Actor David Hyde Pierce says people
should come out for themselves, because his announcement pleased
nobody.
The 52-year-old Pierce, who is best
known playing psychiatrist Dr. Niles Cranes on the NBC sitcom
Frasier, acknowledged that he's gay in 2007. The following
year, he and long-time partner Brian Hargrove quietly married in
California before voters approved Proposition 8, which overturned a
Supreme Court decision legalizing the institution.
In
a new interview with gay glossy The
Advocate, Pierce says people should come out for themselves.
Coming out “was a bit of a shock at
first, but it was amazing the array of reactions I got from the gay
community,” Pierce said. “Some people were very supportive, some
people said that I had been outed, some people said it was about
time, some people said it was too late, and some people just said,
'Who cares?' That's when I realized that you have to do it for
yourself, because you can't please everyone.”
The Tony-winning actor who stars in the
new film The Perfect Host advised gay actors to come out only
when they are ready.
“I would advise anyone not to come
out immediately, but whenever you're ready and feel safe that you
can, you'll be glad you did. However it ended up happening for me,
because I was completely honest and because I did come out – even
though I resisted that phrase for so many years – I feel I'm a
better person, and I'm better able to do everything I do both in my
private life and in my professional life.”