At school, I really couldn’t fit in anywhere. I wasn’t a jock or a nerd. I could never be who I was.
Sense8 actor Brian J. Smith, known for his roles in LGBTQ-inclusive sci-fi Netflix series ‘Sense8′ and the new Bourne Saga USA series, Treadstone, comes out as gay in the cover story for U.K. magazine Attitude‘s December issue.
38-year-old Smith has publicly spoken about his sexuality for the first time, and revealed that he didn’t come out as gay to his family until he was 30.
Sense8 Actor Brain talk about Growing up in Texas:
Speaking with Attitude Magazine, Sense8 actor Brian J. Smith talk about the hardships of growing up in suburban Texas. “I was terrified,” he said about his childhood. At school, I really couldn’t fit in anywhere. I wasn’t a jock or a nerd,” he explains. “Forget about any [LGBTQ+] union or groups. There was absolutely nothing. I was completely alone. I heard all the names: p*ssy, f*ggot.”
“I could never be who I was. I was constantly having to check myself and make sure I wasn’t looking at someone too long or making someone feel uncomfortable. I had to be very, very careful about telling people the truth about myself. It still reverberates. A lot of my work is about that. The things that move me as an actor are those echoes that come up.”
When his interview went live Thursday, Brian J. Smith wrote on Instagram, “The folks at [Attitude] reached out and I knew it was time. Hoping there’s other people out there like me (and not like me!) who can relate. Nothin’ but love!”
Smith’s feelings of isolation encourage him to start acting and get involved in high school theatre productions. He said, “In front of an audience, I disappeared and became someone else. I had 600 students at school, all of whom probably thought I was an absolute idiot, a nerd. [But] on stage, they paid attention to me, and they saw that I had something. And that’s when I didn’t feel alone.”
What Does Family think About Sense8 Actor Brian:
He felt more at ease with himself when he came out to his family, who supported him the entire time.
Sense8 actor Brian J. Smith Said, “I was surprised. When I came out to my parents they were wonderful. They said they were just waiting for me to say something. They were a lot more advanced than I gave them credit for.” “I think that’s when I became OK with it, too. Just in terms of being, Oh that’s the world, it’s not as dangerous as I thought it was.”
Being involved on the LGBTQ-inclusive sci-fi series ‘Sense8’ provided him a space to simply be. He was not publically out then. “I remember being so relaxed.” he said about working on the series. I thought, Finally, “I can just be myself, I don’t have to put on airs for any of these people.”