Top 33 Wilson Cruz Quotes

The seeds of marriage equality… were planted on MTV.

I love being an actor.

I remember just calling myself gay was a big step for me, and I remember being in the bathroom brushing my teeth, testing out to myself in the mirror, saying, ‘I am gay,’ and seeing if the world was going to stop or if the ceiling would fall in on me.

I think people come home, and they turn on the TV and don’t necessarily want a mirror in their face. They want to escape.

I am honored to be receiving the Point Courage Award.

It sounds corny, but I wanted to be the change I wanted to see in the world. I used to have that on my notebook in school.

I hope that upon this scorched earth we have planted the seeds of ideas that will bear the fruit of more diverse and inclusive stories that include people of color in the LGBT community.

ADCOLOR is an incredible organization that not only empowers people from all backgrounds to rise up but also to give back.

I don’t think that there’s any shame at all in doing what you have to do in order to survive, to make money while you continue to pursue your dreams.

It’s ‘Star Trek!’ It’s as close to an American mythology as we get. To be a part of that storytelling after being a fan since I was a teenage boy who saw the pilot episode of ‘Next Generation’ air, it’s all very surreal.

When I was first starting out in the industry in the early ’90s, gay love stories were relegated to limited-release films that were hidden deep in the back of Blockbuster video stores.

I’ve always been drawn to love stories. Growing up, I would devour films like ‘Moonstruck,’ ‘Ghost,’ ‘Love and Basketball,’ and ‘Love, Jones,’ replacing the lovers in my imagination with two men.

When I got the appetite for more and more theatre, all I could think of was trying to get back to New York.

I think about a young person who is sitting at home, 13 or 14, a person of color, possibly questioning their sexuality, and watching Dr. Hugh Culber and saying, ‘I’m a part of an ideal future that we could work towards.’ We’re planting seeds in the minds of young people to say, ‘Your possibilities are limitless.’

When you’re 14, 15, the most important thing in your life should be education, because that’s what’s going to set you up for success as an adult. So if coming out now will hinder your education, maybe we take some time to think about whether the time is right or not. Those are my concern.

My dad is now an incredibly important ally of mine. I’m so impressed with him. He’s a hero to me because he put love and his family first.

Let me speak for myself: I think I wanted to see people who looked like me on TV. I wanted to see people who had similar experiences as I had, growing up. There was nobody on television when I was a teenager who I could relate to.

All I ever wanted to do when I was a kid was be in a Broadway musical and to be in ‘Star Trek,’ and I can finally say I’ve done that.

When people ask me for advice about when to come out, it’s really about, before you do that, building a circle of support that can strengthen you through that experience. For me, it was my friends. There were people on ‘My So-Called Life’ that really helped guide me.

I remember watching the premiere of the pilot episode of ‘Next Gen’ when I was a teenager.

I consider myself an ‘actorvist.’ When I say that, what I mean is that I use my art to inform my activism and to be my activism sometimes, but I also use my activism in my art.

You cannot overstate, I don’t think, the impact of a show like ‘Glee’ on a generation.

I came out to my dad in Christmas of ’94.

When I think about people coming out, especially young people, my first concern is, ‘Are you safe? Is this a safe time? Are you in a safe place?’ Do you have a network of people outside of your parents you can go to if this doesn’t go as well as you hoped?

Steve Warren’s work and career have opened doors for out professionals across the entertainment industry. In addition to advocating for LGBT people, he has continuously mobilized a large base of high-profile allies to help bring about social change.

It’s important to take leaps of faith.

I learned so much about love from the movies. For a couple of hours, I would allow myself to dream about love and a life that, for me, ordinarily, felt out of reach. So, it was with deep gratitude that I watched the drama ‘Call Me by Your Name,’ knowing what a beautiful teacher it would be for boys like me.

It’s important that we continue to uplift and strengthen our LGBTQ youth who are the future of our community and remind them that their voices are heard.

My advice would be to look at the things you do to make money as ways to inform your work in the end. If our work is to study the human condition, most humans that we are going to be playing aren’t going to be artists, so go out and, as I did, learn what it’s like to have a 9-to-5 job… Think of it as character study.

When you were a teenager, everything’s kind of drawn in primary colors; everything’s big, and everything’s life or death.

I feel really fortunate and grateful that not only do I get to do what I love, but I get to do it and serve a conversation that I feel is necessary culturally. The fact that I get to bring those two passions together is amazing to me – that I get to use my art in order to inform my activism and vice versa!

I was 19, 20. I didn’t know what to do. I knew one thing: I never saw myself on TV or anyone like me, and I wanted to be that for someone else. I think the most courageous thing I did was ask for help.

When I came out, it didn’t go well. My dad kicked me out. I ended up sleeping in my car.