Posts Tagged As: Zachary Quinto

Welcome Out, Zachary Quinto

Jim Burroway

October 17th, 2011

Zachary Quinto, who first came to widespread attention as the young Mr. Spock on Star Trek  and as as psychopathic killer in Heroes, is one of those guys who has been out, more or less, to everyone who knew him, but who has been somewhat reserved about it in public. Which probably explains the “oh, didn’t you know?” tone of what he told New York magazine:

For one thing, he’s willing to unambiguously talk about his sexual orientation. His eight-month role in (Angels in America) was both “the most challenging thing I’ve ever done as an actor and the most rewarding” he says. Having to inhabit that terrible lost world, if only in his mind, took a toll. “And 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.”

Quinto has played a series of gay roles, including on Tori Spelling’s TV show So NoTORIous, and on the new FX series American Horror Story, where he plays the kinky dead owner of the haunted house, and has been outspoken about gay-rights issues. Last year, the Times, in profiling him for Angels, noted that “the blogosphere is rife with speculation about his sexuality” but that “he prefers not to feed the rumor mill with either substantiation or dismissal.” That has changed. A little while later in our conversation, speaking of the cultural bipolarity that can see gay marriage legalized in New York in the same year that yet another gay teenager, Jamey Rodemeyer, was bullied and killed himself, Quinto says, “And again, as a gay man I look at that and say there’s a hopelessness that surrounds it, but as a human being I look at it and say ‘Why? Where’s this disparity coming from, and why can’t we as a culture and society dig deeper to examine that?’ We’re terrified of facing ourselves.”

In a blog post on his web site, Quinto acknowledges that he was motivated to come out publicly by Jamey Rodemeyer’s suicide.

“[I]n 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. … 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.”

    

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