In a The New York Times profile,
Lee Pace talks about his recent coming out as a gay man.
The 38-year-old Pace is best known for
playing Thranduil in The Hobbit film trilogy and Ned in the
ABC fantasy drama Pushing Daisies. He plays Joe Pitt, a
closeted gay Mormon who struggles with his sexuality, in the Broadway
revival of Tony Kushner's Angels in America.
Pace begrudgingly came out in a W
magazine article in March, saying he's dated men and women, then
chided the interviewer for asking the question.
“I don't know what to say – I find
your question intrusive,” he said.
He explained himself in a series of
tweets, saying that he values his privacy and that he considers
himself to be part of the queer community.
Pace told the Times that after
coming out, he had a greater understanding of his Angels in
America character's coming out. Joe Pitt says in the play, “I
want to live now. Maybe for the first time ever. And I can be
anything. Anything I need to be.”
“I remember after it had happened, I
was able to say that,” Pace said. “I can be anything. Once you
say those words and the sky doesn't fall down, or the earth doesn't
open up, a lighting bolt doesn't zap you. You really can be
anything.”
“It feels nicer than I ever thought
it would be.”
Pace added that he's curious how being
out will impact his acting career. “I guess I'm curious to see if
this influences that, and the kinds of roles that come my way. Or in
people's perception of the work that I do.”