Quotes from Wilson Cruz

The thing about me and school was that as much as I felt that I didn't belong, as long as I was on a stage or dancing, that's where I excelled the most, felt worthy.

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.

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.

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.

It takes a certain kind of person who loves 'Star Trek' to bring it to life.

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.

I'm aware that I'm playing one of the first LGBT characters on 'Star Trek' in the first relationship, so there's a responsibility that comes with that. I'm aware of that.

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.

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

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.'

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

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

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.

President Clinton's support of the LGBT community and recognition that DOMA, the so-called Defense of Marriage Act, is unconstitutional and should be struck down shows that the political landscape continues to change in favor of LGBT equality. Leaders and allies like President Clinton are critical to moving our march for equality forward.

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?

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

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.

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.

When we talk about LGBT characters on TV we're talking about the entire rainbow, and that includes trans people, and that includes non-binary people, people of color, women, differently-abled people. There is so much opportunity for storytelling there, and I hope that we continue to see more of 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 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!