STAR TREK ACTORS TALK ABOUT COMING OUT

Gay Star Trek actor Zachary Quinto has said that coming out as gay has actually helped his career while Chris Pine has expressed support for his co-star.

Speaking to UK talk show host Jonathan Ross, Quinto (35), who stars as Spock in the upcoming Star Trek Into Darkness, said, “I haven’t stopped working, I’ve only worked more since I came out”.

The star, also known for his roles in the TV series American Horror Story, revealed that he was gay in 2011 in response to a wave of suicides by bullied gay teens in the US.

“I just felt like it was a convergence for me where I was in a position, and am in a position, for young people to look at the experience that I’ve had, to look at the opportunities that have been presented to me, and to recognise in themselves that there is no limitation and that we live in a time where the tide is changing. For me I felt like it was the right time and the right way,” Quinto said.

The actor’s straight co-star in Star Trek, Chris Pine (32), who plays Captain Kirk, also addressed Quinto’s coming out in an interview with OUT magazine.

“So happy for him, oh man, I thought it was rad. It was really, really cool. He did it on his own time, on his own schedule. And Jonathan [Groff], who he’s dating, is such a lovely man. He’s a good guy and a great actor, and they make a fantastic couple. I couldn’t have been happier for Zach,” said Pine.

He revealed that he knew that Quinto was gay even when he was still in the closet.

“Knowing that for Zach it was more about a career thing and that he was not comfortable at the time coming out – it was fine. It was something that we kind of tiptoed around and I just took it was a given, because that’s what he wanted,” he said.

Pine also spoke about one of his early roles as a gay man in the 2006 television film Surrender, Dorothy. “My first intimate scene [onscreen] was with Tom Everett Scott. He’s an incredible spooner ﾗ very warm, very sensitive.”

He added that he’d happily jump into another gay role if it was an interesting one. “Right now I just want to play good roles, and if the role happens to be a gay man, that’s not of any import other than is it a good story? Does it say something that’s interesting?”

Star Trek Into Darkness opens in South Africa on 14 June.