TAGS Angels in America, margin call, quinto, same+sex+marriage, samesexmarriage, star trek, zachary quinto, zachary quinto comes out, zachary quinto gay, zachary quinto new york mag, zachary quinto out of the closet, zachary+quinto+come+out, zacharyquintocomeout
CATEGORIES Movie News
UPDATE: Zachary Quinto commented on coming out over at his own website. "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." Read his full statement over at ZacharyQuinto.com.

EARLIER: Zachary Quinto has long dodged rumors about his sexuality. "The fact that [same-sex marriage and gay bullying] are such hot-button issues right now, socially and politically, I would much rather talk about that than talk about who I sleep with," Quinto told the New York Times last year while promoting his stage work in the seminal play 'Angels in America.' "I would love to be a voice in this maelstrom of chaos and obsessive celebrity infatuation that says, 'Let's talk about something that matters.'" Apparently, the 'Margin Call' star came to the realization that the issues were related to some degree: he's come out as a gay in the newest issue of New York.

Quinto says that playing Louis Ironson in 'Angels in America,' a man who abandons his AIDS-stricken boyfriend, was a breakthrough. "[It was] the most challenging thing I've ever done as an actor and the most rewarding. 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."

Those things include a society where gay marriage can get legalized in New York, the same year that 14-year-old Jamey Rodemeyer killed himself after incidents of gay bullying.

"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?" Quinto said. "We're terrified of facing ourselves."

Before his breakout role on 'Heroes,' Quinto starred in numerous television shows -- including as Tori Spelling's homosexual friend in 'So NoTORIous.' He shot to superstardom after playing Spock in the J.J. Abrams-directed reboot of 'Star Trek' in 2009, and is star and producer of 'Margin Call,' out Friday.

Quinto has championed equal rights and empowerment in the past, including filming an "It Gets Better" video for The Trevor Project last year.



[via New York]

[Photo: AP]

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