In an interview with The Daily Beast
to promote his latest project, actor Cory Michael Smith said that he
identifies as queer.
The 31-year-old Smith is best known for
playing Edward Nygma, aka The Riddler, on Fox's Gotham.
In his latest film, 1985, which
just premiered at SXSW Festival, Smith plays Adrian, a closeted young
man who travels to Texas to spend the holidays with his family. His
partner recently died of AIDS. And a sick Adrian is heading home to
say goodbye.
Smith said that the film's premise felt
familiar.
“I'm from Middle America... I'm from
Ohio. I've been living here [in New York] for a while, and there are
stretches when I don't see my family often,” Smith
said. “Going home and that whole charade is very familiar.
The first family dinner after a while. Coming out to a family, the
fear of that.”
Smith said that while his family
handled his coming out with “a lot of love,” it took “a lot of
time.”
He added that he was “overwhelmed”
by his character's story.
“It's a film that is going back to a
moment and telling a very personal story about the pain and suffering
that certain people went through. Sometimes I think it's OK to have
a moment of silence and consider what that experience was,” Smith
said.