Australian actor Keiynan Lonsdale says
he was inspired to come out while filming the gay teen
romantic-comedy Love, Simon.
In the film from out director Greg
Berlanti, 17-year-old Simon (played by Nick Robinson) begins
corresponding with another closeted high school student. The film
opens Friday, March 16.
(Related: Love,
Simon star Nick Robinson says brother came out gay while filming
movie.)
Lonsdale, who
came out bisexual in an Instagram post last year, said that he
decided to come out while filming the movie.
“Doing Love, Simon was really
inspiring to me,” he
told LGBT glossy OUT.
“I thought, Wow, I’m doing a film about equality and coming out,
and the director has his partner and their child on set, and
everyone’s so supportive and loving, and yet here I am still
hiding. At what point am I going to be able to be myself? I realized
it had nothing to do with anyone else. It was just me holding myself
back.”
Lonsdale, 26, added that being closeted
had become a “full-time job.”
“I was making decisions based on
fear. I was altering my personality and the photos I’d put up on
social media and the emojis I’d use – every little thing. It was
a full-time job. What that does is keep building shame, without you
even realizing it. Honestly, I didn’t come out to inspire others. I
couldn’t actually process anybody else’s thoughts, because that’s
what was keeping me afraid. I did it for myself, but then, once I
realized the effect it had on other people, it became this beautiful
thing. And I can go anywhere now and be me. I’m a better actor, a
better musician, and a better person,” he said.