In a recent interview with SiriusXM
Progress' Michelangelo Signorile, out actor George Takei discussed
why he remained in the closet for so long.
Takei came out gay in 2005. He went on
to marry his partner Brad Altman and become an LGBT rights advocate.
But during the height of his career,
when he was playing Hikaru Sulu on the original Star Trek,
Takei did not discuss his sexuality publicly.
“My father told me about American
democracy,” Takei
said. “And he said you have to be actively engaged in the
political process to make our democracy work. So, I've been doing
that my entire life. … But I was silent on that one issue that was
closest to me.”
“If I wanted that career [of acting]
I had to be closeted.”
“Because when I was a teenager, there
was a heartthrob I had named Tab Hunter. He was a blond, stunningly
handsome boy next door, all-American movie star guy. Every other
movie coming from Warner Brothers studio starred Tab Hunter. But
Confidential magazine exposed him as gay, and suddenly he
faded. And that taught me a lesson.”
(Related: Tab
Hunter: Gay actors pressured to stay closeted.)
“It was such a relief to be out and
not be looking over your shoulder or tightly gripped all the time,”
Takei added.
Takei currently stars in the Broadway
musical Allegiance.