Wilson Cruz

“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.”

“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.”

“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.”

“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.”

“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.”

“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.”

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

“I had no idea what being on stage would be like or how I'd react to the applause. I didn't think I deserved their applause. Then I realized I'd done something to make them feel something. That made it okay. But it was weird. A nice weird.”

“Sometimes we make progress in leaps. And sometimes we make them in small steps.”

“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.”

“What's disheartening for me and to all of us in GLAAD is when it comes to major studio films, LGBT people are basically invisible. And when we do show up, it's largely a part of comedies as carictatures to service a joke that's at the expense of the character.”

“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.”

“If you were to turn on the TV in 1986, '87, you wouldn't see anybody having, I guess, a low-to-middle-income person of color experience. And you definitely wouldn't have a young LGBT person or their story told. The experience of being invisible in our culture has ramifications that I don't think any of us can really understand.”

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

“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.”

“I like to bring a level of vulnerability and real humanity to the characters I play when appropriate, and I feel like Dr. Culber lives pretty comfortably in that vulnerable world, but he's a professional first.”

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

“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.”

“As a fan of the franchise, I count myself among the countless LGBTQ fans who have longed to see themselves and our relationships depicted on 'Star Trek.'”

“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.”