Wilson Cruz Quotes

Wilson Cruz

Profession : Actor

Birth : December 27, 1973

I remember watching the premiere of the pilot episode of 'Next Gen' when I was a teenager.

Wilson Cruz

I had no idea what being on stage would be like or how I'd react to the applause. I didn't think I deserved their applause. Then I realized I'd done something to make them feel something. That made it okay. But it was weird. A nice weird.

Wilson Cruz

When I got the appetite for more and more theatre, all I could think of was trying to get back to New York.

Wilson Cruz

My advice would be to look at the things you do to make money as ways to inform your work in the end. If our work is to study the human condition, most humans that we are going to be playing aren't going to be artists, so go out and, as I did, learn what it's like to have a 9-to-5 job... Think of it as character study.

Wilson Cruz

It's important to take leaps of faith.

Wilson Cruz

I feel really fortunate and grateful that not only do I get to do what I love, but I get to do it and serve a conversation that I feel is necessary culturally. The fact that I get to bring those two passions together is amazing to me - that I get to use my art in order to inform my activism and vice versa!

Wilson Cruz

When people ask me for advice about when to come out, it's really about, before you do that, building a circle of support that can strengthen you through that experience. For me, it was my friends. There were people on 'My So-Called Life' that really helped guide me.

Wilson Cruz

I was 19, 20. I didn't know what to do. I knew one thing: I never saw myself on TV or anyone like me, and I wanted to be that for someone else. I think the most courageous thing I did was ask for help.

Wilson Cruz

I like to bring a level of vulnerability and real humanity to the characters I play when appropriate, and I feel like Dr. Culber lives pretty comfortably in that vulnerable world, but he's a professional first.

Wilson Cruz

I'm aware that I'm playing one of the first LGBT characters on 'Star Trek' in the first relationship, so there's a responsibility that comes with that. I'm aware of that.

Wilson Cruz

As a fan of the franchise, I count myself among the countless LGBTQ fans who have longed to see themselves and our relationships depicted on 'Star Trek.'

Wilson Cruz

I've always been drawn to love stories. Growing up, I would devour films like 'Moonstruck,' 'Ghost,' 'Love and Basketball,' and 'Love, Jones,' replacing the lovers in my imagination with two men.

Wilson Cruz

I learned so much about love from the movies. For a couple of hours, I would allow myself to dream about love and a life that, for me, ordinarily, felt out of reach. So, it was with deep gratitude that I watched the drama 'Call Me by Your Name,' knowing what a beautiful teacher it would be for boys like me.

Wilson Cruz

When I was first starting out in the industry in the early '90s, gay love stories were relegated to limited-release films that were hidden deep in the back of Blockbuster video stores.

Wilson Cruz

'Call Me by Your Name' does not have a political agenda. It is not a 'cause' film. It is a simple and beautifully shot story about a same-sex relationship that exists in a very tiny Italian village.

Wilson Cruz

When I was a teenager, in the '80s, it was 'Dynasty.' It was 'Beverly Hills, 90210.' And those were fantasies. Those weren't reflective of my experience. And I think we all want that; we all want to see ourselves, our story told, something to relate to, to help us and know that we're not freaks, that our experiences aren't odd.

Wilson Cruz

If you were to turn on the TV in 1986, '87, you wouldn't see anybody having, I guess, a low-to-middle-income person of color experience. And you definitely wouldn't have a young LGBT person or their story told. The experience of being invisible in our culture has ramifications that I don't think any of us can really understand.

Wilson Cruz

When I came out, it didn't go well. My dad kicked me out. I ended up sleeping in my car.

Wilson Cruz

My dad is now an incredibly important ally of mine. I'm so impressed with him. He's a hero to me because he put love and his family first.

Wilson Cruz

When I think about people coming out, especially young people, my first concern is, 'Are you safe? Is this a safe time? Are you in a safe place?' Do you have a network of people outside of your parents you can go to if this doesn't go as well as you hoped?

Wilson Cruz