You may know him as Rickie Vasquez on “My So-Called Life,” Angel in the Broadway tour production of Rent and the recurring characters Junito on Noah’s Arc and Dr. High Culber on Star Trek: Discovery.
This week’s pride journey video highlights Wilson Cruz. The actor opened his heart and spoke exclusively with Latinx Now! about what belonging to the LGBTQ+ community means to him.
When hearing the word "pride", the famous 46-year-old said he thinks of important activists who fought for the rights of this union, such as Sylvia Rivera, James Baldwin, Larry Kramer and Pedro Zamora.
"I think about how proud I am of this community for how we show up for each other, fight for each other, take care of each other," Crus said.
Cruz confessed that one of his biggest obstacles before confessing his sexuality was the Catholic church and the Latino culture back in the day.
“You know, by the time I was 8 or 9 years old I had received the message that if anyone found out the fact that I was gay that I would shame my people. My family, that they would disown me,” he said.
“For the next decade, I pretty much prepared for a life without them,” Cruz added. He became self-reliant and focused on his education.
Cruz was very clear with his advice for people who still haven’t come out to their loved ones.
“Let go of any shame they have for not coming out yet. There is no time where you must. We come out when we can. When we are safe. When we’re ready. No one can define that for you,” he said. “When you’re ready, I think it’s best to start small, Cruz added.” You know, find someone who you know will obviously support you. The goal here is to créate a support system so that as you continue to come out if things go wrong you have a support group there to catch you.”
“For the most part most people will surprise you and there’s nothing like someone who you love looking at you after you come out and say, I love you just as you are," said Cruz.
In the video, Cruz shared a quote from renowned writer Oscar Wilde that has marked his life: "Be yourself, everyone else is taken," he concluded.
Watch the video above to find out more details about Wilson Cruz's moving journey.
In case you missed it, check out Joy Huerta's journey.
For the rest of Pride month, Latinx Now! will continue to release exclusive journey videos. Find out who will be the next celebrity participating next Friday.