Actor J. August Richards, known for his roles as Deathlok in Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. and Charles Gunn in cult favourite Angel, has come out as a gay man on social media.
The 46-year-old actor made the announcement in a one-on-one chat with fellow actor Sarah Wayne Callies, who stars alongside Richards in the new US sitcom Council of Dads.
Callies and Richards were discussing Richards’ character – a black, gay, married parent – and the impact of that kind of visibility on television.
“If I think about why I even got involved in this industry, it was really to combat oppression,” said the actor whose career spans back to the 80s.
“I knew how I was affected by the people of colour I saw on television or that I didn’t see on television.”
“Being a married gay man with a family I realised that on television I don’t take anything I do lightly and you have an opportunity to put an image into millions of homes and I wanted that image to be honest and I wanted it to be correct,” Richards’ continued.
“I knew that I could not portray this gay man honestly without letting you all know that I was a gay man myself… I’ve never done the people I worked with.”
“I knew how important it is to other people out there like me, who would need to see that role model.”
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