocket: What was it like having TV mom Meredith Baxter playing your mom on film?

DL: Ah, that was so cool! It’s like she hadn’t aged a bit, you know. It was like she just came off the set of “Family Ties,” or something. She’s gorgeous, beautiful. I had a crush on her as soon as I met her. It was a cool experience.

Rocket: With two gay roles under your belt, is there any fear of typecasting?

DL: No! No way! I don’t mind being typecast. I know it’s a big fear for people, but in this business, if you can get any kind of attention it’s good.

Diego Serrano, a 33-year-old Ecuadorian-born actor, first came into the spotlight when he won the “Star Search” modeling contest in 1992. This led to a regular stint as Tomas Rivera on the NBC sudser “Another World,” from 1993 to 1997. From that jumping-off point followed a fair amount of work playing supporting roles on television, including a spot on the ill-fated Jennifer Love Hewitt “Party of Five” spin-off, “Time of Your Life,” in 1999.

Serrano’s big screen first came in 1998’s Mixing Nia, which was followed by 1999’s The 24 Hour Woman with Rosie Perez. He returned to daytime drama with soap, “The Young and The Restless.”

Now Serrano is in full view for everyone to see on the big screen in this summer’s The Mostly Unfabulous Social Life of Ethan Green. In the film, released this month in New York and Los Angeles, Serrano plays recently out baseball player Kyle, who is the most recent in the string of Ethan’s “you’re not quite the one” succession of boyfriends.

Matt Newton made his small-screen debut on “Strangers with Candy,” the since-cancelled TV series that’s opening as a feature film this month. From there, he appeared on “Judging Amy,” “Jag” and a stint on season five of MTV’s “Undressed” before the wider vistas of cinema caught his eye.

He partied alongside Alanis Morissette’s former fiancé, Ryan Reynolds, as a “male sophomore” in Van Wilder. This also means he survived Tara Reid as a co-star. (Give that boy a medal!) Following that was the serial killer biopic Dahmer.

In the July 21 release of Poster Boy, Newton portrays Henry, a college-age gay man tasting the sweet fruit of liberation. The only thing standing between Henry and true bliss is coming out to his ultra-conservative U.S. senator father.

In his late teens, Jack Noseworthy joined the national tour of the musical Cats. He worked with “The Weez,” Pauly Shore, in Encino Man and played the bullying Eric Dittmeyer (who torments Peter Brady) in The Brady Bunch Movie. He stood toe to toe (or was that toe to boob?) with Pamela Anderson in Barb Wire, and he learned that Jon Bon Jovi and seamen do mix in 2000’s U-571. That same year, Noseworthy appeared in John Waters’ Cecil B. Demented, and, most recently, he starred opposite Mo’Nique in Phat Girlz.

This summer, Noseworthy co-stars in Poster Boy, in which he takes on The Man. With a little man-on-man action thrown in for good measure, he’s poised to turn the world of politics on its rear! Noseworthy plays Anthony, a gay activist who falls for Newton’s character and then feels the pangs of love, which makes him think twice about using Henry for his own political gain.

Some of the monikers Chad Allen has had over the years include: Child Star, Teen Idol and Out & Proud Actor. His first big break came on “Our House” with a pre-90210 Shannen Doherty. The ironically titled “My Two Dads” was the show that launched him into the teen idol portion of his career, and “Dr. Quinn, Medicine Woman” solidified that title.

On National Coming Out Day in 2001, Allen publicly came out in an article published in The Advocate. Allen followed this candid revelation with an admission about his past drug use and subsequent recovery.

With two flicks already in the can this year, 2006 is proving to be a banner year for Allen. End of the Spear is the true story of a series of events that unfold when five missionaries are speared to death in the jungles of Ecuador in the 1950s. In Shock to the System, Allen reprises his role as gay detective Donald Strachey. His first time out as this private dick was in the 2005 TV show “Third Man Out.” In Shock to the System, Strachey goes way undercover to penetrate an ex-gay therapy group – and then his newest client winds up a stiff! (Opens Aug. 25)