Out actor Conrad Ricamora talked about
what Pride Month means to him in a recent Logo spotlight.
Ricamora, 43, is best known for playing
Oliver Hampton on the ABC legal drama How to Get Away with Murder.
He currently can be seen in Hulu's gay romantic comedy film Fire
Island.
“I will say that Pride every year for
me is still a celebration. It’s a time to go out with your friends
to celebrate how far we have all come,” Ricamora
said. “Especially in our own personal lives as adults from,
being in the closet to where we may be as individuals, and playing
Oliver on How to Get Away With Murder has provided
opportunities to march in the parade and to take part in different
events and represent, not only the gay community but the Asian
community. It’s something I look forward to every year.”
A theme in Fire Island is chosen
family. Ricamora said that the concept is important to him because he
grew up “feeling scared to be who I am.”
“The concept of chosen family means
so much to me because I grew up feeling scared to be who I am and
growing up and finding other people who had a similar experience and
people who loved me for that part of me,” he explained. “I felt
affirmed in a way that I had never felt in my entire life in a way
that I envied my straight friends growing up. And I knew that there
was always something that I couldn’t share with them. I think it’s
the reason why that term exists because when you are deprived of
something for so long you value it that much more when you find it
and that’s chosen family.”
Fire Island is currently
streaming on Hulu.