In an interview with LGBT glossy The
Advocate, actor Joey Pollari discussed coming out.
Pollari plays Lyle in the film Love,
Simon. The movie from out director Greg Berlanti follows
17-year-old Simon (played by Nick Robinson) as he begins a
correspondence with another closeted teen.
Speaking to The Advocate,
Pollari said that he had a similar coming out experience as Simon and
came out to his family and friends five years ago at the age of 18.
“I think all my friends and family
knew on some level,” he
said. “I think maybe two people were shocked.”
Coming out to himself, he said, was the
hardest part.
“The only part that was difficult was
me coming out to myself. And I think that is the most difficult
coming-out,” Pollari says. “A lot of the trouble was self-shame.
I do believe a system of power, of patriarchy, of masculinity, did
impact me. The greatest difficulty I found was that it didn’t match
my idea of myself. It seemed incongruent with the future I imagined
for myself, the identity I had struck up with others. The interplay
between me and women, me and men, now suddenly seemed entirely
different. That just didn’t seem fair or right.”
Pollari added that speaking out
publicly helps others who are struggling with their sexuality.
“It’s part of my goal to be more
transparent, especially in the public sphere. I think that’s a good
thing. Anybody who’s out? It was helpful to me when I was in the
closet. I think just adding another voice there is a good thing to
do,” he said.
(Related: Love,
Simon director Greg Berlanti talks about how he met husband
Robbie Rogers.)