‘Star Trek’ Actor Zachary Quinto Comes Out of His Closet [PHOTOS]
Since Zachary Quinto pronounced himself a gay man in a "New York" magazine interview and then took to his blog an explanation about his decision to come out, the "Star Trek" actor has been overwhelmed by the positive response across the web.
Quinto explained that the recent suicide of Jamey Rodemeyer, a young teen who was the victim of gay bullying, made him realize that he could no longer live a gay life without acknowledging in public that he was, in fact, gay.
"I admire your courage for looking inside yourself and realizing what kind of real power you have for making a difference," one commenter on his blog wrote.
"It's been enormously supportive. It is universally, unanimously supportive. I'm really grateful for that," Quinto told MTV News on Monday morning while promoting his Wall Street drama "Margin Call."
Zachary Quinto's eight-month run in the recent New York stage revival of "Angels in America" was an eye-opening experience for him. Since the project, the 34-year-old actor publicly discusses his much-questioned sexual orientation for the first time. Quinto calls his work in the off-Broadway play the most challenging thing he has ever done as an actor yet the most rewarding.
"At the same time, as a gay man, it made me feel like there's still so much work to be done, and there's still so many things that need to be looked at and addressed," the actor shared. In the wake of gay New York teenager Jamey Rodemeyer's suicide last month, Zachary Quinto had a crisis of conscience. He realized that hiding his own sexuality was doing nothing for the greater cause of hope and acceptance.
"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," Quinto shared.
"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," the actor further added.
Rodemeyer, 14, of the Buffalo suburb of Williamsville New York, killed himself after years of bullying by classmates. Quinto says he felt indescribable despair when he learned that Rodemeyer had made a video just months earlier for the "It Gets Better" project which is the nationwide initiative to give hope to gay youth.
"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," Quinto wrote on his blog.
"I feel like I made that declaration so that I can be a part of this conversation moving forward," Quinto said.
"I did it in my own time, on my own terms, in my own words. That's exactly the way that I wanted to do it, and I'm really proud of that. When the time is right to continue the conversation forward, I certainly will do that. That's why I took those steps in the first place," he further explained.
"Where's this disparity coming from and why can't we, as a culture and society, dig deeper to examine that?" the actor asked. "We're terrified of facing ourselves," he firmly stated.
While the "Heroes" actor has been an outspoken advocate on gay issues in the past, Quinto said that he is now looking forward to diving more fully into the ever-evolving conversation about teen sexuality and bullying.