Zachary Quinto Is Gay; Actor Cites 'Senseless' Teen Suicides for Confession
"Star Trek" actor Zachary Quinto, moved by the suicides of gay teens, has confessed in an interview with New York magazine that he, too, is a homosexual, and hopes making it publicly known will help "change the landscape of society."
Quinto, 34, recently wrapped up an lenghty appearance in the New York City revival of Tony Kushner's "Angels in America" as a character who abandons his AIDS-infected boyfriend.
It was while commentinng on his role in the play that Quinto revealed he was gay:
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"Doing that play made me realize how fortunate I am to have been born when I was born. And to not have to witness the decimation of an entire generation of amazingly talented and otherwise vital men. And at the same time, as a gay man, it made me feel like I — there's still so much work to be done. There's still so many things that need to be looked at and addressed. The undercurrent of that fear and that, you know, insidiousness still is swarming. It's still all around us. To revisit that world at all, it took a toll on me. It definitely was an incredible experience but it was really daunting at times."
Quinto wrote the following on his website Sunday morning after his interview with New York magazine started gaining attention:
"when i found out that jamey rodemeyer killed himself - i felt deeply troubled. but when i found out that jamey rodemeyer had made an it gets better video only months before taking his own life - i felt indescribable despair. i also made an it gets better video last year - in the wake of the senseless and tragic gay teen suicides that were sweeping the nation at the time. but in light of jamey's death - it became clear to me in an instant that living a gay life without publicly acknowledging it - is simply not enough to make any significant contribution to the immense work that lies ahead on the road to complete equality. our society needs to recognize the unstoppable momentum toward unequivocal civil equality for every gay lesbian bisexual and transgendered citizen of this country. gay kids need to stop killing themselves because they are made to feel worthless by cruel and relentless bullying. parents need to teach their children principles of respect and acceptance. we are witnessing an enormous shift of collective consciousness throughout the world. we are at the precipice of great transformation within our culture and government. i believe in the power of intention to change the landscape of our society - and it is my intention to live an authentic life of compassion and integrity and action. jamey rodemeyer's life changed mine. and while his death only makes me wish that i had done this sooner - i am eternally grateful to him for being the catalyst for change within me. now i can only hope to serve as the same catalyst for even one other person in this world. that - i believe - is all that we can ask of ourselves and of each other."
His comment has attracted nearly 200 resopnses on his website and his name has appeared on Twitter's Trend list of most discussed topics, with commenters expressing admiration.
Quinto is mostly known for his role on "Heroes," an NBC television series in which he played a villian named Sylar.
