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Zachary Quinto on Coming Out: "I Feel Really Grateful"

Actor says he is overwhelmed by the support he has received upon revealing that he is gay

By Peter Gicas, Jimmy Chairman Oct 18, 2011 8:43 PMTags

You might say the level of support Star Trek star Zachary Quinto has received since coming out as a gay man is pretty much out of this world.

"I feel really grateful," the actor told E! News at the New York City premiere of his new financial thriller Margin Call on Monday night regarding all the people who have reached out to him in the last couple of days. "It's been an incredibly overwhelming experience for me, but all in a really positive way and I'm processing it as I'm going through it."

But, for Quinto, it definitely goes beyond what other folks are saying to him. It's also about what his revelation finally allows him to say.

"I'm just grateful to be able to participate in conversations more authentically now and to be able to stand up on behalf of people that aren't quite ready to stand up on their own and give them whatever shred of light or hope in a real sea of darkness," he said. "It's a gift that I've been given to pass forward, and it's an honor. And with honor comes responsibility and challenge, and I've just done what I can to face it every step of the way."

It looks like this Heroes star is a real-life hero himself.