Zachary Quinto, inheritor of the iconic Mr. Spock role in JJ Abrams' "Star Trek" reboot and the star of the upcoming film "Margin Call," reveals that he is gay in a new profile in New York Magazine. The star, 34, credits his role in the Broadway play "Angels In America," in which he plays a gay man who leaves his AIDS-afflicted boyfriend, for helping to put him further in touch with the hopes felt and struggles faced by both gay and straight Americans, and discusses his political outlook for the rights movement.
Living in New York during the play's run, Quinto says the experience was both challenging and rewarding, and gave him a fresh perspective on the work that needs to be done in the fight for equality. On one hand, New York State legalized gay marriage; on the other, a gay teen committed suicide earlier this year because of unending bullying.
"As a gay man I look at that and say there’s a hopelessness that surrounds it," he says, "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.”
Quinto has long been an advocate for gay rights -- he performed in a 2009 staging of "The Laramie Project: 10 Years Later" and appeared at a banquet for the cause that same weekend, and put out an "It Gets Better" video the next year. That often fed into speculation over his sexuality, as did the fact that he's played a number of gay roles, and is doing so again in his latest television show, "American Horror Story."
In an interview with the New York Times last year, he said he preferred discussion about his advocacy over personal matters.
“The fact that these things 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 said. “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.’”
As Spock, he had a blossoming romance with Zoë Saldana's Uhra; he just appeared this fall as the ex-boyfriend of Anna Faris in "What's Your Number.
For more, click over to NY Magazine.
UPDATE:
Quinto posted a new blog on his website Sunday morning to discuss why he decided to come out as a gay man.
"When I found out that Jamey Rodemeyer killed himself -- I felt deeply troubled," Quinto writes. "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."
Quinto, who also made an "It Gets Better" video (see below), says Rodemeyer's death made him decide to speak up in public.
"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."
He continues, "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."